Resources
Trucking & Freight Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the trucking, freight and logistics terms you will meet when booking loads.
- Accessorial charge
- An extra charge for a service beyond standard pickup and delivery, such as liftgate, detention or inside delivery.
- Backhaul
- A load carried on a truck’s return trip, reducing empty miles.
- Bill of lading (BOL)
- The document that records the shipment, acts as a receipt and sets out the terms of carriage.
- Chassis
- A wheeled frame that carries an intermodal or ocean container on the road.
- Consignee
- The person or company receiving the freight.
- Contract carriage
- Trucking provided under a written agreement covering lanes, rates, capacity and service levels.
- Deadhead
- Miles driven with an empty trailer.
- Dedicated contract carriage (DCC)
- A multi-year arrangement where a carrier provides trucks, drivers and management exclusively for one shipper.
- Demurrage
- A charge for leaving a container at a terminal beyond its free time.
- Detention
- A charge for keeping a truck or equipment waiting beyond the agreed free time.
- Drayage
- Short-haul trucking of containers between ports, rail ramps and nearby facilities.
- Drop-and-hook
- Dropping one trailer and hooking another, so the driver does not wait for loading or unloading.
- Dry van
- An enclosed, non-temperature-controlled trailer used for general freight.
- ELD
- Electronic logging device used to record drivers’ hours of service.
- Expedited freight
- Urgent, time-critical freight moved by an exclusive-use truck.
- Flatbed
- An open trailer used for oversized, heavy or irregularly shaped freight.
- Freight class
- A classification from 50 to 500 used to price LTL freight, based on density and handling.
- FTL
- Full truckload — one shipment that uses an entire trailer.
- Gross vehicle weight (GVW)
- The total weight of the truck, trailer and cargo; usually limited to 80,000 lb on interstates.
- Hours of service (HOS)
- Federal rules limiting how long commercial drivers may drive and work.
- Intermodal
- Moving freight by more than one mode — usually truck and rail — in the same container.
- Line haul
- The long-distance movement of freight between terminals or hubs.
- Lowboy / RGN
- A low-deck trailer, often with a removable gooseneck, used for tall and heavy equipment.
- LTL
- Less than truckload — freight that shares trailer space with other shipments.
- Over-dimensional (OD)
- Freight exceeding legal width, height, length or weight limits, requiring permits.
- Per diem
- A daily charge for keeping a container or chassis outside the terminal beyond the free days.
- Pilot car
- An escort vehicle that accompanies an oversize load.
- Proof of delivery (POD)
- A signed document confirming freight was delivered.
- Reefer
- A refrigerated trailer that keeps freight at a set temperature.
- Shipper
- The person or company sending the freight.
- Spot rate
- A one-time price for a single load at current market rates.
- Step deck
- A flatbed trailer with a lower rear deck for taller freight.
- Team drivers
- Two drivers sharing one truck so it can keep moving longer within hours-of-service rules.
- Transload
- Moving freight from one container or trailer to another.