| Major Carrier |
A for-hire certificated
air carrier that has annual operating revenues of $1 billion or more,
the carrier usually operates between major population centers. |
| Manifest |
A list of all cargos
on a vessel. The specifications of a cargo made out and signed by the
master of a ship. |
| Manufaturer's Particulars |
A plates describing
the name and address of the container manufacturer and particulars of
the containers. (Data Plate) |
| Marine Insurance |
Insurance to protect
against cargo loss and damage when shipping by water transportation. |
| Maritime Administration |
A federal agency
that promotes the merchant marine, determines ocean ship routes and services
equipment, and awards maritime subsidies. |
| Material Handling
Equipment |
Forklift trucks,
platform tracks, warehousing industrial cranes, stradle carrier trucks,
pallet trucks, platform trucks, warehousing trailers, conveyer systems
and others, used in storage and handling operations. |
| Materials Handling |
Short-distance movement
of goods within a storage area. |
| Materials Management |
Movement and storage
functions associated with supply goods to the firm. |
| Materials Requirements
Planning (MRP) |
A decision-making
technique used to determine how much material to purchase and when to
purchase it. |
| Maximum Cube |
A level of cube
utilization that closely approximates the stated cubic capacity of a container. |
| Maximum Gross Weight |
Weight of a container
and its payload. |
| Maximum Payload |
Maximum cargo that
can be loaded into a container either by weight or volume. |
| Measurement Cargo |
Cargo of which one
long ton (2240 lbs.) occupies 40 cubic feet or more. |
| Mechanically Ventilated
Container |
A container fitted
with a means of forced air ventilation. |
| Measurement Ton |
Equals 40 cubic
feet; used in water transportation rate-making. |
| Merger |
The combination
of two or more carriers into one company for the ownership, management,
and operation of the properties previously operated on a seperate basis. |
| Methyl Bromide |
An odorless and
dangerous poison used occasionally as a fumigant to kill or rid a container
of infestation. Used primarily as a requirement for Australian and New
Zealand dunnage. |
| Microbridge |
A joint water, rail
or truck container movement on one Bill of Lading to or from a foreign
port, to or from an inland U.S. city. |
| Mileage Allowance |
An allowance based
upon distance and given by railroads to shippers using private railcars. |
| Mileage Rate |
A rate based upon
the number of miles the commodity is shipped. |
| Minibridge |
A joint water, rail
or truck container move on a single Bill of Lading for a through route
from a foreign port to a U.S. port detination through an intermediate
U.S. port or the reverse. |
| Minimum Weight |
The shipment weight
specified by the carrier's tariff as the minimum weight required to use
the TL or CL rate; the rate discount volume. |
| Mixed Loads |
The movement of
both regulated and exempt commodities in the same vehicle at the same
time. |
| Motor Carrier |
A term used to indicate
a company that moves trailers via highway. |
| Modal Split |
The relative use
made of the modes of transportation; the statistics used include ton-miles,
passenger-miles, and revenue. |
| Multiple Car Rate |
A railroad rate
that is lower for shipping more than one carload rather than just one
carload at a time. |
| Multiple Consignee
Container |
A container loaded
with cargo for two or more consignees. Cargo may be assigned to a breakbulk
point for distribution to the final consignee or it may be delivered to
each consignee via the stop-off service provided by carriers. |
| Multi-Tank Container |
A container frame
fitted to accommodate two or more separate tanks for liquids. |
| National Carrier |
A for-hire cerificated
air carrier that has annual operating revnues of $75 million to $1 billion;
the carrier usually operates between major population centers and areas
of lesser populaion. |
| National Railroad
Corporation |
Also known as Amtrak,
the corporations established by the Tail Passenger Service Act of 1970
to operate most of the nation's rail passenger. |
| Nationalization |
Public ownership,
financing, and operation of a business entity. |
| NEC |
Not Elsewhere Classified. |
| Neobulk |
Shipment of bulk
and other forms of homgeneous types of cargo in one vehicle. |
| Nesting |
Fitting one article
of cargo inside the other to economize space. |
| Net Short Ton |
2,000 pounds. |
| Net Tare Weights |
The weight of an
empty container plus any fixtures permanently attached. |
| Net Weight (Payload) |
The difference between
the gross weight and the tare weight of a container. |
| Node |
A fixed point in
