Logistics Glossary: Freight Terms Defined

3PL (third-party logistics provider): A company that performs logistics services such as warehousing, transport and fulfillment on behalf of a shipper, usually for goods it does not own.
Accessorial charge: A charge for a service beyond basic transport, such as liftgate delivery, inside delivery, or truck detention.
AWB (air waybill): The transport document for air cargo. It is a receipt and evidence of the contract of carriage, but unlike a negotiable ocean bill of lading it is not a document of title.
B/L (bill of lading): The transport document issued by a carrier when it takes goods: a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and, when negotiable, a document of title that controls who may take delivery. See bill of lading types.
Carmack Amendment: The US federal law, now at 49 U.S.C. § 14706 for motor carriers and freight forwarders (with a parallel rail provision at § 11706), that governs carrier liability for loss and damage in interstate shipments. It sets minimum periods of 9 months to file a claim and 2 years to sue. See the freight claim process.
CFS (container freight station): A facility where less-than-container-load cargo is consolidated into, or unpacked from, shared containers.
Chain of custody: The unbroken record of who was responsible for goods and when responsibility passed between parties. See the guide and the form template.
Clean and claused bills of lading: A clean bill records goods received in apparent good order. A claused (or foul) bill notes damage, shortage or defective packing at loading.
CMR: The Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road, and the consignment note used under it.
COGSA: The US Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, which applies Hague Rules terms to ocean bills of lading for shipments to or from US ports.
Concealed damage: Damage that could not be seen at delivery, usually found when the goods are unpacked. See concealed damage claims.
Consignee / consignor: The consignee is the party the goods are delivered to. The consignor (or shipper) is the party that hands them over for carriage.
CY (container yard) and cut-off: The terminal area where containers are received and stored. The cut-off is the latest time a container can arrive and still make its scheduled vessel.
Demurrage: In container shipping, usually a charge for a container kept in the terminal beyond its free time. Definitions vary by contract. See demurrage and detention invoices.
Detention: In container shipping, usually a charge for keeping a container outside the terminal beyond its free time. In trucking, a charge for keeping a driver and truck waiting beyond the agreed time at a stop.
Drayage: Short-distance trucking of containers, typically between a port or rail terminal and a nearby warehouse.
eBL (electronic bill of lading): A bill of lading issued and transferred electronically, where control of the electronic record takes the place of possession of paper originals.
ePOD (electronic proof of delivery): A proof of delivery captured on a device, often with a typed name, signature, photos and a time and location stamp.
ETA / ATA: Estimated and actual time of arrival. An ETA is a forecast, not a measurement. See shipment visibility.
Excursion (temperature): Time a product spends outside its required temperature range. See temperature excursion records.
FCL / LCL: Full container load (one shipper's cargo fills the container) and less than container load (cargo shares a container with others).
Fictitious pickup: A theft in which someone posing as the assigned carrier collects a load. See cargo theft prevention.
Freight forwarder: A company that arranges transport on a shipper's behalf, booking carriers, preparing documents and often handling customs, frequently without owning the vehicles.
Free time: The period a container may stay in the terminal, or out of it, before demurrage or detention charges begin.
HBL / MBL: House and master bills of lading. The ocean carrier issues the master bill to whoever booked the space; a forwarder or NVOCC issues house bills to its own customers.
HS code: The Harmonized System classification of goods, used worldwide for customs. The first six digits are international and countries add further digits.
Incoterms: The International Chamber of Commerce rules (for example FCA, FOB, CIF, DAP, DDP) that define which party arranges and pays for each stage of transport and where risk passes.
ISO 17712: The international standard for mechanical freight container seals, which classifies them as indicative (I), security (S) or high security (H).
Leg: One movement within a journey, such as a truck from factory to port, or a vessel from port to port. Most shipments have several.
NVOCC: Non-vessel-operating common carrier: a company that acts as an ocean carrier to its customers, issuing its own bills of lading, without operating the ships.
OS&D: Over, short and damaged: the exceptions recorded when a delivery doesn't match its paperwork. See OS&D reports.
POD (proof of delivery): The signed, timed record that goods were delivered, ideally noting count, condition and any exceptions. See what a POD should include.
PRO number: The tracking or freight bill number a US trucking company assigns to a shipment.
Reefer: A refrigerated container or trailer with its own temperature-control unit.
Released rate: A freight rate under which the carrier's liability is limited to a declared or agreed value, in exchange for a lower charge.
Salvage: Damaged or refused goods that a carrier sells or disposes of, with the proceeds taken into account in the claim.
Sea waybill: A non-negotiable ocean transport document. The goods are released to the named consignee without surrendering an original.
Seal number: The unique number on the tamper-evident seal applied to a container or trailer door. A seal that is missing or doesn't match is a key exception at any handover. See seal verification.
SSCC (serial shipping container code): The 18-digit GS1 identifier for a logistic unit such as a pallet, usually printed as a GS1-128 barcode. It is made up of an extension digit, a GS1 company prefix, a serial reference and a check digit. See SSCC pallet labels for the label sections and the reuse rule.
Telematics: Systems that report a vehicle's or asset's position and condition, such as location, speed, engine hours and temperature, over mobile or satellite networks.
Telex release: An arrangement in which original bills of lading are surrendered at origin, so the carrier releases the goods at destination without them.
Transshipment: Moving cargo from one vessel or vehicle to another at an intermediate hub on its way to the destination.
ULD (unit load device): A pallet or container used to load cargo onto aircraft.
VVTT: View, Verify, Tug and Twist: the seal inspection method described in US Customs and Border Protection's seal procedures.
WMS (warehouse management system): Software that tracks stock locations, receipts, picks and shipments inside a warehouse.

Logistics glossary