| Economic Order Quantity
(EOQ) |
An inventory model
that determines how much to order based upon the minimization of the total
costs of ordering and holding the items ordered. |
| Economies of Scale |
The reduction in
long run average cost as the size (scale) of the company increases. |
| Edge Protector |
An angle piece fitted
over the edge of boxes, crates, bundles and other packages to prevent
the pressure from metal bands or other types from cutting into the package. |
| Embargo |
An order issued
by a carrier or regulatory body which restricts the handling of freight. |
| Equipment Interchange
Receipt/ E.I.R. |
A form used by the
parties delivering or receiving containers and container equipment. It
is used for equipment control and damage purposes- Synonymous with T.I.R.
(Trailer Interchange Receipt). |
| Exception Rate |
A deviation from
the class rate; charges are made to the classification. |
| Exclusive Patronage
Agreements |
A shipper agrees
to use only member liner firms of a conference in return for a 10 to 15
percent rate reduction. |
| Exclusive Use |
Carrier vehicles
that are assigned to a specific shipper for its exclusive use. |
| Exempt Carrier |
A for-hire carrier
that is exempt from economic regulations. |
| Expediting |
Determining where
a shipment is in transit and attempting to speed up its delivery. |
| Export Declaration |
A document required
by the Department of Commerce that provides information as to the nature,
value, etc., of export activity. |
| Export Sales Contract |
The initial document
in any international transaction; it details the specifics of the sales
agreement between the buyer and seller. |
| Fair Return |
A level of profit
that enables a carrier to realize a rate of return on investment or property
value that the regulatory agencies deem acceptable for that level of risk. |
| Fair Value |
The value of the
carrier's property; the basis of calculation has included original cost
minus depreciation, replacement cost, and market value. |
| F.A.K. |
"Freight All
Kind" |
| F.C.I. |
"Full Container
Load." The maximum permissible weight for the value of the cargo
carried in a container. |
| Federal Aviation
Administration |
The federal agency
charged with administering federal safety regulations governing air transportation. |
| Federal Maritime
Commission |
A regulatory agency
that controls services, practices, and agreements of international water
common carriers and noncontiguous domestic water carriers. |
| Feeder Service |
Coastal movements
of loaded/empty containers on board smaller container vessels which coordinate
with a "mother ship" for the ocean voyage. |
| Field Warehouse |
A warehouse on the
property of the owner of the goods that stores the goods that are under
the custody of a bona fide public warehouse manager. The public warehouse
receipt is used as collateral for a loan. |
| Finance Lease |
An equipment-leasing
arrangement that provides the lessee with a means of financing for the
leased equipment; a common method for leasing motor carrier trailers. |
| Flash Vessels |
(Feeder LASH vessels).
Shallow draft vessels suitable to carry 8 to 15 LASH barges at a time
which are towed by seagoing vessels. |
| Flat Rack Container |
A container with
no sides and frame members at the front and rear of the container. Container
can be loaded from the sides and top. |
| Fixed Costs |
A cost which does
not fluctuate with the volume of business in the short run. |
| Flag of Convenience |
A shipowner registers
a ship in a nation that offers conveniences in the areas of taxes, manning,
and safety requirements. Liberia and Panama are two nations known for
flags of convenience. |
| Flatcar |
A railcar without
sides; used for hauling machinery. |
| Flexible-path Equipment |
Materials handling
devices that include hand trucks and forklifts. |
| Floor Loading |
The static and dynamic
load concentrated on the floor by cargo payload and combined with any
handling when it is used. |
| FOB |
A term of sale that
defines who is to incur transportation charges for the shipment, who is
to control the movement of the shipment, or where title to the goods passes
to the buyer; originally meant "free on board" ship. |
| Fore & Aft |
The direction on
a vessel parallel to the centerline. |
| For-Hire Carrier |
A carrier that provides
