Freight and Logistics Terminology

A collection of flashcards defining key terminology in freight, logistics, and trucking operations.

What are goods or products being transported from one place to another called?

Freight

Who is a licensed intermediary who connects shippers with carriers and coordinates transportation?

Broker

What is a person or company that arranges transportation between a shipper and a carrier without owning the trucks?

Freight Broker

Who is the company or person that needs freight transported?

Shipper

What is the term for the trucking company or owner-operator that physically transports the freight?

Carrier

Who is the person or business receiving the shipment?

Consignee

What is a shipment of freight that needs to be transported called?

Load

What is an online marketplace where brokers post available freight and carriers search for loads?

Load Board

What is the route between the pickup location and the delivery location?

Lane

What is the process of assigning a driver and truck to transport a load?

Dispatch

Who is the person responsible for assigning loads to drivers and coordinating schedules?

Dispatcher

What is a truck driver who owns and operates their own truck?

Owner-Operator

What refers to a group of trucks owned or operated by one company?

Fleet

What type of enclosed trailer is used for transporting general freight?

Dry Van

What is an open trailer used for oversized or unusually shaped cargo?

Flatbed

What is a refrigerated trailer used to transport temperature-sensitive freight?

Reefer

What is freight that shares trailer space with shipments from other customers called?

LTL (Less-Than-Truckload)

What is a shipment that fills an entire trailer or is moved exclusively for one customer?

FTL (Full Truckload)

What is the location where the freight is collected?

Pickup

What is the location where the freight is unloaded?

Delivery

What is the amount of time required for freight to travel from pickup to delivery?

Transit Time

What is a return load that keeps a truck loaded on its trip back instead of traveling empty?

Backhaul

What is the term for driving an empty truck without a load?

Deadhead

What is a regularly scheduled shipping route used repeatedly by the same customer?

Dedicated Lane

What refers to the number of trucks available to move freight?

Capacity

What is an offer made by a shipper to a carrier or broker to transport a load?

Tender

What is the estimated price to move a shipment?

Freight Quote

What is the agreed-upon price for transporting freight?

Rate

What document confirms the agreed rate and shipment details between the broker and carrier?

Rate Confirmation

What is the difference between what the shipper pays and what the broker pays the carrier?

Margin