Logistics glossary

An add-on load (Beiladung in German) is an extra shipment added to an existing load in free cargo space.

A fuel surcharge clause (Dieselfloater in German) automatically adjusts the freight rate to changes in the diesel price.

A freight exchange is an online platform where shippers and forwarders post loads and carriers post free capacity.

Freight costs are all costs incurred to move a shipment from sender to consignee.

Cost per kilometre is the total cost of a trip divided by the kilometres driven.

Empty running is driving without cargo, for example to the loading point or back after delivery.

A backhaul is a load for the return journey that fills an otherwise empty trip back to base or to the next loading point.

Detention (Standgeld in German) is the compensation a carrier can claim when it has to wait beyond the agreed loading or unloading time.

Unit cost is the cost per unit of output – in transport usually per pallet, loading metre, tonne or kilometre.

The ECMT permit (CEMT in German and French) is a multilateral licence for hire-and-reward international road haulage between the more than 40 member countries of the International Transport Forum (ITF).

The Community licence is the EU-wide authorisation for hire-and-reward cross-border road haulage within the EU.

Mobility Package I is a 2020 set of EU laws for road freight transport.

Dangerous goods are substances and articles that can pose risks to people, the environment or property during transport.

Cabotage is domestic transport carried out by a foreign haulier in another EU country – for example a Polish truck loading and unloading within Germany.

Driving and rest times are the EU-wide maximum driving hours and minimum breaks and rest for professional drivers under Regulation (EC) No 561/2006.

A tachograph is an on-board device that records driving and rest times, speed and distance.

EETS (European Electronic Toll Service) lets road users pay tolls in all EU electronic toll systems with a single contract with one EETS provider and a single on-board unit (toll box).

The Eurovignette is a time-based road user charge for trucks of 12 t maximum authorised mass and above, bought for a day, week, month or year.

The GO toll is Austria's distance-based toll for all vehicles over 3.5 t maximum permissible mass.

The HGV Road User Levy is a time-based road charge in the United Kingdom for trucks of 12 t and over.

The German truck toll (Lkw-Maut) is a distance-based charge in cents per kilometre that has applied since 1 July 2024 to vehicles with a technically permissible maximum mass above 3.5 t.

The LSVA (performance-related heavy vehicle fee) is Switzerland's charge for goods vehicles and trailers over 3.5 t permissible total weight.

A vignette is a time-based road user charge: you pay for a period (day, week, month, year), not per kilometre.

The sender is the party that concludes the contract of carriage and hands over the goods for transport.

Dispatching is the planning and control of transport orders: the dispatcher assigns orders to vehicles and drivers, plans routes and schedules, and works out whether a load is worth taking at the offered freight rate.

The carrier is the company that undertakes, under a contract of carriage, to transport goods to their destination and deliver them there.

A freight forwarder organises the transport of goods for its customer without necessarily carrying them itself.

The Euro pallet (EPAL 1) is a standardised wooden pallet measuring 1,200 × 800 × 144 mm, weighing about 25 kg with a load capacity of 1,500 kg.

Vehicle utilisation describes how much of a vehicle's available capacity is used – by weight, volume, loading metres or loaded kilometres.

FTL (Full Truck Load) is a shipment that fills a vehicle on its own; LTL (Less Than Truck Load) is a part load that shares the load space with other shipments.

A loading metre (LDM) is one metre of cargo space along the length of a vehicle across the full width of the load area – about 2.40 m in a semi-trailer.

Load securing means securing cargo against sliding, tipping and falling during the journey.

General cargo (Stückgut in German) consists of goods counted and handled as individual pieces – for example pallets, crates, drums or mesh boxes.

The Euro emission standard sets pollutant limits for vehicles; for trucks the stages are written in Roman numerals (Euro V, Euro VI).

Refrigerated transport is the carriage of temperature-controlled goods in vehicles with a refrigeration unit (reefer).

A tail lift is a hydraulic lifting platform at the rear of a truck that allows pallets to be loaded and unloaded without a dock or forklift.

Payload is the maximum weight a vehicle may carry: maximum authorised mass minus unladen weight (including driver, fuel and bodywork).

An articulated truck consists of a tractor unit and a semi-trailer resting on the fifth wheel.

The maximum authorised mass (gross vehicle weight) is the highest weight a vehicle including its load may have.

A proof of delivery (POD) confirms that the shipment has reached the consignee – usually by signature, date and time on the consignment note or digitally.

The CMR consignment note is the contract of carriage for international road freight under the CMR Convention (Geneva, 19 May 1956).

The HS code is an internationally standardised 6-digit commodity code under the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System.

Incoterms® 2020 are 11 trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that define who bears transport costs, risk and formalities under a sales contract.

The bill of lading (B/L) is the key document in sea transport: the carrier's receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and a document of title representing the goods.

The SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) is a globally unique 18-digit number under the GS1 standard that identifies a logistic unit, such as a pallet.

The T1 procedure (external Union transit) allows non-Union goods to be moved through the EU customs territory under customs supervision without paying import duties.

Cross-docking is a transhipment method in which incoming goods are sorted and loaded directly onto outgoing vehicles without being stored – usually within a few hours.

Hub and spoke is a network model in which shipments from many regions are taken to a central transhipment point (hub), sorted there and distributed to the destination regions (spokes).

Just-in-time is a supply concept in which materials arrive at production exactly when needed, to minimise inventory.

Linehaul is the main leg of a transport chain: the long-distance route between two transhipment points or hubs, usually with fully loaded vehicles on scheduled runs.