The freight dispatching glossary
35 terms a carrier sales desk uses daily, defined plainly. Each one also says what it means for the person running the desk, because knowing that detention is billed hourly matters less than knowing it is the money most often left on the table.
- AccessorialAn accessorial is any charge for work beyond moving the freight from origin to destination. Detention, layover, driver-assisted unloading, extra stops and tarping are all accessorials.
- BackhaulA backhaul is a load that moves a truck back toward its home base or toward the next place it wants to be, rather than further away. It exists to stop the return trip running empty.
- Bill of ladingA bill of lading is the document issued at pickup that lists what is being shipped, who is shipping it and where it is going. It is simultaneously a receipt for the freight, a contract of carriage and a record of the goods' condition.
- BobtailBobtailing is driving a tractor with no trailer attached at all. It is distinct from deadhead, which is pulling an empty trailer.
- Broker-carrier agreementA broker-carrier agreement is the standing contract between a freight broker and a carrier that governs every load they move together. It is signed once during onboarding, not per load.
- Cost per mileCost per mile is a carrier's total operating cost divided by total miles driven, including empty ones. It is the number that decides whether a given rate is profitable.
- DeadheadDeadhead is any distance a truck drives empty, most often between delivering one load and reaching the pickup for the next. Those miles cost fuel, hours and wear while earning nothing.
- DetentionDetention is money owed to a carrier when a shipper or receiver holds the truck beyond the free time agreed for loading or unloading, usually two hours. It is billed by the hour after that window closes.
- Dispatch feeA dispatch fee is what a dispatch service charges a carrier for finding and booking loads, usually a percentage of the linehaul or a flat weekly amount per truck.
- DrayageDrayage is short-distance trucking that moves a container between a port, rail yard or terminal and a nearby warehouse. The distance is small but the work is dense with waiting and appointment rules.
- Dry vanA dry van is an enclosed trailer with no temperature control, used for freight that needs protection from weather and theft but not refrigeration. It is the most common trailer type on the road.
- Dwell timeDwell time is how long a truck, trailer or container sits idle at a facility waiting to be handled. It is the underlying measure that detention charges are calculated from.
- FactoringFactoring is selling freight invoices to a third party at a discount in order to be paid within a day or two instead of waiting thirty to sixty days. The factoring company then collects from the broker.
- FlatbedA flatbed is an open trailer with no sides or roof, used for freight that cannot be loaded through the rear doors of an enclosed trailer, such as steel, lumber, machinery and building materials.
- HotshotHotshot trucking moves smaller, time-sensitive loads using a heavy-duty pickup pulling a gooseneck or flatbed trailer, rather than a semi truck. It suits urgent freight too small to justify a full trailer.
- Hours of serviceHours of service are the legal limits on how long a commercial driver may drive and work before taking mandated rest. They cap daily driving, total on-duty time and weekly hours.
- IntermodalIntermodal freight travels in the same container across more than one mode of transport, typically rail for the long distance and trucks for the short legs at each end, without the cargo being unloaded between them.
- LaneA lane is a regular origin-to-destination pairing that a carrier runs repeatedly, such as Dallas to Atlanta. Rates, volumes and seasonality are all discussed per lane.
- LayoverA layover is an overnight delay where a driver has to wait until the next day to load or unload, and is paid a flat daily rate for it rather than an hourly detention rate.
- Less than truckloadLess than truckload freight is a shipment too small to fill a trailer, combined with other shipments and moved through a network of terminals where it is sorted between trucks.
- LinehaulLinehaul is the base charge for moving freight from origin to destination, excluding fuel surcharge and every accessorial. It is the core of the rate.
- Load boardA load board is a marketplace where brokers post freight that needs moving and carriers search for loads to cover. Most are subscription services.
- Lumper feeA lumper fee is money paid to third-party workers at a warehouse who load or unload the trailer, rather than the driver doing it. It is common at grocery and food distribution centres.
- MC numberAn MC number is the docket number attached to a company's for-hire operating authority. A carrier hauling regulated freight across state lines for payment needs one; a company moving only its own goods does not.
- Operating authorityOperating authority is federal permission for a company to transport regulated freight for other people across state lines in exchange for payment. Moving your own goods does not require it; moving somebody else's for money does.
- Out of serviceAn out-of-service order stops a driver or a vehicle from operating until the problem that caused it is corrected. It is issued at the roadside during an inspection, or against an entire company for serious regulatory failures.
- Power onlyPower only is work where the carrier supplies just the tractor and driver, pulling a trailer that belongs to the shipper, broker or another carrier. No trailer of their own is involved.
- Proof of deliveryProof of delivery is the signed document confirming the receiver took the freight, usually the delivery copy of the bill of lading. It is what an invoice must be supported by before anyone pays it.
- Quick payQuick pay is a broker's own offer to pay a carrier faster than the standard terms, in exchange for a percentage discount on the invoice. It is an alternative to factoring, arranged directly with the broker.
- Rate confirmationA rate confirmation is the document that sets the agreed price and terms for one specific load, issued by the broker and signed by the carrier before the truck moves. It governs that load only.
- ReeferA reefer is a temperature-controlled trailer with its own refrigeration unit, used for food, pharmaceuticals and anything else that must stay within a temperature range in transit.
- Step deckA step deck is a flatbed trailer with two deck heights, the rear section sitting lower than the front. The drop lets it carry taller freight without exceeding legal height limits.
- TONUTONU stands for truck ordered not used. It is a flat fee paid when a carrier has been dispatched to a load that is then cancelled, compensating for the trip made and the capacity committed.
- TruckloadTruckload freight fills a whole trailer for a single customer and travels directly from origin to destination without being combined with anyone else's goods.
- USDOT numberA USDOT number is the federal identification number carried by a company that operates commercial vehicles in interstate commerce. Safety records, roadside inspections and crash reports are all filed against it.
Knowing the vocabulary is the easy half
The hard half is knowing which carriers are worth the call this morning. That is the part KeepCarrier does.