Section 3： Transportation
The number one priority of today's transportation managers is ensuring that the right product arrives on time， at the correct location， without damage. More than one discipline contributes to the success of this action. Obviously， effective and efficient transportation is essential. However， this cannot be accomplished without appropriate Information Technology support on the part of the carrier and usually the shipper. IT is covered under Section 5 of this book.
Transportation consists of several forms or modes and effective as well as efficient mode selection is key to a successful logistics function. Modes under the strategic and usually tactical control of the transportation and/or logistics manager include air， water or ocean， truck， and rail. This Section deals with the various modes.
As a general benchmark， transportation averages approximately 3.5% of sales for a manufacturing company.
ASC： Advance Shipping Confirmation； objective is to accomplish this by EDI.
ASN： Advance Shipping Notification； objective is to accomplish this by EDI.
Assessorial： Additional charges or rates， not included in the base rate for carrier， contract carrier， and dedicated transportation services， such as stop pay， loading/unloading， additional drivers and equipment， and detention （waiting）。 Sometimes referred to as ancillary charges.
Axle Load： The maximum weight allowed on each axle of a truck， tractor， and trailer. Varies by country. In the U.S.， generally the limit is 12，000 pounds on the steering axle and 34，000 pounds on a tandem axle for highway transport.
Backhaul： A load of freight being returned close to the vehicles original point of origin or domicile. In a private fleet operation or dedicated carriage arrangement， this freight may consist of raw materials for the company's manufacturing plants or other freight owned by third parties that was secured through solicitation or brokers. The objective behind securing backhauls is to maximize vehicle utilization， which usually results in cost savings for the entire trip.
Bobtailing： Driving a tractor without a trailer. In some states a bobtail refers to a straight truck. See “deadheading”。
Breakbulk： Consolidation and distribution center； a facility which unloads and consolidates shipments received from other terminals or manufacturing plants， satellites as well as from other breakbulks.
Butthead： Two or more tractor/trailer units meet （from different origins） at a designated location to exchange loads and then return to their respective points of origin. Sometimes referred to as relay operations. Objective is to eliminate layovers of drivers and equipment.
Cabotage： USA Customs Service has altered rules that prohibited Canadian trucks from carrying freight back to Canada to allow Canadian trucks to carry freight if the trucks are returning to Canada or going to pick up cargo for export to Canada. Also， new guidelines allow freight that originates in Canada to be transported anywhere in the USA， regardless of what tractor hauls it.
Closed Loop System： A shipping pattern that brings all trucks or tractors back to their domicile on a regular basis.
Co-mingling： Mixing of compatible multi customer freight on the same trailer that has common origin/destination characteristics.
Consolidation： Consolidation of small shipments， under 10，000 lbs.， into truckload shipments. Also， consolidation of small package shipments into loads which can be dropped into hubs. Deadheading： Term used to describe driving a tractor without being attached to a trailer.
Dedicated Contract Carriage： Providing specific equipment， drivers， and other personnel， fleet management （usually including dispatchers） and route analysis services on a contractual basis for a specific shipper either as a stand-alone operation or as part of an integrated package of logistics services.
Delivery Windows： The time in which each customer will accept freight deliveries.
See “Windows.” Demurrage： Charges resulting from the detention of a cargo ship or ocean shipping container beyond scheduled departure time in the case of a ship or beyond the required return time of the container back to the pier/container depot.
Detention： Refers to drivers being detained at point of delivery by receiver or consignee. Most drivers are paid after a certain time period， such as one （1） or two （2） hours， after arrival at the appointment time at an hourly rate for detention per stop. See “Assessorial”。
Diversion： The stopping of a shipment at a point intermediate to the origin and planned destination and diverting the shipment to an unplanned destination at a different location.
DOT： Department of Transportation； federal and state DOT agencies regulate transportation， safety， maintenance activities and other improvements on state and federal facilities.
Drop & Hook： The act of delivering one trailer and picking up another trailer at the same location， without driver unloading.
