Stepping into a new industry comes with numerous challenges. Every business is brimming with its unique lingo, acronyms, terms, and abbreviations that could make it quite overwhelming to get started in a field as an outsider. And just like any industry, logistics is no exception! Hearing different terms and phrases in the trucking logistics industry might be confusing.

It is crucial to understand common logistics terms as they will help you to interact with other industry professionals more effectively and seek the right logistics company trucking service for your business's needs. This guide will assist you in demystifying some of the confusing terms in the logistics industry.

9 Essential Logistics & Trucking Terms: A Glossary for Beginners (2024)

If you're just starting in the logistics industry, you may run into many unfamiliar jargon and acronyms. Keep reading as we have compiled a list of 9 essential logistics and trucking terms with brief explanations.

3PL

3PL is an abbreviation for third-party logistics, a practice where a business outsources its shipping, freight forwarding, warehousing, and picking and packing services to a 3PL logistics company.

OS & D Report

OS&D Report is a document that the consignee completes to determine if they have received any product that is not overaged, short, or damaged. Overage refers to a situation where the recipient has received more products than they should have, while shortage is when the recipient has received fewer products. The goods are considered damaged if they have scratches or cuts or are unusable.

BOL/BL

BOL/BL stands for Bill of Lading. It is an essential legal document that the shipper gives the carrier after a successful delivery. A BOL can have every aspect, like the shipper's name, recipient's address, date, freight class, weight, and so on. In addition, the receiver, and carrier must sign on the BOL.

Multimodal Logistics

Multimodal transport is transferring goods from the initial point to the final point using two or more modes of transport, such as air, road, and water. The logistics companies involved in these operations are called Multimodal Logistics Company.

CDF

CDF or Custom Declaration Form is a document drawn by customs clearance agents, which is used to determine, compute, and write down the tariffs to be levied by customs. This document should be accurate and reflect what the carrier presents to the customs department as a manifest.

FTL & FCL

Full truckload shipping (FTL) means a truck is fully loaded with specific cargo from one company. It will not be parked between trips but will go straight to the desired location. The same applies to the Full Container Load (FCL) concept. The only difference is that in FCL, a container is utilized.

LTL & LCL

Less-than-truckload (LTL) is the delivery of a relatively small number of goods with a total weight less than 4000 pounds (about 1814.37 kg). Therefore, LTL only needs a portion of the trailer, but typically, a shipper's cargo will take up a portion of the trailer space in the LTL shipments.

On the other hand, the common name given to load transported using a container is called less-than-container load (LCL).

CNOR & CNEE

You may not know these terms in detail, but you would easily recognize Consignor and Consignee. Consignor (CNOR) refers to the person or company shipping out the goods, while the Consignee (CNEE) is the receiver of the shipped goods. These terms can be seen in some of the documentation used in the trucking logistics industry.

ATA & ATD

ATA and ATD are the Actual Time of Arrival and Actual Time of Departure, respectively. The first applies when the shipment has reached the delivery location, while the second applies when a shipment is dispatched.

Wrapping Up!

Acquiring knowledge about trucking logistics jargon is one of the first steps to getting familiar with the ins and outs of this part of the industry that often gets overlooked. The terms and abbreviations mentioned above must have given you some idea about the terms used in the logistics industry. So, the next time when someone talks in the logistics jargon, you are better prepared to understand what they are saying.