a firm's logistics system where goods come to rest; plants, warehouses,
supply sources, markets. |
| Noncertificated
Carrier |
A for-hire carrier
that is exempt from economic regulation. |
| Non-Vessel-Owning
Common Carrier (NVOCC) |
A firm that consolidates
and disperses intrnational containers that originate at or are bound for
inland ports. |
| Nose |
Front of the container. |
| One-Way-Lease |
Lease that covers
the outbound voyage only, after which the container is returned to the
lessor at or near destination. |
| Open-Top Container |
A container fitted
with a solid removeable roof or with a tarpaulin roof that can be loaded
or unloaded from the top. |
| Optimum Cube |
The highest level
of cube utilization that can be achieved when loading cargo into an ocean-freight
container. |
| Out-of-pocket Cost |
The cost directly
assignable to a particular unit of traffic and which would not have been
incurred if the movement had not been performed. |
| Overall External
Dimensions |
Maximum external
overall dimensions of a container. |
| Overheight Cargo |
Cargo stowed in
an open-top container that projects above the uppermost level of the roof
struts. |
| Over-the-road |
A motor carrier
operation that reflects long distance, intercity moves; the opposite of
local operations. |
| Owner-Operator |
A trucking operation
in which the owner of the truck is also the driver. |
| Pallet |
A platform on which
cargo is loaded, can be stacked and can be handled by forklift or sling,
usually constructed of wood. |
| Payload |
Cargo weight/measurement
on which freight is paid. Also carrying capacity of a container. |
| Peak Demand |
The time period
during which the quantity demanded is greater than during any other comparable
time period. |
| Per Diem |
A rental charge
fixed on a per-day basis. |
| Perishable Cargo |
Freight subject
to decay or deterioration. |
| Permit |
A grant of authority
to operate as a contract carrier. |
| Personal Discrimination |
Charging different
rates to shippers with similar transportation characteristics, or vice
versa. |
| Physical Distribution |
The coordination
of the total movement of materials into the manufacturing plant until
final delivery of the finished product to the local or foreign distribution
terminal and ultimate consumer. |
| Pier |
The structure to
which a vessel is secured for the purpose of loading and unloading cargo. |
| Pier-to-House |
A shipment that
is loaded into a conatiner at the pier or terminal then exported directly
to the consignee's designated area for unloading. |
| Pier-to-Pier |
Containers loaded
at port of loading and discharged at port of destination. |
| Piggyback |
A rail-truck service.
A highway trailer is loaded by a shipper and is driven to a rail terminal
where it is loaded on a rail flatcar; the trailer-on-flatcar is moved
to the destination terminal by the railroad where the trailer is off-loaded
and delivered to the consignee. |
| Pilferage |
When cargo is broached
and part or all of the content is stolen. |
| Place Utility |
A value created
in a product by changing its location. Transportation creates a place
utility. |
| Pool |
A continuous supply
of containers at a specific location to facilitate continuous volume loading. |
| Pooling |
An agreement among
carriers to share the freight to be hauled or to share the profits. Pooling
agreements were outlawed in the Interstate Commerce Act, but the Civil
Aeronautics Board approved profit pooling agreements for air carriers
during strikes. |
| Port |
A harbor or haven
where ships may anchor, or that side of the vessel on the left hand or
a person who stands on board facing the bow. |
| Port Authority |
A state or local
government that owns, operates, or wotherwise provides wharf, dock, and
other terminal investments at ports. |
| Primary Business
Test |
A test used by the
Interstate Commerce Commission to determine if a trucking operation is
bonafide, private transportation; the private trucking operation must
be incidental to and in the furtherance of the primary business of the
firm. |
| Primary Highways |
Highways that connect
lesser populated cities and major cities. |
| Private Carrier |
A carrier that provides
transportation service to the firm that owns or leases the vehicles and
does not charge a fee. Private motor carriers may haul at a fee for wholly
owned subsidiaries. |
| Private Warehousing |
The storage of goods
in a warehouse that is owned by the company that has title to the goods. |
| Productivity |
A measre of efficiency
of resource utilization; defined as the sum of the owutputs divided by
the sum of the inputs. |
| Profit Ratio |
The percentage of
profit to sales - that is, profit divided by sales. |
| Public Warehousing |
The storage of goods