Drug Testing： All CDL qualified drivers and employees that perform safety sensitive functions as described in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations will be subject to Controlled Substance and Alcohol testing. The types of tests required are pre-employment， post-accident， random， reasonable suspicion， return to duty and follow-up. The substances tested for are marijuana， cocaine， amphetamines， opiates， phencyclidine （PCP） and alcohol. Those employees that test positive will be referred to a Substance Abuse Professional （SAP） for assistance. See CDL in Section 4.
Dynamic Routing： Daily changes to meet demands of customers by maximizing loaded miles.
Expediting： A shipment that has to be delivered earlier than expected and/or a critical shipment， e.g. replacement part for down machinery， medical supplies， by utilizing a guaranteed service contracted to deliver the shipment via truck or air.
FAK： Freight All Kinds； refers to a LTL freight rate classification.
Fleet Sizing： The process by which you determine a particular customer's equipment needs by using historical data and computer generated analysis.
Freight Payment： The process of paying freight invoices by using a system that match-pays or a manual audit system， both of which checks rates and other cost factors. The data is transferred to an accounting system that records coding and produces checks.
Fuel Adjustments： Adjustments made weekly or monthly to dedicated transportation customers for the actual cost of fuel used. Adjustments are made by using a “Fuel Peg” as a base cost in contract and by using the diesel fuel index as published in Transport Topics， or the actual cost increase over the base.
Fuel surcharge： Charges made to shippers to recoup fuel cost increases in periods of fuel price volatility.
Fuel Peg： This refers to the initial price of fuel used for a dedicated transportation customer in pricing. Adjustments are made up or down when pegged price is compared to the actual price of fuel paid for a particular period. A “zero” fuel peg is defined as a pass through of fuel cost to the customer. Carriers use a fuel surcharge mechanism.
General Freight： All commodities except household goods， refrigerated goods， bulk commodities or commodities requiring specialized equipment （e.g. heavy machinery trailers or armored trucks）。
GRI： Stands for general rate increases. In the USA， regional rate bureaus prepare proposals annually for GRIs that begins a process for member truck carriers. Usually， the GRIs are effective October 1 of each year.
Headload： A shipment placed in the nose of a trailer that is destined to a different delivery point then the remainder of the load. A headload is common in a multiple hub and spoke environment.
IFF： International Freight Forwarders； provides service of securing vessel space， payment of freight charges， shipment consolidation， document preparation， and a variety of other services. Many IFFs use EDI systems.
Imbalance： Uneven freight flow into or out of a particular geographic area resulting in either a surplus or shortage of truck equipment.
IMC： Intermodal marketing company. Intermodal： This is defined as the movement of freight containers using a combination of transport modes， I.e. truck， rails， ocean and air transportation.
Intermodal Transportation Glossary
ALM： Air Landbridge. Similar to MLB， except that air is used to ship from West Coast U.S. to an Eastern U.S. city. All-In： All-inclusive. This is defined as the total price of moving a container from origin to destination， inclusive of assessorial charges.
Cargo Tonnage： The weight ton in the U.S. is the short ton or 2，000 pounds. In British countries it is the English long ton or gross ton at 2，240 pounds. In France and other countries using the metric system， the weight ton is 2，204.62 pounds. The measurement ton is 40 cubic feet.
Cabotage： Water transportation term applicable to shipments between ports of a nation. Commonly refers to coast-wide navigation or trade. Cabotage laws require domestic vessels to provide domestic interport service.
Demurrage Free Time： The amount of time in the tariff， usually in days， that shipper or consignee may allow the carrier's equipment to remain at the rail ramp without incurring a penalty charge.
Intermodal Transport： Moving ocean freight containers by various transportation modes. The fact that the containers are of standardized size and have common handling characteristics enables them to be transferred from truck to railroad to air carrier to ocean carrier.
Landbridge： Movement of cargo by water from one country through the port of another country， thence， using rail or truck， to an inland point in that country or to a third country.
Landed Cost： The total cost of goods to a buyer， including the cost of all transportation.
LCL： Less than container load. Defined as the quantity of freight less than that required for the application of a container load rate. LD： Lower deck. A type of air container used for cargo stowed in lower deck compartments of passenger or freighter airplanes. Lloyds' Registry： An organization maintained for the surveying and classing of ships so that insurance underwriters and others may know the quality and condition of the vessels offered for insurance or employment.
