Do you know what LTL means?

Making sense of the transport and logistics industry – one word at a time

The transport and logistics industry can seem to have its own language, with more than 5,000 acronyms, words, phrases and terms alongside formal legal definitions.

We’ve put together a supply chain terminology list of some of the most commonly used logistics and shipping terminology, acronyms, word and phrases and created a second list of the most common acronyms and terms related to Giant Worldwide Logistics.

General terms

3PL

Third-party logistics. 3PL in logistics and supply chain management is an organisation’s use of third parties to whom they outsource elements of its distribution, warehousing etc. Giant Worldwide Logistics is primarily considered a third-party logistics provider.

4PL

Fourth-party logistics, also referred to as lead logistics. 4PL providers assume many of the same roles as 3PL providers but have a much broader role within the supply chain. While we are primarily considered a 3PL provider, we also offer lead logistics/4PL.

AEO

Authorised Economic Operator. A company or organisation involved in the international movement of goods and that has been approved by a national Customs administration

B/L

A bill of lading is a detailed list of a ship’s cargo.

Bonded warehousing

A type of warehousing in which companies place goods in storage without paying taxes or tariffs until the goods are ready for onward distribution.

Compliance

Compliance means that products, services, processes and/or documents meet relevant requirements.

Dangerous goods

Dangerous goods are substances or articles that pose a risk to people, property or the environment, due to their chemical or physical properties. Dangerous goods are often confused with hazardous cargo, which relates to a slightly different risk. See hazardous cargo.

FTL, FTL Freight

Full truckload. When you want your shipment to occupy a truck exclusively. This can be because your shipment would fill a whole truck, or because you want to pay for a whole truck even though your shipment would not fill it completely. This may be the case if you want faster collection and delivery, but it is probably more expensive than booking LTL – less than truckload.

GDP

This abbreviation is used in two different contexts:
Good distribution practice = guidelines for the proper distribution of medicinal products for human use.
Gross domestic product = a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period in a country or region.

Haulier

Haulier is used primarily in the UK, but elsewhere ‘trucking company’ is used more often.

Hazardous cargo

Hazardous substances are classified only on health effects, whether immediate or long term, while dangerous goods relate to physical or chemical effects, including fire, explosion, corrosion and poisoning, whether affecting property, the environment or people.

Lead logistics

Lead logistics providers, also referred to as 4PL providers, assume many of the same roles as 3PL providers but have a much broader role within the supply chain.
Giant Worldwide Logistics is primarily considered a 3PL provider but also provides lead logistics/4 PL: Giant Worldwide Lead Logistics.

Load metre, load meter

1 linear metre of loading space in a truck or trailer for calculating freight cost. Used when goods cannot be stacked. One europallet is 0.4 load metres.