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| Term |
Definition |
| Accessorial Charges |
Fees charged for additional services performed beyond regular pickup and delivery, e.g., inside delivery, storage, heating, etc.
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Allowance |
An allocation of money between contractual partners as a reimbursement for expenses from one to the other.
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Analogous Article | An article that is not found in freight classification but is comparable to an article that is in the classification.
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Arrival Notice | Notification by a carrier to the consignee of the arrival of a shipment.
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Base Rating Table (BRT) | A rate table published by a carrier for LTL shipments.
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Bilateral contract | A contract where both parties have promised obligations to each other.
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Bill to Address | The address to which the freight bill is to be sent.
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Bill of Lading (BOL) | A document issued by a carrier to a shipper acknowledging receipt of goods for transport and specifying terms of delivery, the contract for transport services.
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Cargo Insurance | A policy to protect part or all of the freight in a shipment.
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Carrier | A company that offers services to transport freight.
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Carrier Discount | A reduction off the base rate that a carrier offers a shipper.
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Certificate of Weight | A statement of authority of the weight of a shipment of freight prepared by a weigh master.
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Collect on Delivery(COD) | The shipper requests the carrier of the goods to collect the payment for the delivery from the consignee.
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COD Fees | A service charge made to the shipper ("prepaid") or consignee ("collect") by the carrier for collecting the consignee's payment for the goods delivered.
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Collect | The consignee is responsible for payment for the freight or delivery charges.
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Commodity | Description of type of goods shipped, used to determine LTL classification.
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Consignee | The receiver of the shipment.
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Consolidation | Putting together several consignments that are headed in the same direction.
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Cubic Capacity Rule | If an LTL shipment exceeds a designated number of cubic feet in a trailer (typically 750 cubic feet), it triggers a rate increase.
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Cwt | abbreviation for "per 100 pounds weight"
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Deficit Weight | Weight that is added to a shipment to bring the weight up to the "bill-as" weight, to reduce the total charge (taking advantage of rate reductions for higher weights).
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Delivery Receipt | Document dated and signed by consignee or its agent at the time of delivery stating the condition of the goods at delivery.
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F.O.B. | "Free on Board," a term of sale which in general means the seller provides for loading goods onto the shipment vessel (shipping point), at which ownership transfers to the buyer; seller does not cover cost of shipment unless otherwise specified (see below).
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F.O.B. Delivered/ Freight Collect | A term of sale in which the buyer takes ownership of the goods on delivery and pays the freight charges, and the seller files any claims.
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F.O.B. Delivered/ Freight Collect and Allowed | A term of sale in which the buyer takes ownership of the goods on delivery and pays the freight charges but then deducts them from the seller's invoice, and the seller files any claims.
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F.O.B. Delivered/ Freight Prepaid | A term of sale in which the buyer takes ownership of the goods on delivery, and the seller pays the freight charges and files any claims.
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F.O.B. Origin/ Freight Collect | A term of sale in which the buyer takes ownership of the goods at the shipping point, pays the freight charges, and files any claims.
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F.O.B. Origin/ Freight Prepaid | A term of sale in which the buyer takes ownership of the goods at the shipping point and seller pays the freight charges and files any claims.
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F.O.B. Origin/ Freight Prepaid and Add | A term of sale in which the buyer takes ownership of the goods at the shipping point and files any claims, and the seller pays the freight charges but is then reimbursed by the buyer.
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Freight All Kinds (FAK) | When shipped products are classified as single freight class despite comprising various commodities.
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Hazardous Material (HazMat) | Any substance that represents a health or safety risk to people, property or the environment as determined by the U.S. Department of Transportation; a HazMat shipment requires special handling and documentation.
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Household Goods Carriers Bureau (HGCB or HGB) | Part of the American Moving and Storage Association and the authority behind tariffs and The Official Transportation Mileage Guide (published by Rand McNally).
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Inbound Freight | Direction of freight concerning the consignee. Inbound freight is traveling to the consignee from the shipper. The direction of freight plays a part in carrier contracts. Inbound contracts typically mean the consignee is paying for the shipment.