MLB： Mini Land Bridge. An intermodal system for transporting containers by ocean and then by rail or truck to a port previously served as an all-water move （e.g.， Hong Kong to New York over San Pedro）。
Mini-Bridge： Cargo moving on one bill of lading from a foreign port through two U.S. ports and to an inland destination.
Minimum Bill of Lading： Ocean bills of lading are known as minimum because they contain a clause that specifies the least charge that the carrier will make for issuing a lading. The charge may be a definite sum or the current charge per ton for any specified quantity.
Mixed Container Load： A container load of different articles in a single consignment. A specific shipping rate will be applied to such a load.
NVOCC： Non-vessel Operating Common Carrier. Defined as a cargo consolidator of small shipments in the ocean trade. This carrier solicits business and arranges for containerization functions at the port. For example， an NVOCC will buy space from APL and sub-sell it to small shippers.
Unit Train： A train of a specified number of railcars， perhaps 100， which remain as a unit for a designated destination or until a change in routing is made. Irregular
Routes： Routes that have no set pattern. These routes may change from time to time without notice； customer requirements dictate scheduling and therefore route change constantly.
Lane Balancing： The process of matching loads to empty lanes of travel for a particular customer. This is similar to backhauling.
Lane/Mode Optimization： A transportation redesign that selects optimal modes， lanes， and amounts of transportation to maximize customer benefit in a given situation.
Layover： Refers to a driver waiting overnight or over an extended period of time for a delivery or pickup. Driver may also have to layover because the driver is out of service hours as dictated by DOT regulations.
LTP： Lead Transportation Provider. Also referred to as Lead Logistics Provider depending on scope. Involves a third party provider that manages all or most of a company's freight movements including carriers and private fleets， utilizes all modes， and optimizes， consolidates and deploys other methods to reduce cost and improve customer service.
Less-than-truckload （LTL）： Shipments weighing less than 10，000 pounds each. Many LTL shipments weigh less than 500 pounds； most are below 1，000 pounds. Three quarters or more of business is short-haul， either overnight or second AM deliveries —— maximum 2 to 3 days.
Line-Haul： Transportation from one city to another as distinguished from a local cartage company.
Live Delivery： A delivery made when customer's employee's are present while freight is being unloaded （opposite of turnkey）。 Driver waits for unloading to be completed and may or may not assist.
Live Load： Loading of a trailer while the driver waits for the loading to be completed.
Load Tendering/Acceptance： Information relative to carrier selection can be transmitted to the origin location for the creation of shipping documents. At this point， the appropriate carrier segregates shipments. Carriers are then notified to make pick-ups via EDI， telephone， fax， or Internet. Carriers are asked to acknowledge receipt of the tender and confirm acceptance.
Merge-in-transit： The activity of moving goods or products manufactured from multiple plant locations to a single location nearby to the final delivery site for final assembly. The goods are not put in storage but consolidated into a single shipment to customer. Often， this is utilized in JIT environments.
MPG： Miles Per Gallon. Defined as the MPG assumption that dedicated contract carriage providers use in rating when fuel is included in pricing. Sometimes a MPG “peg” is used for billing purposes. In other cases fuel is left out of pricing and billed on a consumption basis at actual cost per gallon plus an administrative charge to cover purchasing and EPA issues. Shippers in these cases will need to make an assumption of MPG with the assistance of the provider to project total costs.
NMFC： National Motor Freight Classification. Refers to industry standard codes and transportation management software is designed to use standard packing codes instead of having to enter specific dimensions of boxes.
Long haul： Traditionally defined as the movements of freight requiring three or more days.
O/O： Owner-Operator. Defined usually as an individual who owns （or is financing their own equipment， sometimes with the assistance of a carrier） his/her tractor and sometimes trailer（s） as well. The O/O provides driving/equipment services to a carrier for a fee but bears the risks of maintenance， fuel expense， licensing， taxes， and other operating supplies. O/Os operate under the authority and liability insurance of the carrier.
OS & D： An acronym for over， short and damaged. This is used in conjunction with freight loss and damage claims.
Peddle Delivery： Term used to describe multiple stops being delivered from the same trailer or truck.