transportation services to the public on a fee basis. |
| Forklift Pockets
(F.L.P.) |
Channel openings
located in the side of containers for the entry of forklift trucks. |
| Forklift Truck |
A machine-powered
device that is used to raise and lower freight and to move freight to
different warehouse locations. |
| Form Utility |
The value created
in a good by changing its form, through the production process. |
| Four-Way Pallet |
A pallet so designed
that the forks of a forklift truck can be inserted from all four sides. |
| Free Time |
The amount of time
allowed by a carrier for the loading or unloading of freight at the expiration
of which demurrage or detention charges will accrue. |
| Freight Bill |
The carrier's invoice
for transportation charges applicable to a freight shipment. |
| Freight Forwarder |
A carrier that collects
small shipments from shippers, consolidates the small shipments and uses
a basic mode to transport these consolidated shipments to a destination
where the freight forwarder delivers the shipment to the consignee. |
| Freight Forwarder's
Institute |
The freight forwarder
industry association. |
| F.R.P. |
Fiberglass Reinforced
Plastic. |
| Full Service Leasing |
An equipment leasing
arrangement that includes a variety of services to support the leased
equipment; a common method for leasing motor carrier tractors. |
| Fully Allocated
Cost |
The variable cost
associated with a particular unit of output plus an allocation of common
cost. |
| Gallons |
One U.S. gallon
equals 231 cu. in. or 0.1337 cu. ft. |
| G. Force |
Acceleration of
mass due to gravity. 32 feet per sec., (g x mass) = g force, e.g., 8G
x 3 ton load = G force of 24 tons. |
| General Commodities
Carrier |
A common motor carrier
that has operating authority to transport general commodities, or all
commodities not listed as special commodities. |
| General-Merchandise
Warehouse |
A warehouse that
is used to store goods that are readily handled, are packaged, and do
not require a controlled environment. |
| Gondola |
A railcar with a
flat platform and sides 3 to 5 feet high; used for top loading of items
that are long and heavy. |
| Gooseneck |
The front rails
of the chassis that raise above the plane of the chassis and engage in
the tunnel of a container. |
| Grandfather Clause |
A provision that
enabled motor carriers engaged in lawful trucking operations prior to
the passage of the Motor Carrier Act of 1935 to secure common carrier
authority without proving public convenience and vecessity: a similiar
provision exists for other modes. |
| Great Lakes Carriers |
Water carriers that
operate on the five Great Lakes. |
| Grid Technique |
A quantitative technique
to determine the least cost center, given raw material sources and markets,
for locating a plant or warehouse. |
| Gross National Product
(GNP) |
A measure of a nations
output; the total value of all final goods and services produced during
a period of time. |
| Guranteed Loans |
The federal government
cosigned and guranteed repayment of loans made to railroads. |
| Gross Weight |
The combined weight
of a container, its payload and any other loose internal fittings. |
| G.R.P. |
A British term meaning:
Glass Reinforced Plastic Container. Synonymous with "F.R.P." |
| G.V.W. |
Gross Vehicle Weight.
The combined total weight of a vehicle and its container inclusive of
prime mover. |
| Half-Height Container |
An open-top container
fitted with or without soft or hard cover, ranging between 4' and 4'3"
in height. |
| Hard-Top Container |
A closed container
fitted with a roof that can be opened or lifted off. |
| Hazardous Materials |
Materials determined
by the Department of Transportation to be a risk to health, safety, and
property; including such items as explosives, flammable liquids, poisons,
corrosive liquids, and radioactive material. |
| Header Bar |
A beam or a bar
that may be swung to one side or removed to improve access. It is usually
found above the end doors of an open-top container. |
| High Cube |
Any container that
exceeds 8'6" (102 inches) in height. |
| Household Goods
Warehouse |
A warehouse that
is used to store household goods. |
| House-to-House |
See: "Door
to Door." |
| House-to-Pier |
Designates a cargo
that is loaded into a container by the shipper in an area under his supervision.
