Trucking Glossary: 81 Freight and Dispatch Terms Defined

Terms are in alphabetical order, and each one has its own link, so you can send a definition to a driver or a new hire. Use the search box to find a term fast. Many terms link to one of our free calculators, so you can run the numbers right away.

Jump to: A to C · D to F · G to L · M to P · Q to S · T to Z

A to C

Accessorial: Any pay on top of the linehaul for extra work or time, such as detention, layover, TONU, lumper reimbursement or tarp pay. It should be listed on the rate confirmation.
All-in rate: The total a load pays, linehaul plus fuel surcharge, usually stated per mile. National spot averages are often quoted all-in, so compare all-in to all-in and linehaul to linehaul.
Backhaul: A load that takes you from where you delivered back toward home or your next market. Planning backhauls before you deliver is how a dispatcher cuts deadhead.
Bill of lading (BOL): The shipping document signed at pickup. It lists the shipper, receiver, commodity, piece count and weight, and works as the receipt for the freight.
BMC-84 and BMC-85: The filings that show a broker's $75,000 financial security with FMCSA. BMC-84 is a surety bond and BMC-85 is a trust fund. This is what a carrier files a claim against when a broker doesn't pay.
BOC-3: The designation of process agents: a filing that names someone in each state to accept legal papers for your company. Your authority can't go active without it, and it's usually filed by a process agent company.
Box truck: A straight truck with the cargo box on the same chassis, usually 16 to 26 feet. One rated under 26,001 lbs GVWR doesn't need a CDL unless it hauls placarded hazmat. See box truck dispatch.
Broker: A company with FMCSA broker authority that arranges transportation for a shipper's freight and hires a carrier to haul it. See how a broker differs from a dispatcher.
Broker of record: The broker named on the rate confirmation that's responsible for paying you. If paperwork at pickup names a different broker or carrier, stop and verify.
Bumper pull: A trailer that hitches to the back of the truck instead of in the bed. Lighter and cheaper than a gooseneck, and suited to smaller loads.
Cargo insurance: Coverage for the freight you haul. It isn't federally required for general freight, but most brokers ask for $100,000 before they'll give you a load.
CDL (commercial driver's license): The license needed for heavier commercial vehicles. Class A covers combinations rated 26,001 lbs or more with a trailer rated over 10,000 lbs. Class B covers single vehicles rated 26,001 lbs or more. See the CDL rule for hotshot.
Certificate of insurance (COI): A one-page summary from your insurance agent of your coverages and limits. Brokers ask to be named as the certificate holder before your first load with them.
Check call: An update to the broker on where the truck is and whether pickup or delivery is on time. A dispatcher usually handles these so the driver isn't on the phone while driving.
Clearinghouse: FMCSA's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, the database of CDL drivers' drug and alcohol program violations. Owner-operators who drive under a CDL register as both employer and driver at clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov.
Consortium (C/TPA): A consortium or third-party administrator that runs drug and alcohol testing for small carriers, including the random testing pool an owner-operator driving under a CDL has to be in.
Contract rate: A rate agreed in advance for a lane, often for months, instead of priced load by load. See spot vs contract freight.
Cost per mile: What it costs to run your truck for one mile, counting fixed costs, variable costs and your own pay. Every rate decision starts from it. See how to calculate yours, or use the cost per mile calculator.