by a firm that offers storage service for a fee to the public. |
| Purchasing |
The functions associated
with buying the goods and services required by the firm. |
| Quality Control |
The management function
that attemptes to ensure that the goods or services manufactured or purchased
meet the product or service specifications. |
| Quoin |
A wedge-shaped piece
of timber used to secure barrels against movement. |
| Rate Bureau |
A group of carriers
that get together to establish joint rates, to divide joint revenues and
claim liabilities, and to publish tariffs. |
| Reasonable Rate |
A rate that is high
enough to cover the carrier's cost but not too high to enable the carrier
to realize monopolistic profits. |
| Reconsignment |
The act of changing
the Bill of Lading as to consignee or destination while the shipment is
in transit. |
| Reefer (Refrigeration
Container) |
A controlled temperature
container. |
| Refrigerated Warehouse |
A warehouse that
is used to store perishable items requiring controlled temperatures. |
| Regional Carrier |
A for-hire air carrier,
usually certificated, that has annual operating revenues of less than
$75 million; the carrier usually operates within a particular region of
the country. |
| Regular Route Carrier |
A motor carrier
that is authorized to provide service over designated routes. |
| Relative Humidity |
A ratio indicated
as a percentage of the amount of moisture in air relative to that and
saturated air at the same temperature. |
| Relay Terminal |
A motor carrier
terminal designed to facilitate the substitution of one driver for another
who has driven the maximum hours permitted. |
| Reliability |
A carrier selection
criterion that considers the variation in carrier transit time; the consistency
of the transit time provided. |
| Reperation |
The Interstate Commerce
Commission could require railroads to reqay users the difference between
the rate charged and the maximum rate permitted when the Interstate Commerce
Commission found the rate to be unreasonable or too high. |
| Retardation |
A force causing
container and cargo to move fore, aft, and upward. |
| Right of Eminent
Domain |
Permits the purchase
of land needed for transportation right-of-way in a court of law; used
by railroads and pipelines. |
| Roll-On/Roll-Off
(Ro/Ro) |
A feature designed
in a specially constructed vessel in both the loading and discharging
ports. |
| Rolling |
The side-to-aide
(athwatship) motion of a vessel. |
| Route |
The manner in which
a shipment moves, ie., the carriers handling it and the terminal points
through which it is handled. |
| Running Gear |
Complimentary equipment
for terminal and over-the-road handling of containers. |
| Sea-Bee Vessels |
Ocean vessels that
are constructed with heavy-duty submersible hydraulic lift or elevator
systems located at the stern of the vessel. The Sea-Bee system facilitates
the barges to be tranferred forward and placed in position. Sea-Bee barges
are larger than LASH barges. |
| Seal |
Used to seal the
locking mechanism on closed containers for security and customs purposes.
Each seal is individually numbered and may be of different colors. |
| Seavan |
Synonymous for general-purpose
dry-freight container. |
| Secondary Highways |
Highways that serve
primarily rural areas. |
| Seperable Cost |
A cost that can
be directly assignable to a particular segment of the business. |
| Sheathing (Export
Boxing) |
Construction materials
that make up the outside of roof, sides, ends, and doors and that serve
as restraints to prevent the main frame from racking. |
| Ship Agent |
A liner company
or tramp ship operator representative who facilitates ship arrival, clearance,
loading/unloading, and fee payment while at a specific port. |
| Ship Broker |
A firm that serves
as a go-between for the tramp shipowner and the chartering consignor or
consignee. |
| Shipper's Agent |
A firm that acts
primarily to match up small shipments, especially single traffic piggyback
loads to permit use of twin trailer piggyback rates. |
| Shipper's Association |
A nonprofit, cooperative
consolidator and distributor of shipments owned or shipped by member firms;
acts in much the same way as for-profit freight forwarders. |
| Shipper's Load and
Count |
A term denoting
that the contents of a container were loaded and counted by the shipper
and not checked or verified by the transportation line. |
| Shore |
A prop or supprt placed against
or beneath anything to prevent sinking or sagging. |
| Short
Ton |
Equals
2,000 pounds. |
| Short-haul
Discrimination |
Charging
more for a shorter haul than a longer haul over the same route, in the
same direction, and for the same commodity. |
| Shrink
Wrapping |
Polyethylene
or a similiar substance heat treated and shrunk into an envelope around
