A motor carrier , railroad, or other transportation company that offers services to all businesses or individuals.

A motor carrier that generally has a limited number of shipper clients with which it contracts to provide trucks and drivers when needed.

Returning on a backhaul without a load.

A detention fee that shippers pay if a carrier's equipment has not been loaded or unloaded and returned within a specified period.

Transportation of containers piled two high on rail flatcars which is a form of piggybacking.

Total hours that a car spends at a rail terminal which is a measure of asset utilization.

A freight distribution system used by railroads, motor carriers , and airlines to maximize equipment efficiency. Shipments are fed into consolidation centers from satellite terminals.

The movement of consumer goods and light industrial products by a railroad in a trailer or container that originates and terminates with either a motor carrier or ocean shipping line.

A measure of freight traffic equal to moving one ton of freight one mile.

A schedule of rates charged for hauling freight a specific distance between specific points. This is no longer required in the motor carrier industry. However, tariffs are still published by railroads.

Designation for shipments exceeding 10,000 pounds. A motor carrier may haul more than one TL shipment in a single vehicle.

A production management system under which inventories are kept to minimum levels through greater coordination among materials purchases, transportation, and production schedules. The practice originated in Japan where it is known as kanban.

Designation for shipments weighing 10,000 pounds or less. This quantity of freight involves more intermediate handling than does truckload freight.

The longest leg of a shipment which his also called the movement of freight between terminals.

Management of a company's total distribution , transportation, and warehousing needs.

The transporting of truck trailers or marine containers on flatbed railroad cars.

A shipper that transports its goods in truck fleets that it owns or leases.

Loading a shipment along the wall of a container.

A train that is made up of cars carrying a specific product only such as coal from one origination point to a single destination without stopping in a rail yard to be assembled or dissembled.

An agreement whereby one railroad pays a second carrier to transport its freight using the second carrier's crew and power equipment.

An independent business that handles export shipments for compensation.

Transfer of freight from one mode of transportation to another.

A return trip for a carrier which often involves an empty vehicle on certain routes.

An air freight carrier that offers door-to-door delivery of packages and cargo employing aircraft and ground equipment under its direct control.

A practice of transferring freight between carriers, sometimes performed at the shipper's request. Interning has become less frequent as rail lines have emerged .

Major rail systems that serve several regions and concentrate on long haul shipments.

An agreement whereby one railroad pays another for the right to operate its trains over the second carrier's track. The carrier yielding trackage rights has been directed by the government to do so to enhance competition.

The transportation of goods by a for hire motor carrier over standard routes and on fixed schedules.

Independent truckers who operate their own vehicles to transport exempt goods or regulated freight under a lease agreement with a common carrier or shipper.

A trucking firm that transports goods for monetary compensation. This may be either a common or a contract carrier.

A Class I motor carrier are shippers that generate revenues of $10 million or less.

A transportation intermediary that buys wholesale space on railroad intermodal trains which it then retails to individual shippers.

The illegal practice where freelance workers are used to load and unload trucks.

The process of moving rail cars from one track to another in the process of assembling trains. This also includes moving all cars from one railroad's track to a connecting carrier after a short movement.

A carrier's primary trip by bringing a shipment to its destination.