D to F

Days to pay: How long a broker actually takes to pay carriers after delivery, as reported by credit services and factoring companies. It's often longer than the broker's stated terms.
Deadhead: Miles driven empty, usually to reach the next pickup. Every deadhead mile costs fuel and time without paying anything. Here's how to cut deadhead.
Detention: Pay for time held at a shipper or receiver past the free time, which is usually two hours. The rate and terms should be on the rate confirmation, and the times should be documented. See how to collect detention and TONU. The detention pay calculator does the math.
Dispatcher: Someone who works for the carrier: finding loads, negotiating rates with brokers, booking under the carrier's own authority and handling paperwork. See what a truck dispatcher does.
DOT medical card: The medical examiner's certificate you need to drive a commercial vehicle over 10,000 lbs in interstate commerce. It comes from an examiner on FMCSA's National Registry and is valid for up to 24 months.
Double brokering: When a load is re-brokered to another carrier without the shipper's knowledge, often by someone using a stolen identity. The carrier that hauls it often doesn't get paid. Here's how double brokering works and how to protect yourself.
Dovetail: A trailer whose rear section slopes toward the ground, often with ramps, so equipment and vehicles can drive on.
Driver assist: Pay for a driver who helps load or unload the freight. Agree on it and get it on the rate confirmation before you accept the load.
Driver qualification file: The records a carrier keeps for each driver: application, driving records, the annual review and medical certificate. Owner-operators keep one on themselves, and the safety audit checks it.
Drop and hook: Dropping a trailer and picking up another already loaded one, instead of waiting while freight is loaded or unloaded. It usually means shorter waits at docks.
Dry van: An enclosed, non-refrigerated trailer, usually 53 feet, used for general freight. It's the biggest freight market in trucking.
ELD (electronic logging device): A device that records driving time for hours of service. Most drivers who must keep hours of service records need one from FMCSA's list of registered ELDs.
ELDT (entry-level driver training): Training from a provider on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry, required since February 7, 2022 for first-time Class A and Class B CDL applicants before the skills test.
Expedited freight: Time-critical loads that have to move faster than standard freight, often on short notice. Hotshot and box truck carriers haul a lot of it, and it usually pays more.
Factoring: Selling your invoices to a factoring company, which pays you most of the amount right away and collects from the broker, for a fee. See how factoring works with our partners, and price an offer with the factoring fee calculator.
Flatbed: An open trailer with no sides or roof, usually 48 to 53 feet, for steel, lumber, machinery and other freight loaded from the side or top. The carrier secures the load with chains, straps and tarps.
Form 2290: The IRS return for the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax, due for trucks with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 lbs or more. The tax period runs July 1 to June 30. See the IRS Form 2290 page or our Form 2290 calculator.
Free time: The time a shipper or receiver gets to load or unload you before detention pay starts. It usually counts from your appointment time, not from when you arrive early.
Fuel surcharge: Pay that offsets fuel costs, often listed separately from the linehaul and tied to diesel prices. Check one with the fuel surcharge calculator.

G to L

GCWR (gross combination weight rating): The weight rating for a truck and trailer together: the manufacturer's combined rating, or the sum of the truck's and trailer's GVWRs, whichever is higher. It decides whether a combination needs a Class A CDL. Check your rig with the CDL calculator.
Gooseneck: A trailer hitch that sits in the truck bed over the rear axle. It carries more weight and tows more steadily than a bumper pull, which is why most hotshot rigs use one.
GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating): The maximum loaded weight the manufacturer rates a single truck or trailer for. It's on the door jamb label or the trailer's VIN plate.
Hotshot: Hauling smaller, often time-sensitive loads with a heavy-duty pickup and a gooseneck, dovetail or bumper pull trailer.
Hours of service (HOS): The federal limits on driving and on-duty time: up to 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window after 10 hours off, a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving, and a 60 or 70-hour limit over 7 or 8 days. See hours of service for owner-operators. Plan a trip with the hours of service trip planner.
IFTA: The International Fuel Tax Agreement. Carriers running qualifying trucks (generally over 26,000 lbs or with three or more axles) in more than one state file one quarterly fuel tax return with their home state. Estimate yours with the IFTA calculator.
IRP: The International Registration Plan, which issues apportioned plates so a qualifying truck can run in multiple states, with fees split by miles driven in each.
Lane: The route between two markets, such as Atlanta to Dallas. Rates, reloads and broker relationships are all tracked by lane.
Layover: Pay for being held overnight or a day beyond the schedule because a pickup or delivery was pushed back.
Lease on: Hauling under another carrier's authority, usually for a share of each load's revenue, instead of under your own MC. See lease on vs your own authority.
Liftgate: A powered platform at the back of a box truck that lowers freight to the ground, for deliveries without a loading dock.
Linehaul: The rate for moving the load, not counting fuel surcharge or accessorials. Some dispatchers charge their fee on the linehaul alone. Ours is a flat 6% or 8% of your weekly gross, which includes fuel surcharge and accessorials.
Live load and live unload: Waiting at the dock while freight is loaded or unloaded onto your trailer. It can take hours, which is where detention comes in.
Load board: An online marketplace where brokers post loads and carriers post trucks. DAT and Truckstop are the largest.
Load-to-truck ratio: The number of loads posted for each truck posted on a load board in a market. A higher ratio means trucks are scarce, and rates tend to rise.
Lumper: A third-party crew that unloads freight at some warehouses for a fee. Get a receipt and confirm reimbursement with the broker before you pay.