several units thereby securing them as a single whole unit either as small
presentation packs or, more commonly, to secure packages on a pallet. |
| Side-Door
Container |
A container
fitted with a rear door and a minimum of one side door. |
| Side
Loader |
A lift
truck fitted with lifting attachments operating to one side for handling
containers. |
| Skeletal
Trailer (Chassis) |
A trailer
specially constructed for the safe carriage of ISO containers. |
| Skids |
Battens
or a series of parallel runners fitted beneath boxes or packages to raise
them clear of the floor to permit easy access of forklift blades or other
handling equipment. |
| Sliding
Tandem |
An assembly
rigged on a chassis that may be shifted to correct axle weights. |
| Slurry |
Dry
commodities that are made into a liquid form by the addition of water
or other fluids to permit movement by pipeline. |
| Software |
A computer
term used to describe the system design and programming required for the
effective use of the computer. |
| Special
Commodities Carrier |
A warehouse
that is used to store products that require unique types of facilities,
such as grain (elevator), liquid (tank), and tobacco (barn). |
| Spreader |
A piece
of equipment designed to lift containers by their corner castings. |
| Staff
Functions |
The
support activities of planning and analysis provided to assist line managers
with daily operations. Logistics staff functions include location analysis,
system design, cost analysis, and planning. |
| Starboard |
Right
side of vessel facing the bow or front of vessel. |
| Steamship
Conferences |
Collective
rate-making bodies for liner water carriers. |
| Straddle
Carrier |
Mobile
truck equipment with the capacity for lifting a container within its own
framework. |
| Strategic
Planning |
Looking
1 to 5 years into the future and designing a logistical system (or systems)
to meet the needs of the various businesses in which a company is involved. |
| Strategy |
A specific
action to achieve an objective. |
| Super-Imposed
Loading |
The
static and dynamic load forces imposed externally and vertically downward
on the structure of a container. |
| Supplemental
Carrier |
A for-hire
air carrier subject to economic regulations; the carrier has no time schedule
nor designated route; service is provided under a charter or contract
per plane per trip. |
| Surcharge |
An add-on
charge to the applicable charges; motor carriers have a fuel surcharge
and railroads can apply a surcharge to any joint rate that does not yield
110 percent of variable cost. |
| Switch
Engine |
A railroad
engine that is used to move railcars short distances within a terminal
and plant. |
| System |
A set
of interacting elements, variables, parts, or objects that are functionally
related to eachother and form a coherent group. |
| Systems
Concept |
A decision-making
strategy that emphasizes overall system efficiency rather than the efficiency
of the individual part of the system. |
| Tandem |
A truck
that has two drive axels or a trailer that has two axels. |
| Tank
Container |
A specially
constructed container for transporting liquids and gases in bulk. |
| Tankcars |
Railcars
that are designed to haul bulk liquids or gas commodities. |
| Tapering
Rate |
A rate
that increases with distance but not in direct proportion to the distance
the commodity is shipped. |
| Tare
Weight |
The
actual weight of a container without cargo or other temporary appendages. |
| Tariff |
The
charges, rates, and rules of transportation companies usually set forth
in an industry publication. |
| Terminal |
An assigned
area in which containers are prepared to be loaded into a vessel or are
stacked immediately after discharge from the vessel. |
| Through
Bill of Lading |
Bill
of Lading covering receipt of cargo at the premises of the owner of the
cargo for delivery to the ultimate consignee. |
| Through
Movement |
Pertains
to a container inspected and sealed by Customs at factory site and then
transported without the need of further inspection until arrival at destination. |
| Through
Rate |
A rate
applicable from point of origin to destination. A Through Rate may be
either a joint rate or a combination of two or more rates. |
| Throughput |
A measure
of output in warehousing that considers the volume (weight, number of
units) of items stored during a given period of time. |
| Time/Service
Rate |
A rail
rate that is based on transit time. |
| Timetables |
A time
schedule of departures and arrivals by origin and destination; typically
used for passenger transportation by air, bus, and rail. |
| Time
Utility |
A value
created in a product by having the product available at the time desired.
Transportation and warehousing create time utility. |
| TL |
Truckload.