P.O.D： Proof of delivery such as a signed bill of lading or other form of receipt.
Regional Carrier： A carrier serving customers within a specific geographic region of the country， usually within a distance， which can be served overnight or in two days.
Routing： A process that selects how a shipment or load moves from origin to destination.
Routing Guide： A compilation of the instructions for carrier selection to ensure compliance by traffic personnel.
SCAC： In the USA， this term is the abbreviation for “Standard Carrier Alpha Code.” For example， the SCAC for Con-Way Transportation is CNWY. Short haul： The movement of freight requiring two days or less.
Sleeper teams： Pairs of drivers dispatched together in tractors that are equipped with a sleeping berth. Used in long haul movement of goods to maximize equipment utilization and transit speed.
Slipseat： Term used to describe the use of more than one driver per vehicle， but at different times or shifts during the day. This maximizes tractor utilization.
Spotting： Describes the act of placing a trailer at a loading dock or a parking place to be coupled with a tractor at a later time.
Static Routes： Truck movements based on data that is static or unchanging； the moves occur on a regular basis， the schedule （daily， weekly， monthly） is constantly repeated with no or little variation.
Tracking/Tracing： Once a shipment has been tendered and accepted by a carrier， periodic status updates are transmitted to a TMS system operated by Shipper or outsourcing partner. Visibility of shipments is maintained and status is monitored to assure transit time commitments. Tracing is conducted for the purpose of determining shipment disposition after the shipment has been completed.
Truckload： Traditionally defined as shipments weighing 10，000 pounds or more. Turnkey Delivery： A delivery made when a customer's employees are not present during unloading. Drivers are given keys to each stop and cargo is placed in a cage or limited access room and then locked. Also referred to as “unattended delivery”。
Tailgating Freight： Term used to describe a driver only being responsible to bring freight to the tailgate of each trailer or truck.
Time Definite/Critical Shipments： Shipments usually of an expedited nature and for which a commitment has been made for delivery at a specific time.
Windows： Not software. Refers to time slots or hours freight may be received either without exact time appointment or with exact time appointment within an overall time period each day.
The number one priority of today's transportation managers is ensuring that the right product arrives on time， at the correct location， without damage. More than one discipline contributes to the success of this action. Obviously， effective and efficient transportation is essential. However， this cannot be accomplished without appropriate Information Technology support on the part of the carrier and usually the shipper. IT is covered under Section 5 of this book.
Transportation consists of several forms or modes and effective as well as efficient mode selection is key to a successful logistics function. Modes under the strategic and usually tactical control of the transportation and/or logistics manager include air， water or ocean， truck， and rail. This Section deals with the various modes.
As a general benchmark， transportation averages approximately 3.5% of sales for a manufacturing company.
ASC： Advance Shipping Confirmation； objective is to accomplish this by EDI.
ASN： Advance Shipping Notification； objective is to accomplish this by EDI.
Assessorial： Additional charges or rates， not included in the base rate for carrier， contract carrier， and dedicated transportation services， such as stop pay， loading/unloading， additional drivers and equipment， and detention （waiting）。 Sometimes referred to as ancillary charges.
Axle Load： The maximum weight allowed on each axle of a truck， tractor， and trailer. Varies by country. In the U.S.， generally the limit is 12，000 pounds on the steering axle and 34，000 pounds on a tandem axle for highway transport.
Backhaul： A load of freight being returned close to the vehicles original point of origin or domicile. In a private fleet operation or dedicated carriage arrangement， this freight may consist of raw materials for the company's manufacturing plants or other freight owned by third parties that was secured through solicitation or brokers. The objective behind securing backhauls is to maximize vehicle utilization， which usually results in cost savings for the entire trip.
Bobtailing： Driving a tractor without a trailer. In some states a bobtail refers to a straight truck. See “deadheading”。
Breakbulk： Consolidation and distribution center； a facility which unloads and consolidates shipments received from other terminals or manufacturing plants， satellites as well as from other breakbulks.
Butthead： Two or more tractor/trailer units meet （from different origins） at a designated location to exchange loads and then return to their respective points of origin. Sometimes referred to as relay operations. Objective is to eliminate layovers of drivers and equipment.
