Trucking terms, defined in plain English
The words carriers meet on rate cons, bills of lading and at the dock, from reefer setpoints and pulp temperatures to liftgates, reclasses and freight class. Each term has a one-line definition right here; filter by letter or search to find one fast.
- Appointment delivery
- A delivery booked for a set date and time window at the receiver. Arriving outside it can mean waiting, rescheduling or losing detention.
- Blind shipment
- A shipment where the shipper or the receiver isn't shown to the other on the paperwork, often using a second bill of lading.
- Continuous vs cycle-sentry mode
- Continuous runs the reefer unit nonstop. Cycle-sentry, or start-stop, shuts it off at the setpoint and restarts it as needed to save fuel.
- Cube out
- When a trailer is full by space before it reaches its weight limit, usually with light, bulky freight.
- Frozen vs chilled freight
- Frozen freight is carried at or below 0°F. Chilled freight is kept cold but above freezing, at the setpoint the shipper writes on the bill of lading.
- Guaranteed LTL delivery
- An LTL service, for an added charge, where the carrier commits to deliver by a set date or time.
- Hub and spoke LTL
- An LTL network that moves freight from local terminals to central hubs for sorting, then out to terminals near the receiver.
- Inside delivery
- Moving freight past the door or dock into the building, billed as an extra service.
- Liftgate service
- Using a powered platform at the back of the truck to lower freight to the ground where there's no dock, billed as an extra.
- Limited access delivery
- A pickup or delivery at a place with restricted access, such as a school, military base, farm or construction site, often billed as an extra.
- LTL reclass
- When a carrier changes a shipment's freight class after inspecting it and rebills at the corrected class.
- LTL reweigh
- When a carrier weighs a shipment again and bills the actual weight if it differs from the bill of lading.
- LTL terminal
- A carrier facility where LTL freight is unloaded, sorted and reloaded onto trucks heading toward its destination.
- Multi-temp trailer
- A reefer trailer with separate compartments that can be held at different temperatures on the same trip.
- NMFC
- The National Motor Freight Classification, published by NMFTA, which assigns commodities to freight classes used to price LTL shipments.
- Palletization
- Loading and securing freight on pallets so it can be moved by forklift or pallet jack.
- Pulp temperature
- The temperature inside the product itself, measured with a probe, not the air in the trailer.
- Reefer download
- The record pulled from a reefer unit's controller showing setpoint, temperatures and events over a trip. It's key evidence in a temperature claim.
- Reefer hours
- The hours a reefer unit's engine has run, used to plan maintenance and track unit fuel.
- Reefer setpoint
- The temperature the reefer unit is set to hold, written by the shipper on the bill of lading.
- Reefer washout
- Cleaning the inside of a reefer trailer before loading food, often with a certificate the shipper checks.
- Residential delivery fee
- An extra charge for picking up or delivering at a home or in a residential area.
- Return air vs supply air
- Supply air is the air leaving the reefer unit into the trailer. Return air is the air coming back to the unit after passing over the load.
- Shrink wrap
- Plastic film stretched around palletized freight to hold the load together and protect it.
- Weight out
- When a trailer reaches its legal weight limit before it's full by space, usually with dense freight.
Terms by topic
Reefer and cold chain
LTL, partials and pallets
Delivery and dispatch
Next steps
Our guides show how these terms play out on a load, and our free tools turn them into numbers.
Two terms carriers ask about most
Q01What does deadhead mean in trucking?
Deadhead is driving a truck with no paying load, most often the empty run from where you delivered to your next pickup. Those miles cost fuel, time and wear but earn nothing, so they belong in your all-in rate per mile. Planning reloads close to deliveries is the main way to cut them.
Q02What is a rate con?
A rate confirmation is the broker's written agreement for a load: the rate, the pickup and delivery details, the commodity and terms like detention, stop-off pay and lumper reimbursement. The carrier reviews and signs it before hauling. With our dispatch, the broker sends it straight to you after you say yes.
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