When the cargo is exported, it is unloaded at the foreign pier destination. |
| Hub Airport |
An airport that
serves as the focal point for origin and termination of long-distance
flights; flights from outlying areas are fed into the hub airport for
connecting flights. |
| Humping |
The process of connecting
a moving railcar with a motionless railcar which results in a force of
great magnitude and shock. |
| Hundreweight (cwt) |
The pricing unit
used in transportation: a hundredweight is ezual to 100 pounds. |
| Igloos |
Pallets and containers
used in air transportation; the igloo shape is designed to fit the internal
wall contours of a narrow body airplane. |
| IMCO |
International Maritime
Consultative Organization. A forum in which most major maritime nations
participate and through which recommendations for the carriage of dagerous
goods, bulk commodities, and maritime regulations become internationally
acceptable. |
| Incentive Rate |
A rate designed
to induce the shipper to ship heavier volumes per shipment. |
| Inflatable Dunnage |
Flexible bags usually
made from vinyl material that can be inflated within void spaces of a
stow so as to prevent movement of the cargo. |
| Inherent Advantage |
The cost and service
benefits belonging to the different modes. |
| Inland Carrier |
A transportation
line that hauls export or import traffic between ports and inland points. |
| Insulated Container |
A container insulated
on the walls, roof, floor, and doors, so as to reduce the effect of external
temperatures on the cargo. |
| Insulated Tank Container |
The frame of a container
constructed to hold one or more thermally insulated tanks for liquids. |
| Integrated Tow Barge |
A series of barges
that are connected together to operate as one unit. |
| Interchange |
The transfer of
cargo and equipment from one carrier to another in a joint freight move. |
| Intercoastal Carriers |
Water carriers that
transport freight between the east and west coast ports usually by way
of the Panama Canal. |
| Intercorporate Hauling |
A private carrier
hauling goods of a subsidiary and charging the subsidiary a fee; this
is legal if the subsidiary is wholly owned (100 percent) or the private
carrier has common carrier authority. |
| Interline |
Two or more motor
carriers working together to haul the shipment to a destination. Carrier
equipment may be interchaged from one carrier to the next, but usually
the shipment is rehandled without the equipment. |
| Interline Agreement |
An agreement between
two or more transportation lines through which cargo or equipment is interchanged. |
| Interline Freight |
Freight moving from
one point of origin to destination over the lines of two or more transportation
lines. |
| Intermittent-flow,
Fixed-path Equipment |
Materials handling
devices that include cranes, monorails, and stacker cranes. |
| Intermodal Transport |
The capability of
interchange of freight containers among the various transportation modes.
The fact that the containers are of the same size, and have common handling
characteristics, permits them to be transfered from truck to railroad
to air carrier to ocean carrier, in a complete origin-to-destination movement. |
| Internal Water Carriers |
Water carriers that
operate over the internal, navigable rivers such as Mississippi, Ohio,
and Missouri |
| International Air
Transportation Association |
An international
air carrier rate bureau for passengers and freight movements. |
| International Civil
Aeronautics Organization |
An international
agenct responsible for air safety and standardizing air traffic control,
airport design, and safety features worldwide. |
| Interstate Commerce |
The transportation
of persons or property between states; in the course of the movement,
the shipment crosses a state boundary line. |
| Interstate System |
The National System
of Interstate and Defense Highways, 42,800 miles of four or more lane
limited access roads connecting major population centers. |
| Intrastate Commerce |
The transportation
of persons or property between two points within a state may be interstate
if the shipment had a prior or subsequent move outside of the state and
the intent of the shipper was an interstate shipment at the time of shipment. |
| Inventory |
The number of units
and/or value of the stock of goods held. |
| Inventory Cost |
The cost of holding
goods; usually expressed as a percentage of the value of the inventory;
includes the cost of capital, warehousing, taxes, insurance, depreciation,
and obsolescence. |
| Inventory in Transit |
Inventory that is
in the possession of a carrier, being transported to the buyer. |
| Irregular Route
Carrier |
A motor carrier
that is permitted to provide service using any route. |
| I.S.O. |
Organization for
International Standards. |
| Joint Cost |
A type of common
cost where products are produced in fixed proportion, and the cost incurred
to produe one product necessarily entails the production of another, the
backhaul is an example. |
| Joint Rate |
A rate over a route
that involves two or more carriers to transport the shipment. |
| Just-In-Time Inventory
System |
An inventory control
system that attempts to reduce inventory levels by coordinating demand
and supply to the point where the item desired arrives just in time for
use. |
| Kanban |
A just-in-time inventory
system used by Japanese manufacturers. |
| King-Pin |
A coupling pin centered
on the front underside of a chassis that couples to the tractor. |
| Landing |
The carge carried
in a transportation vehicle. |
| Laid-Down Cost |
The total cost of
a product delivered at a given location; the cost of production plus the
transportation cost to the customer's location. |
| Landbridge |
A joint water, rail
or truck container move from one foreign port to another foreign port
through the United States. |
| Landing Gear |
A support fitted
on the front part of a chassis (which is retractable) used to support
the front end of a chassis when the tractor has been removed. |
| Lash |
To bind with a rope,
cord, strap, or chain. |
| LASH |
Lighter-Aboard-Ship
vessels. Vessels equipped with an overhead crane capable of lifting LASH
barges and stowing them into cellular slots in athwartship position. |
| Latticed-Sided Container |
An open or closed
container fitted with at least one side consisting of elements with openings
between them. |
| LCL |
Less-than-Containerload.