Cabotage： USA Customs Service has altered rules that prohibited Canadian trucks from carrying freight back to Canada to allow Canadian trucks to carry freight if the trucks are returning to Canada or going to pick up cargo for export to Canada. Also， new guidelines allow freight that originates in Canada to be transported anywhere in the USA， regardless of what tractor hauls it.
Closed Loop System： A shipping pattern that brings all trucks or tractors back to their domicile on a regular basis.
Co-mingling： Mixing of compatible multi customer freight on the same trailer that has common origin/destination characteristics.
Consolidation： Consolidation of small shipments， under 10，000 lbs.， into truckload shipments. Also， consolidation of small package shipments into loads which can be dropped into hubs. Deadheading： Term used to describe driving a tractor without being attached to a trailer.
Dedicated Contract Carriage： Providing specific equipment， drivers， and other personnel， fleet management （usually including dispatchers） and route analysis services on a contractual basis for a specific shipper either as a stand-alone operation or as part of an integrated package of logistics services.
Delivery Windows： The time in which each customer will accept freight deliveries.
See “Windows.” Demurrage： Charges resulting from the detention of a cargo ship or ocean shipping container beyond scheduled departure time in the case of a ship or beyond the required return time of the container back to the pier/container depot.
Detention： Refers to drivers being detained at point of delivery by receiver or consignee. Most drivers are paid after a certain time period， such as one （1） or two （2） hours， after arrival at the appointment time at an hourly rate for detention per stop. See “Assessorial”。
Diversion： The stopping of a shipment at a point intermediate to the origin and planned destination and diverting the shipment to an unplanned destination at a different location.
DOT： Department of Transportation； federal and state DOT agencies regulate transportation， safety， maintenance activities and other improvements on state and federal facilities.
Drop & Hook： The act of delivering one trailer and picking up another trailer at the same location， without driver unloading.
Drug Testing： All CDL qualified drivers and employees that perform safety sensitive functions as described in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations will be subject to Controlled Substance and Alcohol testing. The types of tests required are pre-employment， post-accident， random， reasonable suspicion， return to duty and follow-up. The substances tested for are marijuana， cocaine， amphetamines， opiates， phencyclidine （PCP） and alcohol. Those employees that test positive will be referred to a Substance Abuse Professional （SAP） for assistance. See CDL in Section 4.
Dynamic Routing： Daily changes to meet demands of customers by maximizing loaded miles.
Expediting： A shipment that has to be delivered earlier than expected and/or a critical shipment， e.g. replacement part for down machinery， medical supplies， by utilizing a guaranteed service contracted to deliver the shipment via truck or air.
FAK： Freight All Kinds； refers to a LTL freight rate classification.
Fleet Sizing： The process by which you determine a particular customer's equipment needs by using historical data and computer generated analysis.
Freight Payment： The process of paying freight invoices by using a system that match-pays or a manual audit system， both of which checks rates and other cost factors. The data is transferred to an accounting system that records coding and produces checks.
Fuel Adjustments： Adjustments made weekly or monthly to dedicated transportation customers for the actual cost of fuel used. Adjustments are made by using a “Fuel Peg” as a base cost in contract and by using the diesel fuel index as published in Transport Topics， or the actual cost increase over the base.
Fuel surcharge： Charges made to shippers to recoup fuel cost increases in periods of fuel price volatility.
Fuel Peg： This refers to the initial price of fuel used for a dedicated transportation customer in pricing. Adjustments are made up or down when pegged price is compared to the actual price of fuel paid for a particular period. A “zero” fuel peg is defined as a pass through of fuel cost to the customer. Carriers use a fuel surcharge mechanism.
General Freight： All commodities except household goods， refrigerated goods， bulk commodities or commodities requiring specialized equipment （e.g. heavy machinery trailers or armored trucks）。
GRI： Stands for general rate increases. In the USA， regional rate bureaus prepare proposals annually for GRIs that begins a process for member truck carriers. Usually， the GRIs are effective October 1 of each year.
Headload： A shipment placed in the nose of a trailer that is destined to a different delivery point then the remainder of the load. A headload is common in a multiple hub and spoke environment.
