Glossary. The most common terms in freight transport

Logistics is a vast world. Just picture it: ships as long as four football fields lined up at mega-terminals, or trucks covering nearly every stretch of highway. It’s an industry that quietly powers almost every part of the global economy. After all, even that technician fixing laptops probably uses a computer shipped from halfway across the world.

And like any big industry, logistics has its own language—full of abbreviations, acronyms, and French terms (because why not?). To make life easier, we’ve compiled the most commonly used freight transport terms and explained them in a clear language.

• ADR
  European Agreement for transporting dangerous goods by road. When someone says “ADR goods,” they mean hazardous materials—things that need special handling and certification on the road.
• AWB
  Air Waybill: a non-negotiable document that travels with air cargo. It confirms what’s being shipped and where it’s headed.
• BAF
  Bunker Adjustment Factor: a surcharge shipping companies add to cover fuel price fluctuations. Think of it as the “fuel surcharge” for ocean freight.
• Bill of Lading (cognossement)
  The key transport document in sea freight. It acts as a receipt, contract, and sometimes even proof of ownership of the cargo.
• Block pallet
  A pallet type, usually 100 x 120 cm, often called the “brother” of the Euro pallet.
• Booking confirmation
  A confirmation you receive after booking freight, so you know we're working on it.
• BTI (Binding Tariff Information)
  Issued by Customs, a BTI helps you classify goods under the correct HS code. This prevents paying too much (or too little) in duties.
• CAF
  Currency Adjustment Factor: a surcharge added to freight costs to offset currency exchange rate fluctuations.
• CBAM
  Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: an EU import measure that adjusts the price of certain carbon-intensive goods (steel, cement, fertilizers, aluminum, electricity, hydrogen) based on CO₂ emissions during production.
• CMR
  Are you ready for this? CMR stand for the French 'Convention Relative au Contrat de Transport International de Marchandises par Route'. It's a required document for international road freight.
• Conditioned transport
  Transport under specific conditions, like temperature-controlled shipping for food, flowers, or pharmaceuticals.
• Consolidation
  Combining multiple smaller shipments into one larger unit (e.g., a shared container) to save costs.
• Consignee
  The receiving party. Also known as the “buyer” or “recipient.”
• Cross-docking
  Goods are directly transferred from one transport vehicle to another without long-term storage. Saves time, saves money.
• Customs
  The border authority checking what enters and leaves a country. They make sure goods comply with rules and collect duties where needed.
• Demurrage
  Charges for leaving a container at a terminal for too long. Think of it as a “late parking fee” for containers.
• Detention
  Charges for returning a container late to its depot. Different from demurrage, but equally avoidable.
• Euro pallet
  An 80 x 120 cm standardized pallet. The most commonly used pallet in Europe (and beyond).
• EUDR (Regulation on Deforestation-free products)
  New EU rules (effective from 2025/2026, depending on company size) ensuring certain goods, like soy, cocoa, coffee, timber, and rubber, don’t contribute to deforestation. Read more about it in this article:  EUDR-Deforestationregulation. 
• FCL
  Full Container Load: when you’re shipping enough to fill an entire container.
• Forwarder
  

  (That’s us!) A logistics middleman connecting exporters, importers, and transport providers.

• FTL
  Full Truck Load: same concept as FCL, but for road freight.
• Gross weight
  

  The total weight of goods plus packaging and pallet.

• Incoterms
  International trade terms, published by the ICC, that define buyer/seller responsibilities in global trade.
• Intermodal freight transport
  Using multiple transport modes (e.g., truck + rail + ship) in a single journey.
• LCL
  Less than Container Load: when your goods don’t fill a container and they’re shipped alongside other people’s cargo.
• Loading meter
  Road transport measurement: one linear meter of truck loading space.
• LTL
  Less than Truck Load: the trucking equivalent of LCL.
• Net weight
  The pure product weight: no packaging included.
• Notice of Arrival
  A notification sent to inform stakeholders that a shipment is about to arrive.
• Shipper
  The party sending the goods. Also called “consignor.”
• Telex Release
  A digital release in sea freight allowing cargo collection without presenting the physical Bill of Lading.
• W/M
  Weight/Measurement: a method of calculating freight rates based on either weight or volume, whichever is higher.

Want to Know More?

If you come across a term you don’t understand, don’t sweat it. Just reach out to us, and we’ll gladly explain. Logistics doesn’t have to be complicated.

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