Glossary

• 3PL – Third Party Logistics
• Accessorial Charges – Charges for additional services that are not included in the base rate, such as liftgate service or inside delivery.
• Asset-based 3PL – A 3PL that owns its own trucks, trailers, or warehouses.
• Backhaul –  A load that a carrier picks up on their return trip after delivering a previous load.
• Bill of Lading (BOL)– A legal document that serves as a receipt of shipment and provides the carrier with the details needed to transport the freight.
• Bill To – Customer – The “bill to” party is frequently the same as the customer. This is the party who will be paying for the freight charges of the load.  
• Carrier – A person or company that moves goods from one place to another.
• Claim – A request for compensation for damage or loss of product.  
• Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)– Drivers must have a CDL to operate a commercial motor vehicle. The driver must pass a written test on rules and regulations and demonstrate that he or she can safely operate a commercial truck.  
• Consignee – The person or company who receives the goods being shipped.
• Consignor – The person or company who sends the goods being shipped.
• Containers – Containers are also known as boxes and are constructed of corrugated steel. Containers are shipped via rail. 
• Contract Carrier – Charges a fee for providing a service to the public.  
• Cross-docking – The process of transferring goods directly from one inbound truck to another outbound truck.
• Customs Broker – An individual or company licensed by the government to handle the customs clearance process for import and export shipments.
• Deadhead – A term used to describe an empty truck or trailer; the distance a carrier travels without a load.
• Dedicated Fleet – A group of trucks or drivers that are dedicated to a specific customer.
• Demurrage – A charge for the shipper’s time spent holding the carrier’s equipment beyond the agreed-upon timeframe.
• Detention – A charge for the carrier’s time spent waiting to load or unload the freight.
• Dispatch –  The process of assigning a carrier to pick up and deliver a load.
• Dock Door – An opening in a warehouse or loading dock where trucks can be loaded and unloaded.
• Drop Ship – A shipment that is delivered directly to the end customer, bypassing the retailer or distributor.
• Drop Trailer – A trailer by itself
• Dock Worker – A person who works in a warehouse or loading dock, loading and unloading trucks.
• Dry Vans – Dry vans can haul a variety of freight, which is why they are the most frequently used trailers in the US. Vans often have a wooden floor and wooden or fiberglass walls, ranging from 3” to 4” thick.  
• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) – The exchange of electronic documents between companies.
• Expedited Shipping – A service that provides faster delivery times for urgent shipments.
• First Come First Serve – No appointment is needed. Detention should apply after 2 hours.
• Flatbeds (F, DD, D2, SD) – Flatbed trailers haul items that are bulky or heavy, like lumber, steel, or machinery. Freight is secured on a flatbed by using tarps or chains. Because these trailers weigh less than V or R, they can haul heavier freight while still maintaining a legal gross weight. 
• FTL (Full Truckload)– A shipment that requires a full truckload and is typically larger in size.
• Freight – The goods being transported.
• Freight Bill – A document that outlines the charges for transporting goods.
• Freight Broker – A company or individual that arranges transportation of goods on behalf of shippers and carriers.
• Freight Class – A classification system used to determine the cost of shipping based on the type of freight being transported.
• Freight Forwarder – A company that arranges for the transportation of goods.
• Gross – The combined weight of tractor, trailer, and all loaded material. 
• Hazmat – Hazardous materials that require special handling and transport.
• Headhaul (Outbound) – The load a carrier hauls away from its home base.
• Hot Load – A load that must move ASAP, is time-sensitive, or is a first load for a new customer. These are NO FAIL loads.  
• Hours of Service (HOS) – The legal limit to the number of consecutive hours a driver can be on duty before he or she is required to rest.  
• Inbound Logistics – The process of bringing goods into a warehouse or distribution center.
• Intermodal – The movement of goods using multiple modes of transportation.
• Interstate Carrier – A carrier that is authorized to operate between states or provinces in the US, Mexico, and Canada.  
• Intrastate Carrier – Operates entirely within a single state.  
• Inventory Management – The process of managing and tracking inventory levels.
• Last Mile – The final leg of delivery from the warehouse or distribution center to the end customer.
• Less Than Truckload (LTL) – A shipment that does not fill an entire truck.
• Line-Haul Drivers – Also known as over-the-road (OTR) drivers. They haul freight over multiple states while traveling longer distances and pulling large trailers.  
• Load – Any commodity that needs to move from point A to Point B. 
• Load Board – An online platform where shippers and carriers can find and post available loads.
• Local Drivers – Operate within a small city radius and often pull smaller vehicles.
• Logbook – A book in which drivers keep track of on and off-duty hours.  
• Logistics – The process of planning, implementing, and controlling the movement of goods.
• Logistics Management – The process of managing logistics activities.
• Logistics Provider – A company that provides logistics services.
• Long Haul – A shipment that travels a long distance.
• Lumper – A person who unloads or loads a truck in a warehouse or distribution center.
• Military Time – Fetch, like most in the industry, uses military time as the universal way of telling time. Make sure you are comfortable converting to your new standard of time. Regular time uses numbers 1 to 12 to identify each of the 24 hours in a day. With military time, the hours are numbered from 00 to 23. Under this system, midnight is 00, 1 a.m. is 01, 1 p.m. is 13, and so on. Minutes and seconds are expressed exactly the same way with military and regular time.
• Motor Carrier – MC# – The party that has the trucks, trains, planes, or boats to move our customers’ freight.  
• Multi-stop – A shipment that requires multiple stops for delivery.
• NET – The weight of the load.  
• Offshore – A location outside of the country where goods are produced or sourced.
• On-demand Delivery – A service that provides delivery within a short timeframe.
• Order Fulfillment – The process of receiving and processing orders, picking and packing products, and shipping orders.
• Outsourcing – The process of hiring a third party to perform services or functions.
• Pallet – A platform used for storing and transporting goods.
• Pallet Jack – A hand-operated device used for moving pallets.
• Parcel – A package or small shipment.
• Pick and Pack – The process of selecting products from inventory and packaging them for shipment.
• Port –  A location where goods are loaded and unloaded from ships.
• Private Fleet – A group of trucks or drivers that are owned by a specific company.
• Proof of Delivery (POD) – A document that confirms delivery of goods.
• Rate Confirmation – A document that confirms the details of a shipment and the agreed-upon rate between the shipper and carrier.
• Requested Delivery Date (RDD) – The date the customer is requesting the product delivery for. If the delivery date differs from RDD, send a Missed RDD email.  
• Refrigerated Vans or Reefers – This is a refrigerated trailer for temperature-sensitive freight (like ice cream). It has insulated walls, a refrigerated unit at the front end, and an extra fuel tank that runs the cooling unit. This keeps the inside of the trailer at a constant temperature, whether it is warm or cold.  
• Rejected – When a consignee refuses a product.  
• Seal – A plastic or metal device with a unique code that is secured to the closed trailer doors to help prevent claims. The only way the trailer can be opened is if the seal is broken.
• Shipper – The person or company who is sending the freight.