Glossary

Abbreviation for hundredweight (100 pounds). See Hundredweight (CWT).

See Container Yard to Container Yard (CY/CY).

Devices designed to close the gap between tractor and trailer. This helps to minimize air resistance and thus improve fuel mileage efficiency.

Water transport between two ports or points within a country. Many countries, including the U.S., have laws restricting this service to domestic-owned vessels.

A facility designed and staffed to handle a large volume of telephone calls for an organization. Usually focused on supporting customer service and order issues.

In logistics, the amount of available equipment (e.g., trucks) to move or store freight in a market. In manufacturing, the maximum output a facility can produce.

Meeting demand by cost-effectively managing production efficiency. Ensuring a business maximizes its potential output in response to changing conditions.

The process of forecasting demands and ensuring resources (machinery, materials, and manpower) are available to meet customer demand and avoid disruptions.

The resources available for investing in assets that produce output. Also, anything that confers value or benefit to its owners, such as a factory and its machinery.

Rating system for ships developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that measures how efficiently a ship transports goods in grams of CO2 emitted.

Any type of material or product that is transported.

See Cargo.

To know where shipments are from origin to destination. Often done electronically and with the assistance of connected devices.

An amendment applicable to U.S. interstate shipments that delineates the liability of common carriers for product damage and bill of lading provisions.

A Customs document used to temporarily import or export goods without paying duty or value-added tax (VAT).

Material handling equipment consisting of rotating layers of bins and/or drawers that can store many small items using relatively little floor space.

The movement of goods or people from one place to another. See Transportation.

A business that transports goods or people via land, sea, or air. Examples include trucking companies, railroads, maritime shipping firms, and airlines.

Items or resources that a carrier owns and uses to move goods or people from one place to another. Includes things such as trucks, trailers, technology, etc.

See Booking Number.

Provides shipment details to Customs, including the carrier’s certification of the owner or consignee of the cargo.

Liability incurred by a carrier when responsible for cargo that includes shipment loss, damage, and delay. Excludes acts of God, war, and the goods’ inherent nature.

See Tracking and Tracing.

Usually refers to the movement of goods locally (short hauls) via truck but can also describe a charge for the pick-up and delivery of goods.

A group of companies that limit competition by agreeing to cooperate rather than compete to produce a product or service. Often (but not always) illegal.