Reference

Glossary for freight& logistics

The terms you'll meet when shipping goods – explained simply and correctly. From LTL and EORI to Incoterms, CMR and ADR.

Forwarding: Arranging and organising the transport of goods for a customer – planning, booking, coordinating and following up, often including customs and documents.
Freight forwarder: The company or person who arranges the transport for the sender. The forwarder picks the carrier, plans the route and holds the whole chain together.
LTL (part load): Less Than Truckload. Goods that share load space with other shipments – you pay only for the space you take.
FTL (full load): Full Truckload. The whole vehicle is booked for a single shipment and usually runs direct from pickup to delivery.
Parcel / piece goods: Smaller shipments, often single items or pallets, consolidated with other goods.
Part load goods: Larger shipments that take a significant share of the load space but don't fill a whole truck.
Customs clearance: Declaring goods to customs at import or export outside the EU, paying duty and VAT and having the goods released.
EORI number: Economic Operators Registration and Identification – a unique identifier companies need for customs handling outside the EU.
Incoterms: International delivery terms from the ICC that decide which of buyer and seller is responsible for transport, risk and customs.
CMR consignment note: The international transport document for road freight, evidencing the transport contract and travelling with the goods.
Taric / HS code: The commodity code that classifies an item in customs. The code sets the duty rate and any restrictions.
Customs value: The value on which duty and import VAT are calculated – usually the price plus freight and insurance to the EU border.
Import VAT: VAT paid on import from countries outside the EU, normally 25% in Sweden, calculated on the customs value plus duty.
ADR: The European rules for transporting dangerous goods by road, with requirements for marking, documents and training.
Temperature-controlled (reefer): Transport with cooling or heating for goods that need a controlled temperature, such as food or pharmaceuticals.
Mega / Walking floor: Special trailers: mega has extra internal height for voluminous goods, walking floor has a moving floor for bulk and loose cargo.
Loading metre (LDM): A measure of how many metres of the load space's length a shipment takes – used to price part loads.
Transit (T1): A procedure where uncleared goods are transported through the EU under customs supervision without being cleared en route.
Customs warehouse: An approved warehouse where imported goods can be stored without paying duty and VAT until the goods are withdrawn.
Certificate of origin: A document certifying where an item was made – it can give lower or zero duty under trade agreements.
Proforma invoice: A preliminary invoice describing the value and contents of the goods, often used as a basis for customs clearance.
POD (proof of delivery): Confirmation that the goods were delivered, often with the recipient's signature and the time.
Cross-docking: Moving goods directly from inbound to outbound transport via a terminal, with minimal or no storage.
Groupage / consolidation: Combining several shippers' goods in the same transport to fill the truck and lower the cost per shipment.
NSAB 2015: The General Conditions of the Nordic Association of Freight Forwarders – the industry standard governing liability between forwarder and customer in the Nordics.

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