Your comprehensive guide to freight terminology and industry insights.
A carrier's charge for accessorial services, such as loading, unloading, pickup, and delivery, fuel surcharges, and simple shipments.
Additional services that enhance the shipping process; can be optional or required.
A type of 3PL who moves a company's freight on their own trucks and stores them in their own warehouses.
This time metric can be calculated by taking the total time, from pickup to delivery, of a shipment for every single shipment and dividing it by the total number of shipments.
A detailed list of a shipment of goods in the form of a receipt given by the carrier to the person consigning the goods.
LTL shipments that conceal the identity of the shipper or consignee (or both, in the case of a double-blind shipment).
A chassis is a special trailer or undercarriage used to transport ocean containers over the road.
A rating assigned to products based on their value and shipping characteristics, i.e. density and how the freight is packaged.
Shipments for which the consignee is responsible for the freight charges.
A person or company to whom goods is to be delivered to.
CID, also known as the Consignee Identification Number, is a unique internal number assigned by the consignee for their own purposes.
A dead-head, also known as empty miles, refers to any part of the transportation trip in which no freight is being carried (empty container). Such occurrence uses time, gas, and money but generates no revenue.
Tool used to calculate the density of the shipment and the associated  freight class.
Transportation personnel who route trucks and manpower efficiently in order to meet customer needs promptly and responsively.
An inventory holding warehouse facility for manufacturing
EDI, also known as Electronic Data Interchange, is the intercompany, computer-to-computer transmission of business information in a standard format.
The final consumer who purchases the product.
FOB, also known as Free On Board, is the point at which the title of the goods passes from the shipper (seller) to the consignee.
FAK, also known as Freight-All-Kinds, is when an LTL carrier assigns a single tariff classification for freight.
A freight broker connect freight carriers with shippers.
Number ranging from 50 and 500 that classifies the commodities inside a shipment.
The fees and rules applied by a carrier for its services transporting freight.
FSC, also known as Fuel Surcharge, is assessed to cover unexpected rises in the price of fuel.
Full Container Load is a term used when goods occupy a whole container.
Full truckload, commonly referred to as FTL, is a type of shipping mode whereby a truck carries one dedicated shipment.
The shipping unit level handled by the carrier when loaded on the trailer. For example, whencartons are unitized onto a pallet, the handling unit is the pallet. When cartons are tendered loose, i.e. Not unitized, the handling unit is the carton.
Hazardous materials.
Transporting freight by using two or more transportation modes, such as a truck and rail or a truck and oceangoing vessel
Components, raw materials, work in process, finished goods, and supplies required for the creation of goods and services. It can also refer to the number of units and or value of the stock of goods held by a company
Route that is commonly serviced.
Goods weighing less than 10000 lbs.; can be from different shippers but combined together.
Movements of goods between cities, terminals, etc. Does not include local pickup and delivery services.
An organization in the United States that is responsible for standardizing and publishing specifications, rules, and regulations related to the transportation and classification of various commodities in the freight and shipping industry.
The standard produced by the NMFTA that classifies all commodity types and establishes level of rates for a shipment. LTL Carriers that are members of the NMFTA subscribe to the NMFC and follow the commodity classifications.
The National Motor Freight Classification item number. The NMFC number is assigned by commodity type and is used by participating LTL carriers to determine the level of rates for a shipment.
List showing merchandise packed and merchandise particulars. Normally prepared by shippers but not required by carriers.
The platform that cartons are stacked on and then used for shipment or movement as a group. Pallets may be made of wood or composite materials.Pallets have electronic tracking tags, and most are recycled.
The shipper pays for the freight costs from origin to the consigneeâs dock.
Progressive Rotating Order is a unique number assigned by the carrier to identify a specific shipment
(POD) Proof of delivery, document that is obtained at time of delivery; consignee must sign receipt of delivery.
The purchaser's authorization used to formalize a purchase transaction with a supplier.The physical form or electronic transaction buyers use when placing orders for merchandise.
The movement of freight from one origin point to one destination point.
A summary by customer order of the number of pieces per stock keeping unit (SKU) and associated carton count on the shipment.The purpose is for communication to the final receiving destination to be used for receipt check-in of cartons and/or units to the customer order.Not used for cross-dock shipments. This information is not to be included on the Bill of Lading.
Shipper Identification Number, a unique internal number assigned by the shipper for their purposes.Must not be the Bill of Lading number or the Pro number. Examples of uses are as an invoice number, supplier code or location code.
1. Starts with unprocessed raw materials and ends with final customers using the finished goods by linking many companies together.2. The material and informational interchange in the logistical process stretches from acquisition of raw materials to delivering finished products to the end user. Vendors, service providers, and customers are links in the supply chain
The design and management of activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities.It also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers.
A four-letter alpha code uniquely identifying a carrier.Carrier SCAC codes are assigned and maintained by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA).
Document stating rules regarding specific commodities, shipments, or lanes; can be used as a contract between consignee and shipper.
Building where shipments are prepared for transportation.
The freight charges for a shipment are paid a party other than the shipper or consignee.
Truckload ground transport within the US.
The tractor is the driver compartment and engine of the truck. It has two or three axles, depending on the type of tractor used
The part of the truck that carries the goods
Transport of tractor trailers with their loads on specifically designed rail cars
Transloading is an efficient shipment process where the shipment is transferred from one mode of transport to another.The process is divided into four parts:- Picking up the container from the port- Bringing the container to the warehouse- Unloading the container- Usually palletizing the loads & reloading them
Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is an inventory management practice in which a supplier of goods, usually the manufacturer, is responsible for optimizing the inventory held by a distributor.
Storage place for products. Principal warehouse activities include managing the receipt of product, storage, shipment, and order picking.
A pricing system where shipping origins and destinations are grouped into specific zones. The shipper will pay the inter-zone rate between these zones.