IFF： International Freight Forwarders； provides service of securing vessel space， payment of freight charges， shipment consolidation， document preparation， and a variety of other services. Many IFFs use EDI systems.
Imbalance： Uneven freight flow into or out of a particular geographic area resulting in either a surplus or shortage of truck equipment.
IMC： Intermodal marketing company. Intermodal： This is defined as the movement of freight containers using a combination of transport modes， I.e. truck， rails， ocean and air transportation.
Intermodal Transportation Glossary
ALM： Air Landbridge. Similar to MLB， except that air is used to ship from West Coast U.S. to an Eastern U.S. city. All-In： All-inclusive. This is defined as the total price of moving a container from origin to destination， inclusive of assessorial charges.
Cargo Tonnage： The weight ton in the U.S. is the short ton or 2，000 pounds. In British countries it is the English long ton or gross ton at 2，240 pounds. In France and other countries using the metric system， the weight ton is 2，204.62 pounds. The measurement ton is 40 cubic feet.
Cabotage： Water transportation term applicable to shipments between ports of a nation. Commonly refers to coast-wide navigation or trade. Cabotage laws require domestic vessels to provide domestic interport service.
Demurrage Free Time： The amount of time in the tariff， usually in days， that shipper or consignee may allow the carrier's equipment to remain at the rail ramp without incurring a penalty charge.
Intermodal Transport： Moving ocean freight containers by various transportation modes. The fact that the containers are of standardized size and have common handling characteristics enables them to be transferred from truck to railroad to air carrier to ocean carrier.
Landbridge： Movement of cargo by water from one country through the port of another country， thence， using rail or truck， to an inland point in that country or to a third country.
Landed Cost： The total cost of goods to a buyer， including the cost of all transportation.
LCL： Less than container load. Defined as the quantity of freight less than that required for the application of a container load rate. LD： Lower deck. A type of air container used for cargo stowed in lower deck compartments of passenger or freighter airplanes. Lloyds' Registry： An organization maintained for the surveying and classing of ships so that insurance underwriters and others may know the quality and condition of the vessels offered for insurance or employment.
MLB： Mini Land Bridge. An intermodal system for transporting containers by ocean and then by rail or truck to a port previously served as an all-water move （e.g.， Hong Kong to New York over San Pedro）。
Mini-Bridge： Cargo moving on one bill of lading from a foreign port through two U.S. ports and to an inland destination.
Minimum Bill of Lading： Ocean bills of lading are known as minimum because they contain a clause that specifies the least charge that the carrier will make for issuing a lading. The charge may be a definite sum or the current charge per ton for any specified quantity.
Mixed Container Load： A container load of different articles in a single consignment. A specific shipping rate will be applied to such a load.
NVOCC： Non-vessel Operating Common Carrier. Defined as a cargo consolidator of small shipments in the ocean trade. This carrier solicits business and arranges for containerization functions at the port. For example， an NVOCC will buy space from APL and sub-sell it to small shippers.
Unit Train： A train of a specified number of railcars， perhaps 100， which remain as a unit for a designated destination or until a change in routing is made. Irregular
Routes： Routes that have no set pattern. These routes may change from time to time without notice； customer requirements dictate scheduling and therefore route change constantly.
Lane Balancing： The process of matching loads to empty lanes of travel for a particular customer. This is similar to backhauling.
Lane/Mode Optimization： A transportation redesign that selects optimal modes， lanes， and amounts of transportation to maximize customer benefit in a given situation.
Layover： Refers to a driver waiting overnight or over an extended period of time for a delivery or pickup. Driver may also have to layover because the driver is out of service hours as dictated by DOT regulations.
LTP： Lead Transportation Provider. Also referred to as Lead Logistics Provider depending on scope. Involves a third party provider that manages all or most of a company's freight movements including carriers and private fleets， utilizes all modes， and optimizes， consolidates and deploys other methods to reduce cost and improve customer service.
Less-than-truckload （LTL）： Shipments weighing less than 10，000 pounds each. Many LTL shipments weigh less than 500 pounds； most are below 1，000 pounds. Three quarters or more of business is short-haul， either overnight or second AM deliveries —— maximum 2 to 3 days.
