Trucking software glossary

A–B

Accessorial. A charge on top of the linehaul rate for an extra service or event: detention, layover, lumper, extra stops, liftgate, TONU. A TMS lists accessorials on the load so they reach the invoice.

API (application programming interface). A way for two software systems to exchange data directly, such as an ELD sending locations to a TMS or a TMS sending invoices to accounting software. Newer than EDI and usually quicker to set up.

Apportioned registration. Registration of a commercial vehicle under the International Registration Plan (IRP), with fees split among the jurisdictions where it runs. The vehicle carries an apportioned plate and a cab card listing those jurisdictions.

Backhaul. A load that brings a truck back toward its home base after a delivery, reducing empty miles.

Bill of lading (BOL). The shipping document that acts as a receipt for the freight and a record of the shipment's terms. For regulated for-hire carriers it must show the consignor and consignee, origin and destination, number of packages, description of the freight and, where relevant, its weight (49 CFR 373.101).

BOC-3. The form that designates a process agent in each state, a person who can accept legal papers on the company's behalf. Motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders file it under 49 CFR part 366, usually through a process agent service.

Bobtail. Driving a tractor with no trailer attached.

Broker. A person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier (49 CFR 371.2). A broker does not haul the freight itself.

C

Carrier packet. The set of documents a broker collects before working with a carrier: authority, insurance certificate, W-9, signed broker-carrier agreement and payment details.

CDL (commercial driver's license). The license required to drive the vehicles defined in 49 CFR 383.5: combinations of 26,001 pounds or more gross combination weight rating with a towed unit over 10,000 pounds (Class A), single vehicles of 26,001 pounds or more (Class B), and smaller vehicles that carry 16 or more people or placarded hazardous materials (Class C).

Chargeback. An amount a carrier pays first and later deducts from a leased owner-operator's settlement, such as insurance or fuel advances. The lease must list each chargeback item and how it is computed (49 CFR 376.12(h)).

Clearinghouse. FMCSA's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, an online database of CDL drivers' drug and alcohol program violations. Employers must run a full pre-employment query before a driver performs safety-sensitive work and query every such driver at least once a year (49 CFR 382.701).

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV). For the federal safety rules, a vehicle used in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle or combination weight rating or weight of 10,001 pounds or more, or one that carries passengers or placarded hazardous materials above set thresholds (49 CFR 390.5). The CDL rules use a different, heavier definition.

Consignee and consignor. The consignee receives the freight; the consignor (shipper) sends it.

D–E

Deadhead. Miles driven empty, for example from a delivery to the next pickup. Deadhead earns nothing, so carriers track it per load and per truck.

Detention. Pay for time a driver is held at a shipper or receiver beyond the agreed free time, often two hours. The rate and free time are set in the rate confirmation or customer agreement.

Dispatch board. The screen in a TMS that shows every load, driver and truck and their status, where dispatchers assign and follow work.

DQ file (driver qualification file). The file a carrier must keep for each driver under 49 CFR 391.51, including the employment application, motor vehicle records, road test certificate or equivalent, medical examiner's certificate and annual review records.

Drayage. Short-distance hauling of containers, usually between a port or rail ramp and a nearby warehouse.

Drop and hook. Dropping a loaded or empty trailer at a facility and hooking a different one, instead of waiting for live loading or unloading.

EDI (electronic data interchange). A standard format for exchanging business documents between companies' systems. In trucking the common X12 transaction sets are:

• EDI 204, motor carrier load tender: the shipper or broker offers a load.
• EDI 990, response to a load tender: the carrier accepts or declines.
• EDI 214, shipment status message: pickup, in-transit and delivery updates.
• EDI 210, motor carrier freight details and invoice: the carrier's invoice.

ELD (electronic logging device). The device that records a driver's hours of service. Most carriers subject to the hours-of-service rules must use one that is on FMCSA's registered list (49 CFR 395.8 and subpart B of part 395). It automatically records date, time, location, engine hours, vehicle miles and driver, vehicle and carrier identification (49 CFR 395.26).

Escrow. Money a leased owner-operator deposits with a carrier, often built up through settlement deductions, to cover specified obligations. The lease must state the amount, what it can be applied to, how it is accounted for, and that the carrier pays interest on it at least quarterly (49 CFR 376.12(k)).

F–H

Factoring. Selling unpaid invoices to a factoring company for an advance, so the carrier is paid in days instead of waiting for the customer's terms. The factor collects from the customer and keeps a fee.

Form 2290 (HVUT). The IRS return used to report and pay the federal heavy highway vehicle use tax on vehicles with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more.