A container that is loaded with consignments of cargo for more than one
consignee or for more than one shipper. |
| Lead Time |
The total time that
elapses from placement of an order until receipt. It includes the time
required for order transmittal, order, processing, order preparation,
and transit. |
| Legal Weight |
The weight of goods
and interior packing, but not the container (a term used in foreign trade).
A maximum weight limitation for a total highway unit that is established
by highway authorities, which, when wxceeded, may subject carriers to
fines or impounding of vehicles. |
| Lessee |
A person or firm
to whom a lease is granted. |
| Lessor |
A person or firm
that grants a lease. |
| Letter of Credit |
An international
musiness document that assures the seller that payment will be made by
the bank issuing the letter of credit upon fullfillment of the sales agreement. |
| Lighter |
A flat-bottom boat
designed for cross-harbor or inland waterway freight transfer. |
| Line Functions |
The decision making
areas associated with daily operations. Logistics line functions include
traffic management, inventory control, order processing, warehousing,
and packaging. |
| Line-Haul |
The movement of
freight over the road from one town or city (usually at a long distance)
to another town or city. |
| Liner Service |
International water
carriers that ply fixed routes on published schedules. |
| Link |
The transportation
method used to connect the nodes (plants, warehouses) in a logistics system. |
| List |
The amount in degrees
that a vessel tilts from the vertical. |
| Little Inch |
A federally built
pipeline constructed during World War II that connected Corpus Christi
and Houston, Texas. |
| Load Factor |
A measure of operating
efficiency used by air carriers to determine the percentage of a plane's
capacity that is utilized, or: number of passengers/total number of seats. |
| Local
Rate |
A rate published between two
points served by one carrier. |
| Local Service Carriers |
An air carrier classification
of carriers that operate between areas of lesser and major population
centers. These carriers feed passengers into the major cities to connect
with trunk (major) carriers. Local service carriers are now classified
as national carriers. |
| Locational Determinant |
The factors that
determine the location of a facility. For industrial facilities, the determinants
include logistics. |
| Locking Bar |
Device that secures
container doors at top and bottom. |
| Logbook |
A daily record of
the hours an interstate driver spends driving, off duty, sleeping in the
berth, or on duty but not driving. |
| Logistics Channel |
The network of intermediaries
engaged in transfer, storage, handling, and communications functions that
contribute to the efficient flow of goods. |
| Logistics Data Interchange
(LDI) |
A computerized system
to electronically transmit logistics information. |
| Long Ton |
2,240 pounds. |
| Lot Size |
The quantity of
goods purchased or produced in anticipation of use or sale in the future. |
| LTL |
Less-than-truckload,
a shipment weighing less than the minimum weight needed to use the lower
truckload rate. |
| Lumping |
A term applied to
a person who assists a motor carrier owner-operator in the loading and
unloading of property; quite commonly used in the food industry. |