M to P

MC number: The docket number for your interstate for-hire operating authority from FMCSA. Brokers ask for it on every setup packet and rate confirmation. See MC number vs USDOT number.
MCS-150: The form that updates your USDOT registration. Every carrier must file it every two years, on a schedule set by the last two digits of its USDOT number. See the compliance calendar, or find your month with the MCS-150 due date tool.
Motus: FMCSA's new online registration system, rolled out between late 2025 and 2026. It kept MC numbers in place.
New entrant program: FMCSA's monitoring period for new carriers: 18 months, with a safety audit usually within the first 12. See our new authority trucking guide.
Non-recourse factoring: Factoring where the factor absorbs the loss if a broker can't pay, usually only for insolvency, not for disputes. It typically costs more than recourse factoring.
Notice of assignment (NOA): A letter telling brokers to pay your factoring company instead of you. Switching factors means releasing it first.
Out of service (OOS): An inspector's order that stops a driver or vehicle from operating until a violation is fixed, such as an hours of service, securement or brake problem.
Physical damage insurance: Coverage for your own truck and trailer. It isn't legally required, but lenders require it on financed equipment.
Power only: Hauling with your tractor only, hooking to a trailer owned by a broker's trailer pool or a shipper's drop program. See how power only works.
Proof of delivery (POD): The signed bill of lading or delivery receipt from the receiver. You usually need it to invoice the broker or factor the load.

Q to S

Quick pay: An option some brokers offer to pay within a few days, in exchange for a small percentage off the invoice.
Rate confirmation (rate con): The written agreement between the broker and carrier for one load: addresses, times, commodity, rate and accessorial terms. If it isn't on the rate con, it isn't agreed. See a rate con, line by line.
Rate floor: The lowest rate per mile you'll accept, built from your cost per mile and your empty miles. Give it to your dispatcher so they don't bring you loads below it.
Recourse factoring: Factoring where you have to buy back or replace an invoice if the broker never pays. It usually costs less than non-recourse factoring.
Reefer: A refrigerated trailer with its own cooling unit, used for produce, frozen food, dairy and other temperature-controlled freight.
Reserve: The part of an invoice a factoring company holds back until the broker pays, then releases to you, depending on your agreement.
Safety audit: FMCSA's review of a new carrier's records: driver qualification, hours of service, maintenance, drug and alcohol testing and insurance. Failing it leads to a corrective action plan.
Setup packet: The paperwork a broker sends before your first load with them, usually asking for your authority, insurance certificate, W-9 and payment details.
Spot rate: The price for a single load booked on the open market, as opposed to a contract rate. DAT publishes national spot averages every week, and we summarize them in our monthly rate report.
Stop-off pay: Extra pay for each additional pickup or delivery stop on a load. It should be listed on the rate confirmation.

T to Z

Tarp pay: Extra pay for tarping a flatbed load. Get the amount on the rate confirmation before you accept.
TONU (truck order not used): Pay owed when a load is cancelled after your truck was dispatched to it. The amount should be on the rate confirmation.
Trailer interchange insurance: Coverage for damage to a trailer you don't own while you pull it under an interchange agreement. Most power only programs require it or non-owned trailer coverage.
Trailer pool: Trailers a broker or shipper keeps at shipper locations or drop yards for power only carriers to hook and haul.
Truth-in-Leasing: The federal rules in 49 CFR Part 376 for leases between owner-operators and carriers: a written lease, clear pay terms, itemized chargebacks and payment within 15 days of your paperwork.
UCR (Unified Carrier Registration): An annual registration and fee for interstate carriers, brokers and freight forwarders, priced by fleet size, filed at ucr.gov.
USDOT number: FMCSA's identifier for your company, needed to run commercial vehicles over 10,000 lbs in interstate commerce. It tracks your inspections and safety record.
Working load limit (WLL): The most weight a chain, strap or other tiedown is rated to hold. The combined WLL of your tiedowns must be at least half the cargo's weight. See flatbed securement basics. Count yours with the tiedown calculator.

Missing a term you've seen on a rate con? Ask us, and see our truck dispatch FAQ for the questions carriers ask most.

Trucking Glossary