The Blue Banana?! And More Transport Jargon

FTL transport, ATB transport, Cabotage, truck-mounted forklift… The logistics and transport sector is full of terms, complex words, and transport jargon.

A • B • C • D • E • F • G • I • K • L • M • N • O • P • R • S • T • U • V • W • Z

As an exporter, you are often not fully familiar with all these terms. That is where the challenge lies. The transport sector is a proud industry with many of its ‘own’ terms and transport jargon. Conversely, they have a lot of contact with people outside this sector who cannot always follow these terms.

There must be a better way! As EASY Road Transport, we naturally cannot bridge the gap entirely. However, we can do our part in building a bridge! That is why we have created an overview of the most important transport terms in this blog. How convenient! And a small tip: they are listed in alphabetical order.

A

Coupling – Attaching the trailer to the tractor (truck)

Uncoupling – Detaching the trailer from a tractor

ATA Carnet – Temporary export of goods, for example for an exhibition or machinery. With an ATA Carnet, you do not have to pay import duties.

ATB transport (or Working Hours Decree for transport) – this Working Hours Decree includes the times during which drivers drive and rest. This decree applies to national and international transport.

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Axle configuration – The number of axles a road vehicle has and where the axles are located

Axle pressure or Axle load – The part of the weight of the load and the vehicle that is ultimately transferred to the ground via an axle and its wheels

B

BCO or Beneficial Cargo Owner – The ultimate owner of the cargo, usually the recipient

Escorted transport – This concerns the escorting of exceptional transport

Load factor – The ratio between the part of the loading capacity utilized and the part not utilized

Bilateral transport – the transport of goods between two different countries by a vehicle registered in one of these countries

Black box – A box in the trucks that ensures the trucks can be tracked at all times

Blue Banana – The area between Manchester and Italy with the highest density of cities per region. This is where most trade occurs.

Block pallet – A pallet with dimensions of 100 cm x 120 cm

Bulk – goods that are not packaged in, for example, a trailer or on a pallet, but are loaded loose.

C

Cabotage – Transport from A to B within the borders of a specific country, where that country is not the carrier’s home country

Charter – road transport carried out on behalf of another carrier

Code 95 – a code printed on the driving license behind a certain category. This code is mandatory for certain truck driving licenses.

Collection run or Combination run – A trip where the driver stops at multiple locations to load

Collo (plural: Colli) – a single unit of goods

Consolidation – Combining multiple shipments into one single shipment. This saves costs.

D

Demurrage costs – Also known as overstay fees. The compensation paid to the shipping company for a delay beyond their control that lasts longer than the pre-agreed laytime.

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Depot – storage location for goods and products

Drops – The delivery addresses of the goods in a truck

E

Emission – The discharge of harmful gases. Strict rules have been established for this in many countries

EORI number – An identification number for all economic operators within the EU, allowing customs information to be easily tracked and registered

Europallet – A standard pallet of 80 cm x 120 cm

Forwarder (or Freight Forwarder) – An intermediary or company that organizes the transport of goods and acts as the communicator between the shipper and the ultimate carrier

ETA (Expected Time of Arrival) – The expected time of arrival at the loading/unloading address

F

Fenex conditions – The Dutch conditions that elaborate on the relationship between the forwarder and the client

Full Truck Load (or FTL transport) – A full load where a full container is sent by one sender to one recipient

Flatbed trailer – A trailer without fixed walls or a roof. The floor is flat, and the sides and top are completely open.

Still have questions about all this transport jargon? Ask our EASY Roaders! They certainly know how to explain the terms.

G

Goods flow diagram – A graphic representation of the entire process of a product, starting from production and ending with the recipient

Groupage – A shipment smaller than a full trailer. During the transport of this groupage shipment, the driver will load and unload at multiple locations.

I

IBC container – Larger than a ‘standard’ drum, but (much!) smaller than a sea container. Thanks to its cubic shape, an IBC offers efficient storage.

Customs clearance – Fulfilling the necessary customs formalities to be allowed to transport goods across the border

K

Truck-mounted forklift – a forklift carried in or on the truck

L

Loading meter – a measurement where the size of the cargo is calculated based on the width of the truck

Loading and unloading dock – a loading and unloading point at a building where a truck can be unloaded

Cargo – Everything in or on the truck that can be removed without tools and is therefore not a direct part of the vehicle itself

Less Than Truck Load (or LTL transport) – a shipment that is not large enough to fill the trailer completely.

Logistics – The planning, organization, and execution of a flow of goods and the science behind this organization.

M

Mini pallet – A pallet with dimensions of 80 cm x 60 cm

Modality – The mode of transport for the goods, such as road transport, air freight, or sea freight.

N

Nearshoring or Nearsourcing – Placing a company close to the location where the product is manufactured.

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O

Offshoring – Relocating certain business processes abroad, often where wages are lower.

Semi-trailer – a trailer designed to be coupled to a tractor for transport

Overloading – In this case, either the vehicle as a whole is too heavy, the pressure on the axles is too high, or the pressure under the coupling is too high

P

Pallet distribution – the shipping and transport of pallets

Paperless transport – exchanging documents such as the waybill digitally instead of on paper

Proof of delivery – literally the proof that goods have been delivered to the agreed destination. This often involves a document, either physical or digital.

Still have questions about all this transport jargon? Ask our EASY Roaders! They certainly know how to explain the terms.

R

Roll container or Roll pallet – a non-stackable unit of goods on wheels

S

SBI code – a code linked to economic activities, which are linked to specific sectors

Stuffing – Loading various small shipments into one trailer

Supply chain – the chain of goods, where the entire chain from production to recipient is mapped out

T

Tachograph – records how many kilometers have been driven, how fast the vehicle traveled, and when the driver took a rest.

TMS or Transport Management System – A system that helps planners and carriers in the transport industry plan their shipments

Ton-kilometer (Tonkm) – The unit of measurement for the total movement of one ton of cargo over one kilometer

Track & Trace – The system where the cargo can be tracked directly via GPS. The black box plays an important role here

Transit transport – Goods passing through Dutch territory on their way from another country to their country of destination, but which are not cleared by Dutch customs

U

Export clearance – The opposite of import clearance. Here, you fulfill the customs formalities to send goods abroad

V

Shipper – the party that wants to export its goods and has them transported by a carrier

Fleet – The total number of trucks owned by a transport company

Waybill – The recorded agreement regarding the transport of specific goods. This document contains the data required for the execution of the transport, including for customs clearance

W

Fleet – The total number of vehicles registered on public roads in a specific country on a specific date

Road transport – All movements of both goods and passengers by road within a specific road network

Z

Sidelifter – A crane attached to the truck that makes unloading the container easier at the recipient’s location.

Still have questions about all this transport jargon? Ask our EASY Roaders! They certainly know how to explain the terms.