Freight Brokerage Business. The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

management: an inventory management technique designed to reduce inventory levels by delivering parts just as they are needed on the production line.

      Layover: a delay preventing a driver from unloading as scheduled at destination; some carriers charge an additional fee for this.

      Less-than-truckload (LTL): a shipment occupying less than the entire trailer, typically with a weight of less than 30,000 pounds; it can be combined with other shipments to make up a full truckload.

      Less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier: a trucking company that consolidates less-than-truckload cargo for multiple destinations on one vehicle.

      Motor carrier (MC): a company that provides truck transportation.

      Multiple drops: a delivery requiring more than one stop.

      Net weight: the weight of the goods being shipped, excluding the packaging and packing materials.

      OS&D: an acronym for “over, short, and damaged.”

      Over (overage): when the piece count of a shipment is more than what is indicated on the bill of lading.

      Over-the-road: a motor carrier operation that reflects long-distance, intercity moves; the opposite of local operations.

      Owner-operator: a trucker who owns and operates his own truck(s).

      P&D: pickup and delivery.

      Pallet: a movable platform, usually made of wood, for the storage or transportation of goods.

      Pallet exchange: the process of replacing a shipper’s pallets, leaving an equitable number of empty pallets when picking up goods loaded on pallets, then picking up a comparable number of empty pallets from the consignee when the freight is delivered.

      Payload: the weight of the cargo being hauled.

      Peddle run: a truck route with frequent delivery stops.

      Private carrier: a carrier that provides transportation service of its own cargo to the firm that owns or leases the vehicles and does not charge a fee.

      Process agent: a representative upon whom court papers may be served in any proceeding brought against a motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder; freight brokers are required to list with the FMCSA the names of process agents in each state where they have an office and write contracts.

      Product (pro), load and invoice numbers: numbers assigned to shipments for identification purposes.

      Pup trailer: short semitrailer, usually between 26 and 32 feet long, with a single axle; often used as doubles or triples.

      Purchase order number: a number that buyers assign to their purchase orders that shippers will usually include on their freight documents so consignees can easily identify the load when it is delivered.

      Ragtop: a box-like trailer open at the top, on which a large canvas is spread to protect cargo from the elements; primarily used for large, bulky bales or boxes, loose materials, and sometimes for nursery stock shipments.

      Reasonable rate: a rate high enough to cover the carrier’s costs but not so high that it enables the carrier to realize monopolistic profits.

      Reefer: a refrigerated, insulated semitrailer.

      Round trip: when a driver moves a load to a specific point, reloads at the point, and returns to the original point of pickup.

      Semitrailer: a truck trailer supported at the rear by its own wheels and at the front by a fifth wheel mounted to a tractor or dolly.

      Shipper order number: a number assigned to a load or shipment by the shipper for tracking purposes; this number should be referred to on invoices and any other documents concerning the shipment.

      Shipping container: see container.

      Shipping weight: the gross weight of a shipment, including product, packaging, and packing materials.

      Short (shortage): when the piece count of a shipment is less than indicated on the bill of lading.

      Short-haul discrimination: charging more for a shorter haul than a longer haul over the same route, in the same direction, and for the same commodity; this is an accepted industry practice since certain fixed costs apply no matter how long the trip is.

      Skid: a pallet.

      Split pickup: a pickup requiring more than one stop.

      Tanker: a trailer shaped like a huge tank designed to handle liquid and loose, fine bulk materials.

      Tariff: a publication that contains a carrier’s rates, accessorial charges, and rules.

      Tend to load: when the drivers attend to the loading and unloading of their trailers.

      Truckload (TL) carrier: a trucking company which dedicates trailers to a single shipper’s cargo, as opposed to an LTL (less than truckload) carrier which transports the consolidated cargo of several shippers and makes multiple deliveries.

      Trailer on flatcar (TOFC): a method of moving cargo that involves transporting semitrailers on railroad flatcars.

      Ton-mile taxes: taxes based on the weight (tonnage) of the shipment and the number of miles it travels (tax per ton, per mile).

      Tracing: determining where a shipment is during the course of the move.

      Tractor: a truck designed primarily to pull a semitrailer by means of a fifth wheel mounted over the rear axle(s); sometimes called a truck tractor or highway tractor to differentiate it from a farm tractor.

      Tractor trailer: a tractor and semitrailer combination.

      Traffic management: the management of the various activities associated with buying and controlling transportation services for a shipper or consignee or both.

      Transit time: the total time that elapses from pickup to delivery of a shipment.

      Trip leasing: leasing a company’s vehicle to another transportation provider for a single trip.

      Truckload (TL): the quantity of freight required to fill a trailer, usually over 30,000 pounds.

      Weight per case: the total, or gross, weight per case, carton, or box.

       Index

      “In this digital publication the page numbers have been removed from the index. Please use the search function of your e-Reading device to locate the terms listed.”

       A

      abilities and skills for success

      account representatives

accountants. See also bookkeepers

      accounts receivable

      advertising

      advisors, professional

      advisory boards

      agents

      agricultural truck brokers

      AGT Global Logistics

      airfreight forwarders

      Andrews, Chuck