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Knocked Down(KD) | Indicates a disassembled article, which facilitates packing and shipping.
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Landed Cost | The cost of goods including freight charges, taxes and all other applicable fees.
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Less-than-Truckload(LTL) | A shipment that does not qualify for full (lower) truckload rate because it does not require the full use of a trailer; a shipment that weighs less than the full truckload weight, typically 10,000 lbs.
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Linear Foot Rule | If an LTL shipment exceeds a designated number of floor feet in a trailer, it triggers a rate increase.
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Manifest Bill of Lading | A summary list of the bills of lading for goods being transported by a LTL or parcel services carrier.
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Master Bill of Lading | A summary list of bills of lading aggregated for a multiple-stopoff truckload carrier.
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Mode | Method of transportation, e.g., rail, highway, air, and water.
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National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) | A publication that categorizes goods into freight classifications used along with weight and distance to determine shipping charge.
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Outbound Freight | Direction of freight concerning the shipper. Outbound freight is traveling from the shipper to the consignee. The direction of freight plays a role in carrier contracts. Outbound contracts typically mean the shipper is paying for the shipment. |
Outsource | Contracting to move an in-house work function to an external service provider that specializes in the function, e.g., freight bill auditing, processing and payment; objectives typically include cost reduction and access to required expertise. |
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Parcel | A single shippable item less than 75 pounds.
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Positive Pay | A best-practice deterrent to check fraud, positive pay involves daily reconciliation of a company's issued checks to checks presented for payment to the company's bank. The company sends a daily data file of issued checks to the bank. The information in the data file includes check number, amount and date, bank and account information. It may also include payee information, as payee positive pay is becoming more common (ensuring that the correct payee is on the presented check). Checks presented for payment are compared to the checks-issued file; those that fail to match are rejected and a list of the exceptions is sent to the company, which makes the decision whether to pay or not.
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Practical Highway Miles | The number of actual miles a truck or semi-trailer must travel between origin and destination. Carriers may charge based on practical miles or shortest miles, which is the shortest possible route between the origin and destination, regardless of what route the driver traveled.
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Prepaid | Freight and charges are the responsibility of the shipper and are paid prior to receipt of the bill of lading.
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PRO Number | A carrier number used to identify freight for billing, tracing, etc.
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Rate | What a carrier charges for the shipment of goods by the weight, volume or type of goods.
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Reconsignment | A change made to a bill of lading in regards to the name of the consignee or the location of delivery of a shipment that is still in transit.
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Route | The means and the path by which a shipment of goods moves.
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Routing Instructions | Delivered by the shipper, directs the carrier to use on a shipment.
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Section 7 | The section of the bill of lading where the shipper assigns to the carrier the collection of freight charges from the consignee, without recourse to the shipper. When Section 7 is signed, the carrier is at risk for collection of freight payment.
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Shipper | The person whose commodities are being moved by a carrier on contractual terms.
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Spot Rate Quotation | A carrier price offer to a shipper applicable to a single, specific shipment; a negotiated one-off price.
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Standard Carrier Alpha (SCAC) | An industry-wide code issued by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) to identify all carrier companies.
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Stem Time | The amount of time required for a truck or semi-trailer to travel between origin and destination.
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Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) | The unit of measurement used to record products on a stock record and manage inventory.
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Stopoff | The pickups or deliveries between the initial pickup and the last delivery.
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Set Up | The complete assembly of an item.
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Surface Transportation Board | An agency of the Department of Transportation that was created to take over the ICC's duties after the latter's termination in 1995.
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Transportation Policy | The shipper's policy guidelines, including routing instructions, pertaining to the transport of their goods.
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Truckload | The quantity of freight that fills a trailer, usually over 10,000 pounds, and to which truckload rates apply.
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VNX | Value not to exceed.
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Waybill | In essence, a waybill is a bill of lading for air shipments; has much of the same information, but is not a document of title.
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Weight Break | The weight where less-than-truckload rate equals truckload rate at the minimum weight.
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Weight Group | Refers to weight limits used to determine the mode of carrier for the shipment.
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WNX | Weight not to exceed.
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