Freight glossary
This is a working glossary of freight brokerage terms, written so each entry answers the question on its own. Every definition explains the mechanism rather than quoting a price, because rates move and mechanisms do not. It covers pricing, accessorials, equipment, operations, compliance, documents, settlement, and the systems brokerages actually run on.
Pricing and rates
- All in rate
- Award
- Contract rate
- Density
- Freight class
- Fuel surcharge
- Line haul
- Market rate
- Mini bid
- NMFC
- Rate per mile
- Reweigh
- RFP
- Spot rate
Accessorials and charges
- Accessorial
- Demurrage
- Detention
- Driver assist
- Dry run
- Layover
- Liftgate
- Lumper
- Per diem
- Reconsignment
- Residential delivery
- Stop off
- Tarp
- Terminal gate fee
- TONU
Equipment and trailers
Operations and dispatch
- Appointment
- Backhaul
- Capacity
- Carrier exit
- Carrier scorecard
- Chassis split
- Check call
- Concealed damage
- Consolidation
- Cross dock
- Cube out
- Deadhead
- Dispatch
- Drop trailer
- Dwell time
- Escort vehicle
- Facility score
- Floor loaded
- Free time
- Freight claim
- Freight seasonality
- Headhaul
- Lane
- Live load
- Load rejection
- Loaded miles
- LTL line haul
- On time delivery
- Produce season
- Rail ramp
- Routing guide
- Routing guide depth
- Service failure
- Tank washout
- Tender acceptance
- Tender rejection
- Terminal
- Trailer pool
- Transload
- Weigh out
Compliance and authority
- 34 hour reset
- Axle weight
- BIPD insurance
- Bonded carrier
- Broker bond
- Cargo insurance
- Cargo securement
- Carrier identity theft
- Carrier packet
- Carrier vetting
- Common authority
- CSA score
- Double brokering
- FMCSA
- Gross vehicle weight
- Hazmat
- Hours of service
- MC number
- Operating authority
- Out of service
- Overweight
- Permit
- Placard
- Roadside inspection
- SAFER
- USDOT number
- Weigh station
Documents and paperwork
Financial and settlement
- Accounts receivable
- Days sales outstanding
- Factoring
- Load count
- Margin
- Net revenue
- Net terms
- Notice of assignment
- Quick pay
- Short pay
Modes and service types
- Cold chain
- Dedicated freight
- Drayage
- Final mile
- FTL
- Intermodal
- LTL
- Oversize load
- Partial truckload
- Pool distribution
- White glove
Roles and parties
- 3PL
- 4PL
- Asset based
- Carrier
- Consignee
- Customs broker
- Dispatcher
- Freight broker
- Freight forwarder
- Lease on
- Ocean carrier
- Owner operator
- Shipper
Systems and technology
Most freight software watches your business. FreightScout wins freight and then runs it.