Line-Haul： Transportation from one city to another as distinguished from a local cartage company.
Live Delivery： A delivery made when customer's employee's are present while freight is being unloaded （opposite of turnkey）。 Driver waits for unloading to be completed and may or may not assist.
Live Load： Loading of a trailer while the driver waits for the loading to be completed.
Load Tendering/Acceptance： Information relative to carrier selection can be transmitted to the origin location for the creation of shipping documents. At this point， the appropriate carrier segregates shipments. Carriers are then notified to make pick-ups via EDI， telephone， fax， or Internet. Carriers are asked to acknowledge receipt of the tender and confirm acceptance.
Merge-in-transit： The activity of moving goods or products manufactured from multiple plant locations to a single location nearby to the final delivery site for final assembly. The goods are not put in storage but consolidated into a single shipment to customer. Often， this is utilized in JIT environments.
MPG： Miles Per Gallon. Defined as the MPG assumption that dedicated contract carriage providers use in rating when fuel is included in pricing. Sometimes a MPG “peg” is used for billing purposes. In other cases fuel is left out of pricing and billed on a consumption basis at actual cost per gallon plus an administrative charge to cover purchasing and EPA issues. Shippers in these cases will need to make an assumption of MPG with the assistance of the provider to project total costs.
NMFC： National Motor Freight Classification. Refers to industry standard codes and transportation management software is designed to use standard packing codes instead of having to enter specific dimensions of boxes.
Long haul： Traditionally defined as the movements of freight requiring three or more days.
O/O： Owner-Operator. Defined usually as an individual who owns （or is financing their own equipment， sometimes with the assistance of a carrier） his/her tractor and sometimes trailer（s） as well. The O/O provides driving/equipment services to a carrier for a fee but bears the risks of maintenance， fuel expense， licensing， taxes， and other operating supplies. O/Os operate under the authority and liability insurance of the carrier.
OS & D： An acronym for over， short and damaged. This is used in conjunction with freight loss and damage claims.
Peddle Delivery： Term used to describe multiple stops being delivered from the same trailer or truck.
P.O.D： Proof of delivery such as a signed bill of lading or other form of receipt.
Regional Carrier： A carrier serving customers within a specific geographic region of the country， usually within a distance， which can be served overnight or in two days.
Routing： A process that selects how a shipment or load moves from origin to destination.
Routing Guide： A compilation of the instructions for carrier selection to ensure compliance by traffic personnel.
SCAC： In the USA， this term is the abbreviation for “Standard Carrier Alpha Code.” For example， the SCAC for Con-Way Transportation is CNWY. Short haul： The movement of freight requiring two days or less.
Sleeper teams： Pairs of drivers dispatched together in tractors that are equipped with a sleeping berth. Used in long haul movement of goods to maximize equipment utilization and transit speed.
Slipseat： Term used to describe the use of more than one driver per vehicle， but at different times or shifts during the day. This maximizes tractor utilization.
Spotting： Describes the act of placing a trailer at a loading dock or a parking place to be coupled with a tractor at a later time.
Static Routes： Truck movements based on data that is static or unchanging； the moves occur on a regular basis， the schedule （daily， weekly， monthly） is constantly repeated with no or little variation.
Tracking/Tracing： Once a shipment has been tendered and accepted by a carrier， periodic status updates are transmitted to a TMS system operated by Shipper or outsourcing partner. Visibility of shipments is maintained and status is monitored to assure transit time commitments. Tracing is conducted for the purpose of determining shipment disposition after the shipment has been completed.
Truckload： Traditionally defined as shipments weighing 10，000 pounds or more. Turnkey Delivery： A delivery made when a customer's employees are not present during unloading. Drivers are given keys to each stop and cargo is placed in a cage or limited access room and then locked. Also referred to as “unattended delivery”。
Tailgating Freight： Term used to describe a driver only being responsible to bring freight to the tailgate of each trailer or truck.
Time Definite/Critical Shipments： Shipments usually of an expedited nature and for which a commitment has been made for delivery at a specific time.
Windows： Not software. Refers to time slots or hours freight may be received either without exact time appointment or with exact time appointment within an overall time period each day.