Thirty working terms from the freight, customs and procurement floor — written for people who have to book the shipment, not for a compliance manual. Entries are tuned to how the terms are used on a live desk, not just what the acronym expands to.
Advance Shipment Notice (ASN)
An electronic notification a shipper sends to a consignee listing what is arriving, in what quantities, in which cartons and on which pallets. For retail, the ASN (EDI 856) is the record the retailer's DC books against — a late or malformed ASN is one of the most common chargeback sources.
Air Waybill (AWB)
The contract of carriage and tracking document for an air shipment. Issued by the airline (master AWB) or by a consolidating forwarder (house AWB). Non-negotiable — unlike an ocean bill of lading, the AWB does not convey title to the goods.
Bill of Lading (B/L)
The contract of carriage for an ocean shipment and, in its negotiable form, a document of title. Comes in master (carrier-issued) and house (forwarder-issued) forms. "Original" B/L vs. "express release" / "telex release" is a routine topic on letter-of-credit shipments.
Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF)
A surcharge that adjusts the ocean freight rate to reflect current fuel prices. Published by carriers on their own methodology; sometimes renamed (LSS, ECAF, etc.) but economically similar. Read the contract clause — "carrier's reasonable discretion" without a formula is a variable-rate contract in disguise.
Beneficial Cargo Owner (BCO)
The actual owner of the goods being shipped — as opposed to an NVOCC or forwarder handling the shipment on the owner's behalf. Ocean carriers run dedicated BCO programmes at different rate structures from forwarder programmes.
Cross-dock
A facility move where inbound cargo is received on one dock, re-palletised or resorted, and loaded straight onto outbound trucks — without going to putaway storage. Used to split a container into retailer-specific pallets or to consolidate multiple origin shipments onto one outbound load.
C-TPAT
Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. A voluntary US CBP programme whose members meet supply-chain security standards and receive expedited processing at the border. Large retailers often require their vendors and forwarders to be C-TPAT certified.
Demurrage
A charge levied by the ocean carrier or terminal for a container that remains at the port beyond its free time. Typically billed per day per container. Distinct from detention — demurrage is for containers at the port, detention is for containers off-port.
Detention
A charge for a container that is kept off-port (at a shipper's or consignee's yard) beyond the free time allowed for loading or unloading. Like demurrage, billed per day per container. Often negotiable at contract signing; almost never negotiable after the clock has started running.
Drayage
The short-distance trucking move between a port or rail terminal and a warehouse or 3PL. Priced per move, with surcharges for chassis split, pre-pull, storage, and fuel. Often the most expensive per-mile leg of an end-to-end shipment.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
A family of structured-message standards for exchanging business documents between trading partners. Common freight transactions: 850 (purchase order), 855 (PO acknowledgement), 856 (ASN), 810 (invoice), 997 (functional acknowledgement). Runs over a VAN or AS2 connection.
Full Container Load (FCL)
A shipment that fills a full container — 20' (TEU) or 40' (FEU), standard or high-cube. Priced per container, not per volume or weight. Preferred when cargo volume justifies it: fewer handling touches, cleaner customs, usually cheaper per unit than LCL above a certain threshold.
Freight forwarder
A logistics company that arranges the movement of goods on behalf of a shipper — booking space with carriers, preparing documents, handling customs clearance, and coordinating inland legs. Forwarders are agents for the shipper, not carriers themselves; their liability is typically limited by their own terms and by CMR/Hague-Visby conventions.
General Rate Increase (GRI)
An across-the-board increase in base ocean freight rates applied by carriers to a trade lane, usually at the beginning of a month. Announced in advance; sometimes absorbed, partially applied, or rolled back depending on demand. Contracted BCOs with locked rates are largely insulated; spot shippers feel it directly.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)
The coded classification system used to determine the duty rate on imported goods. Ten digits in the US; the first six are the international Harmonized System (HS), the last four are US-specific. Misclassification is one of the most common and most expensive customs errors.