Freight forwarder. A company that assembles and consolidates shipments and takes responsibility for them from origin to destination, using other carriers for the line-haul.

FTL (full truckload). A shipment that fills or uses the whole trailer, moving from one shipper to one receiver without handling in between.

Fuel surcharge. An extra charge that moves with diesel prices, usually calculated per mile from a published fuel price index and a base price set in the customer agreement.

HOS (hours of service). The federal limits on driving and on-duty time in 49 CFR part 395. For property-carrying drivers: 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off duty, a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and the 60-hour/7-day or 70-hour/8-day limit (49 CFR 395.3).

I–L

IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement). The agreement among the lower 48 states and the Canadian provinces that lets a carrier file one quarterly fuel tax return with its base jurisdiction, which then shares the tax among the jurisdictions where the miles were driven. It covers qualified motor vehicles, such as those with two axles and over 26,000 pounds or with three or more axles.

IRP (International Registration Plan). The agreement that lets interstate vehicles register once, in a base jurisdiction, and pay registration fees apportioned by distance in each member jurisdiction.

Lease-on. An owner-operator leasing their truck, with themselves as driver, to a carrier and running under the carrier's authority. The written lease must meet the truth-in-leasing rules in 49 CFR part 376.

Linehaul. The base rate for moving freight from origin to destination, before accessorials and fuel surcharge.

Load board. An online marketplace where brokers and shippers post available loads and carriers post available trucks.

LTL (less than truckload). Freight that fills only part of a trailer and shares it with other shipments, often moving through terminals.

Lumper. A worker or service paid to load or unload freight at a facility. The lumper receipt is usually billed back to the customer as an accessorial.

M–O

MC number. The docket number FMCSA assigns with operating authority, which for-hire carriers hauling regulated freight across state lines, brokers and freight forwarders need. FMCSA has proposed identifying companies by USDOT number alone; check its current status before relying on either way of working.

MCS-150. The motor carrier identification report filed to get a USDOT number and updated every 24 months on a schedule set by the last two digits of the USDOT number (49 CFR 390.19T). The MCS-150 due date calculator finds yours.

Medical examiner's certificate. The certificate showing a driver passed the DOT physical. Drivers are re-examined at least every 24 months, or sooner if the examiner sets a shorter period (49 CFR 391.45).

MVR (motor vehicle record). A driver's driving record from the state licensing agency. Carriers obtain one at hire and at least once every 12 months, and review it each year (49 CFR 391.25).

Owner-operator. A driver who owns or leases the truck they drive. They either lease on to a carrier or run under their own authority.

P–R

POD (proof of delivery). The signed delivery receipt, often the bill of lading signed by the receiver. Most customers will not pay an invoice without it.

Power-only. A carrier supplying a tractor and driver to pull a trailer that belongs to the shipper, broker or another carrier.

Power unit. A truck or tractor that moves under its own power. Fleet size is usually counted in power units.

Rate confirmation. The document a broker sends a carrier to confirm a load's rate, stops, times and terms. It is the carrier's contract for that load and the starting point for its invoice.

Reefer. A refrigerated trailer, and the freight that needs one.

RODS (record of duty status). A driver's log of each 24-hour period in four statuses: off duty, sleeper berth, driving and on duty not driving (49 CFR 395.8). Most drivers keep it on an ELD; paper logs remain for limited exceptions.

S–Z

Settlement. The statement and payment to a driver or owner-operator for a period's loads, showing gross pay and each deduction or addition.

Shipper TMS. Software that companies shipping goods use to choose carriers, tender loads and manage freight spend. A different product from a carrier TMS.

Telematics. In-vehicle hardware and software that report location, speed, fuel use, engine data and driving behavior. Many ELDs are part of a telematics platform.

TMS (transportation management system). The software a trucking company runs its loads on: order entry, dispatch, tracking, documents, invoicing, driver pay and reports. See what is a TMS.

TONU (truck ordered, not used). A fee paid to a carrier when a load is cancelled after the truck was dispatched or arrived.

Truth-in-leasing. The common name for 49 CFR part 376, which sets what a carrier's lease with an owner-operator must contain, including compensation, chargebacks and escrow.

UCR (Unified Carrier Registration). An annual federal registration, paid for each calendar year, required of interstate motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies. Fees depend on fleet size bracket and are paid through the UCR plan's national registration system.

USDOT number. The identifier FMCSA assigns when a company registers under 49 CFR 390.201. Interstate carriers operating commercial motor vehicles need one, and some states require one for intrastate carriers too. The FMCSA registration checker shows which registrations apply to you.