Glossary |
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Add On Interest: An interest charge added to a base interest charge.
All-Risk Cargo Insurance:
Does not mean any and every possible risk; only certain common
risks. Generally not available to owner operators.
Amortization:
The gradual payment of a debt or the writing off of intangible
assets over a period of time as they expire.
Assets:
Future economic benefits obtained as a result of past transactions.
Audit of freight bills:
The process of verifying the transportation charges shown on the
carrier's freight bill as reasonable.
Average gross revenue per loaded mile:
Total payment received per mile traveled with a load.
Axle Weight:
Weight carried by one axle.
Backhaul: A haul that returns you to home or base of operation.
Balance sheet:
A financial statement listing all assets, liabilities and owner's
equity at a certain date.
BBC:
The distance from the truck's front bumper to the back of its cab.
Billed weight:
The weight shown on a freight bill.
Bill of lading:
Written transportation contract between shipper and carrier; it
identifies who receives the freight and the place of delivery. It
also gives terms of the agreement.
Bobtail:
A tractor operating without a trailer.
Bobtail Insurance:
Insurance covering accidents during non trucking use (i.e., not
hauling a load; during maintenance service, etc.
Bridge Formula:
Federal regulation of how far apart the axles must be to legally
carry a given weight.
Broker:
A person who arranges loads for owner/operators
Bulk Freight:
Unpackaged freight, (for example, petroleum products)
Burden of proof:
The obligation to prove disputed facts at issue in a legal
proceeding.
Cargo Insurance: Insurance on the freight paid for by the carrier.
Carrier:
A person, partnership or corporation engaged in the business of
transporting goods.
Carrier's Lien:
Carrier's claim on property it has transported as security for
charges.
Cash Advance:
Money received from carrier generally used for fuel and deducted
from owner operator's final settlement check.
Cash flow:
Ready cash (net income plus set aside cash, as for depreciation).
Cash Disbursement Journal:
A journal for keeping track of money being paid out.
Cash Receipts Journal:
A journal for keeping track of money coming into a business.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License: A license which authorizes an
individual to operate commercial motor vehicles over 26,000 pounds
gross vehicle weight.
Chargeable Accidents:
An accident that a driver could have prevented whether or not it was
his fault.
Charge backs:
Those temporary costs assumed by the carrier for independent
contractors. It is understood through the lease that these costs
will be charged back to the independent contractor usually at
settlement.
Clearing House:
An organization set up to process and collect bills for
participating trucking companies.
COE:
Cab-Over-Engine: Truck/tractor design where the cab sits over the
engine on the chassis.
Collateral:
A pledge of security for borrowing money, usually a material
possession.
Commodity:
Any article of commerce, including raw material, manufactured or
grown products.
Common Authority:
Certificate from the ICC that allows the holder to haul regulated
commodities in a for-hire trucking operation.
Common Carriers' Insurance:
Insurance that covers transportation company's liability for loss
of, or damage to, cargo or property being transported by them.
Consignee:
The person or firm to whom articles are shipped.
Consignor:
The person or firm who shipped the product.
Containerization:
A shipping system based on large cargo carrying containers that can
be easily interchanged between trucks.
Contract Carrier:
Truckers who are providing dedicated service under contract to
specific shippers using an ICC certificate.
Credit Life Insurance:
A policy covering a buyer's life, until the truck is paid off, thus
guarantees payment
CVSA:
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance: An organization of federal,
state and provincial government agencies and representatives from
private industry dedicated to improving commercial safety.
Deadheading:
Operating a truck with no load.
Depreciation:
A decrease in value (usually for tax purposes); a reduction or loss
in exchange for value or purchasing power.
Detention (Demurrage):
Detention of a vehicle beyond the time normally allowed for loading,
unloading, etc.
Disability Insurance:
Insurance policy that covers income if a truck driver is unable to
work for a few weeks or more.
Discretionary Income:
Amount of money left after expenses.
Dispatcher:
A person who schedules and controls intercity traffic and intracity
pickup and delivery.
D.O.T.:
United States Department of Transportation
Doubles:
A tractor with two semi trailers connected in tandem by a converter
dolly.
Drayage:
Trucking goods from a warehouse to a rail yard or vice versa.
Drayage is the trucking component of intermodal transportation.
Escrow:
Money held in trust by a third person with directions to use it for
a specific purpose.
Exempt Carrier:
Truckers hauling certain commodities that are exempt that may be
transported in both interstate and intrastate commerce without
operating authority ICC.
Exempt Commodity:
Commodities that are moved interstate and intrastate by truck and
not subject to regulation (i.e., any fresh fruit or vegetables
except bananas)
Fixed Costs:
Costs that have a long life, such as truck payment, mortgage,
insurance, etc.
FOB:
Free on Board: Usually indicates place where responsibility for
expenses and risk for goods is passed from seller to buyer.
Forced Dispatch:
Being forced to take a load whether the driver wants to or not.
401K:
An income fund set aside to supplement or provide for retirement
benefits.
Freight:
Any commodity being transported.
Freight Bill:
Document for a shipment with the description of the freight, weight,
charges, rate for charges, taxes and whether it is a prepaid or
collect shipment.
Freight Charge:
Payment due for the transportation of the freight
Fuel taxes:
Taxes paid to each state a vehicle runs in based on miles driven in
that state.
GCW:
Gross Combination Weight: Total weight of tractor- trailer
combinations, including trucks, trailers and payload.
GVW:
Gross Vehicle Weight: Total weight of the loaded vehicle, including
chassis, body and payload. Used to refer to the maximum GVW allowed
by D.O.T. regulations.