A shipment weighing the minimum rate or more. A rate reduction is given
for shipping a TL size shipment. |
| TOFC
(Trailer-on-Flatcar) |
Transportation
of containers on the chassis on railroad flatcars. |
| Ton-Mile |
A measure
of output for freight transportation; it reflects the weight of the shipment
and the distance it is hauled; a multiplication of tons hauled and distance
traveled. |
| Total
Cost Analysis |
A decision-making
approach that considers the minimization of total system cost and recognizes
the inter-relationship among system variables of transportation, warehousing,
inventory, customer service, and so on. |
| Tracing |
Determining
where a shipment is during the course of a move. |
| Traffic
Management |
The
management of those activities associated with buying and controlling
transportation services for a shipper or consignee or both. |
| Trailer
Interchange Receipt |
TIR
Synonomous with Equipment Interchange. |
| Tramp |
An international
water carrier that has no fixed route or published schedule; a tramp ship
is chartered for a particular voyage of a given time period. |
| Transit
Privelage |
A carrier
service that permits the shipper to stop the shipment in transit to perform
a function that changes the commodity's physical characteristics but to
pay the through rate. |
| Transit
Time |
The
total time that elapses from pickup to delivery of a shipment. |
| Transportation
Association of America |
An association
that represents the entire U.S. transportation system, carriers, users,
and the public. |
| Transportation
Research Forum |
A professional
association that provides a forum for the discussion of transportation
ideas and research techniques. |
| Transship |
To transfer
foods from one transportation line to another or to transfer goods from
one vessel to another. |
| Trunk
Lines |
Oil
pipelines that are used for the long distance movement of crude oil, refined
oil, or other liquid products. |
| Twist
Locks |
A set
of four twistable bayonet type shear keys used a part of a spreader to
pick up a container or as part of a chassis to secure the containers. |
| Two-Way
Pallet |
A pallet
so designed that the forks of a forklift truck can be inserted from two
sides only. |
| Unit
Load |
A quantity
of individual packages palletized or strapped together to create a single
unit for more efficient handling by mechanical equipment. |
| Unit
Train |
An entire,
uniterrupted locomotive car and caboose movement between an origin and
destination. |
| United
States Railway Association |
The
planning/funding agency for Conrail; created by the 3-R Act of 1973. |
| Unitization |
The
consolidation of a quantity of individual items into one large shipping
unit for easier handling. It is also loading one or more large items of
cargo onto a single piece of equipment, such as a pallet. |
| Unloading |
Removal
of a shipment from a container to a platform or warehouse. |
| Unobstructed
Capacity |
Determination
of the volume of a container by means of multiplying the internal unobstructed
dimensions. |
| Value-of-Service
Pricing |
Pricing
according to the value of the product being transported; third degree
discrimination; demand-oriented pricing; charging what the traffic will
bear. |
| Vanning |
A term
sometimes used for stowing cargo in a container. |
| Variable
Cost |
A cost
fluctuates with the volume of business. |
| Vendor |
A firm
or individual that supplies goods or services; the seller. |
| Ventilated
Container |
A container
designed with openings in the side and/or end walls to permit the ingress
of outside air when the doors are closed. |
| Warehousing |
The
storing (or holding) of goods. |
| Waste
Cube |
Where
the cargo does not completely fill or fit the capacity or where the weight
load limit of a container is reached in advance of the volumetric limit,
this leaving empty space in the container. |
| Waybill |
A document
prepared by a transportation line at the point of origin of a shipment,
showing the point of origin, destination, route, consignor, consignee,
description of shipment, and amount charged for the transportation service,
and forwarded with the shipment, or directly by mail, to the agent at
the transfer point or waybill destination. |
| Weight
Break |
The
shipment volume at which the LTL charges equal the TL charges at the minimum
weight. |
| Wharfage |
The
charge or toll assessed against all cargo passing or conveyed over, onto
or under any wharf. |
| Zone
or Rate Flexibility |
Railroads
are permitted to raise rates by a percentage increase in the railroad
cost index determined by the ICC; rates may be raised by 4 percent. |
| Zone of Reasonableness |
A zone or limit
within which air carriers are permitted to change rates without regulatory
scrutiny; if the rate change is within the zone, the new rate is presumed
to be reasonable. |
