Freight shipping glossary

A freight broker is a licensed intermediary that arranges transportation between shippers and carriers without owning trucks, matching freight to capacity.

FTL (full-truckload) shipping dedicates an entire trailer to a single shipper, used for large loads or when speed and minimal handling matter.

LTL (less-than-truckload) shipping combines freight from multiple shippers on one trailer, so you pay only for the space your pallets use.

A bill of lading (BOL) is the legal shipping document that acts as the contract of carriage, a receipt for the goods, and a document of title between shipper and carrier.

The BOL is the shipping contract created before pickup; the PRO number is the carrier’s tracking ID assigned when they take the freight — two different references for the same shipment.

A proof of delivery (POD) is the signed document confirming the consignee received a shipment, including the date, time, signature, and any noted damage or shortage.

Dimensional (DIM) weight prices a shipment by the space it occupies rather than its actual weight, so light-but-bulky freight is billed on volume.

Freight class is a standardized rating from 50 to 500 that determines LTL pricing, driven mainly by a shipment’s density along with handling, stowability, and liability.

Freight density is a shipment’s weight divided by its volume in pounds per cubic foot — the primary factor that determines its LTL freight class.

Hazmat (hazardous materials) are goods regulated by the U.S. DOT for their risk in transport, requiring special classification, packaging, labeling, documentation, and placarding.

An NMFC code is the standardized commodity number from the National Motor Freight Classification that identifies what you are shipping and maps it to a freight class.

An accessorial is an extra carrier fee for any service beyond standard dock-to-dock pickup and delivery — for example liftgate, residential, or inside delivery.

Detention is a fee charged when a driver is held at a pickup or delivery site longer than the allotted free time — usually about two hours — waiting to load or unload.

A fuel surcharge (FSC) is a variable percentage carriers add to the base rate to offset diesel price swings, updated regularly against a national fuel index.

A liftgate is a hydraulic platform on the back of a truck that raises and lowers freight to ground level when no loading dock or forklift is available.

Residential delivery is an accessorial for delivering to (or picking up from) a location classified as residential, which carriers bill because homes lack docks and add routing complexity.

A PRO number is the unique tracking identifier a carrier assigns to an LTL shipment, used to track it from pickup through delivery.

A SCAC (Standard Carrier Alpha Code) is a unique two-to-four-letter code that identifies a transportation carrier on bills of lading, EDI messages, and shipping documents.

A reclassification (reclass) is a carrier’s post-pickup change to a shipment’s freight class after an inspection finds the billed class or NMFC was inaccurate — usually increasing the cost.

A reweigh is a carrier’s re-measurement of a shipment’s weight after pickup; if it differs from the billed weight, the carrier adjusts the charges.