Glider Kit:
Truck that has been rebuilt, particularly component wise.
Health Insurance:
Medical and Hospitalization insurance.
ICC: Interstate Commerce Commission:
The federal body charged with enforcement of acts of Congress
affecting interstate commerce.
IFTA:
International Fuel Tax Agreement A system of centralized fuel tax
payment allowing truckers to pay all state fuel taxes to a
collection agency. This agency disburses funds to each state or
provincial agency based on the total miles you reported traveling in
each state.
Independent Contractors:
Independent contractors are owner operators who lease themselves and
their vehicles to trucking companies regulated by the ICC.
Individual Variable Costs:
Costs that are variable and peculiar to a specific trucking
operation such as accounting fees, helper wages, personal road
expenses, etc.
Intermodal:
Transportation movement involving more than one mode, example, rail
motor, motor air, or rail water
Interstate:
Between states
Intrastate:
Within a state
Jackknife:
Placing the tractor/trailer at a very sharp angle resulting from
lock-up of tractor drive axle(s).
Lading:
The freight in a truck
Layover Time:
The time a driver spends not working and away from his home terminal
before he is sent to another destination.
Lease purchase:
Method of purchasing a rig (usually from a regulated carrier),
whereby some of the rent paid to the carrier for the privilege of
using the cab is applied to the principal owed by the owner
operator.
Liabilities:
Future items that may become obligations under certain conditions.
The obligations arise from past transactions or events.
Liability Insurance:
Insurance that covers any third party injuries or damages.
Line Haul:
The movement of freight between distant points. It does not include
pickup and delivery service, or intracity delivery.
Loaded Mile:
Distance traveled with paid freight in a trailer.
Logbook:
Drivers book containing daily hours, routes, etc. They are required
by DOT regulation.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload: A quantity of freight that is less than
required for the application of a truckload rate.
Lumpers:
Helpers hired to load/unload freight
Manifest:
A document describing a shipment or the contents of a vehicle
MCSAP:
The Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program: Federal Government
program distributing monies to help states conduct effective truck
inspection and safety efforts.
MCS-90:
A document that shows proof of adequate insurance
NTSB:
The National Transportation Safety Board: A Federal Government
organization charged with investigating accidents in every sector of
transportation, suggesting ways of improving transportation safety
through effective regulatory requirements, and reporting on its
findings and conclusions to Congress.
Operating Expenses:
Expenses needed to move freight, such as, cost of fuel, equipment,
labor, permits, etc.
Operating ratio:
Total operating expenses divided by gross freight revenue. An
operating ratio of "90" means that a trucker makes a profit of ten
cents for every dollar spent.
Orientation Time:
Training time required to learn specific rules under which a carrier
operates.
OTR:
Over the road drivers.
Owner Operator:
A person who owns one or more trucks and personally drives at least
one of them. Also known as a small fleet owner operator if more than
one vehicle is owned.
Payload:
Total weight of the commodity carried on a truck including
packaging, banding, etc.
Permanent Lease:
A lease for at least 30 days where an owner operator leases himself
and his equipment to a regulated carrier.
Permits:
Permission granted to carriers by states to transport freight
exceeding legal weight and size limits.
PIP:
Personal Injury Protection: An insurance policy that provides
personal injury protection
PMs:
Preventive maintenance inspection
Pre Trip Inspection:
A walk around inspection of a truck that every driver is required to
perform prior to every trip in a commercial vehicle. This involves
following a complete check list related to the particular type of
vehicle being inspected. The pre-trip inspection is considered by
experts to be one of the most neglected, potentially effective means
of improving truck safety.
Principal:
Actual amount of money borrowed; the amount that interest will be
applied to a loan.
Private Carrier:
A company that has its own trucks to transport its own freight.
Pro Rate:
To distribute proportionately.
Rate:
The charge for transporting freight
Recourse Agreement:
An agreement between buyer and seller whereby if a buyer defaults on
payments and the truck is repossessed, the selling dealer must buy
the truck from the lender for the unpaid balance. The dealer can sue
the former owner for the balance if it is more than the truck is
worth.
Regulated commodities:
Commodities that are transported under governmental regulation.
Regulated Common carrier:
Carriers that transport general commodities that are regulated by
the ICC.
Rider Policy:
An insurance policy provision that provides coverage to a passenger
in a commercial vehicle.
Road Use Taxes:
Annual federal tax applied to each vehicle.
Scale (Weigh) Station:
A place where trucks are weighed to ensure that GVW and axle weights
are below permissible levels.
Settlement:
A net amount paid for hauling a load.
Surcharge:
A charge above the usual or customary charge.
Surtax:
An additional or extra tax.
Tandem:
An assembly of two axles, either of which may be powered.
Tariff:
A published rate for hauling goods
TL:
Truckload: A full or nearly full trailer of goods. Usually the
shipment is made without stopover to load/unload.
Transportation Insurance:
This insurance covers loss to shippers because of an accident to
goods in transit.
Trip Lease:
A one trip only lease.
Trip Lease Operators:
Owner operators who haul for a different carrier or broker each
trip.
Trip Record:
A record of each trip which includes expenses and revenue.
Trip Recorder:
On- Board Computer - Cab mounted device which records data such as
speed, engine rpm, idle time and any other information that may be
useful to trucking management.
U.S. DOT Number:
Vehicle Registration Number. U.S Dot numbers are supplied without
charge, and are required for all vehicles exceeding 10,000 lbs. GVW
or GCW.
Variable costs:
Equipment operating expenses which vary from trip to trip. (For
example, fuel, repairs, tires.)
Workers' Compensation: Compensation for work related injuries not covered by hospitalization
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