Importer Security Filing (ISF)
Also known as "10+2". A CBP filing required for ocean shipments to the US: ten data elements from the importer and two from the carrier, due 24 hours before vessel loading at origin. A late or missing ISF carries a liquidated-damages penalty of up to US$5,000 per shipment.
Incoterms
The International Chamber of Commerce's standardised trade terms defining cost and risk allocation between buyer and seller on an international shipment. Current edition: Incoterms 2020, eleven rules (EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU, DDP for any mode; FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF for sea only).
Less-than-Container-Load (LCL)
An ocean shipment that does not fill a container and is consolidated with other shippers' cargo into a shared container. Priced per cubic metre or per revenue ton, whichever is greater. More expensive per unit than FCL, but the right choice when volume is below the LCL/FCL break-even for the lane.
Less-than-Truckload (LTL)
A domestic trucking shipment that does not fill a trailer, consolidated with other shippers' freight. Priced on class, weight, dimensions and origin/destination pair. LTL carriers use their own hub-and-spoke networks; transit is longer than FTL and handling is heavier.
Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC)
A carrier that issues its own bills of lading and contracts with ocean carriers for space, but does not operate ships. Legally a common carrier, with FMC bond requirements in the US. Many shippers encounter an NVOCC without realising it — the "carrier" on the B/L is often an NVOCC, not the actual ocean line.
On-Time In-Full (OTIF)
A retailer vendor-scorecard metric combining on-time arrival and complete order fulfilment. Missing either threshold usually triggers a chargeback. Walmart, Target and Kroger OTIF programmes all look similar in structure but differ in thresholds and dispute processes.
Peak Season Surcharge (PSS)
An ocean-freight surcharge applied during high-demand periods, typically August through October on trans-Pacific. Announced per-lane, per-container-type. Like GRIs, contracted BCOs can sometimes negotiate caps or exclusions; spot shippers absorb it.
Proof of Delivery (POD)
A signed or electronically-captured record that cargo was delivered, usually by the receiving party at the door. The POD is the document that closes out the shipment and starts any claims clock. Missing or illegible PODs are a common driver of disputed invoices.
Purchase Order (PO)
The document that authorises a supplier to produce and ship against specified quantities, prices and delivery terms. In freight, the PO is the anchor that ties shipments, commercial invoices, customs entries and AP invoices back to the same commercial commitment.
Reefer
A refrigerated container or truck — "reefer" is the industry shorthand. Comes in ocean (40' reefer) and domestic trucking varieties. Priced higher than dry equipment, with additional genset and fuel charges; requires temperature log and cold-chain handling throughout.
Routing guide
A retailer-issued document specifying how vendors must ship into their DCs: approved carriers, label formats, pallet specifications, ASN requirements, appointment windows, and packing standards. Routing-guide compliance determines whether a shipment is received clean or hit with a chargeback.
SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
A unique identifier for a product variant — a specific colour, size or configuration. Distinct from the product code (which often identifies the style family) and from the UPC (which identifies the retail unit). Freight planning is almost always at SKU level; ordering is often at style level.
Tender
In freight, a formal request for capacity on a lane — used interchangeably with RFP in most contexts. In trucking, also the specific instruction issued from a shipper to a carrier for a named load, which the carrier accepts or declines. A "tender acceptance rate" is a standard carrier-scorecard metric.
TEU / FEU
Twenty-foot equivalent unit / forty-foot equivalent unit. The standard container-capacity measures — a 20' container is 1 TEU, a 40' is 2 TEU or 1 FEU. Ocean carriers report capacity, volume and price in TEUs; most shipper-facing pricing is per FEU.
Truckload (FTL)
A domestic trucking shipment that fills a full trailer, priced per load. Faster and simpler than LTL — one pickup, one delivery, minimal handling — and usually cheaper per unit above a certain weight or volume threshold.