Since lithium battery shipping is a hot topic these days, I ask this question a lot in my training classes. More often than not, the answer is a resounding "no". That’s when I respond with "Are you sure?" Upon further discussion, many people realize that they do, in fact, ship lithium batteries.

So how could they not know? When I get a response of "no" to the question, I start asking more questions. Do you ever ship pieces of equipment or machinery that is powered by lithium batteries? Do you ever ship cell phones or laptop computers to other offices or field locations? After a little bit of thought, the realization often occurs… Hey, we DO ship lithium batteries!

Many shippers overlook these types of shipments when asked about shipping lithium batteries. They tend to think only of individual batteries or products that they ship, instead of equipment or tools of the trade. In order to avoid causing and accident or receiving costly fines, make sure you know what you are shipping before you ship it so that you can comply with the appropriate regulations.