Glossary

Loading vocabulary, precisely defined

Every term in 2 to 4 sentences, no circular jargon, with a link to the guide that goes deeper when one exists.

A

ADR
The European agreement governing the international carriage of dangerous goods by road. It classifies substances into hazard classes, mandates packaging, labelling and documentation, and defines which classes may not be loaded together. Below the so-called 1,000-point threshold, a transport can run under partial exemption.
Axle load
The weight each axle transmits to the road, capped by regulation (Directive 96/53/EC in Europe: 10 t for a single non-driving axle, 11.5 t for a driving axle). Most weighbridge rejections come from one overloaded axle, not from gross weight — it is a load distribution problem.Guide: Load plans: from spreadsheet sketch to executable sequence

B

Blocking and bracing
Filling the voids in a load so cargo cannot build momentum: timber, inflatable dunnage bags, cardboard blocks. Professional practice keeps residual gaps to roughly fifteen centimetres per horizontal direction. An unbraced void is not a detail — it is a non-conformity.Guide: Container stuffing: the six-step method
Bulk / floor-loaded cargo
Goods transported without unit packaging: in heaps, in tanks, or loaded carton by carton directly on the floor (floor-loading). Floor-loading maximises container fill but multiplies handling time — the trade-off behind many Asia import flows.

C

CBM (cubic metre)
The freight volume unit: length × width × height in metres, times quantity. It is the quoting basis for ocean and air groupage. CBM sizes a shipment but does not prove it fits: stackability, shapes and the container door decide the truly usable volume.Guide: CBM calculation: formula, loading metres and volume traps
Centre of gravity
The point where the load's total weight applies. It must stay low, laterally centred, and longitudinally near the vehicle's middle — otherwise handling, axle loads and cargo operations all suffer. Any serious load plan computes and displays it.Guide: Load plans: from spreadsheet sketch to executable sequence
Container stuffing
Loading cargo into a container, blocking and lashing included. Stuffing is prepared, not improvised: accurate packing data, weight distribution, admissible stacking and a loading sequence decided before the box arrives.Guide: Container stuffing: the six-step method
Cross-docking
A logistics setup where inbound goods leave immediately for their destination without being put into storage: the inbound dock feeds the outbound docks directly. It requires loads built per destination — and therefore reliable load plans upstream.
Curtainsider
A trailer with sliding curtains for sides (also called a tautliner). The sides open fully, allowing side loading by forklift — essential for sideways pallet patterns. How much load the structure itself can restrain depends on its certification (EN 12642).Guide: How many pallets fit in a truck? 33… or 34 — here's the proof

D

Demurrage and detention
Penalties billed by the shipping line when a container stays at the port or at the customer's beyond the free time. Slow stuffing or stripping is paid for in demurrage — one more reason for load plans that speed up operations.
Devanning (stripping)
Unloading cargo from a container — the reverse of stuffing, often billed by time spent. A well-stuffed container with a readable sequence strips faster and with less damage.Guide: Container stuffing: the six-step method
Dry container
The standard closed, non-ventilated ocean container, in 20ft, 40ft and 45ft lengths. A 20ft Dry offers about 33 m³ and 28,200 kg of payload. It is the baseline against which the variants — high cube, reefer, open top, flat rack — are defined.Guide: Container types: dimensions, payloads and when to use each

E

EPAL
The European Pallet Association: the body certifying the manufacture and repair of exchangeable European pallets (EPAL 1, known as the Euro pallet, plus EPAL 2, 3 and 6). The EPAL brand on the blocks guarantees a pallet is eligible for the exchange pool.Guide: Pallet types: EUR, EPAL 2, GMA… sizes and load limits
Euro pallet
The exchangeable European wooden pallet (EPAL 1): 1,200 × 800 × 144 mm, about 25 kg, 1,500 kg dynamic load. Its 800 mm width allows 3 pallets abreast in a trailer — the key to the 33-to-34-pallet capacity of a European semi-trailer.Guide: Pallet types: EUR, EPAL 2, GMA… sizes and load limits

F

Flat rack
A container reduced to a reinforced floor and two end walls — no roof, no sides. The platform for over-width cargo and concentrated heavy loads (over 30 t of payload on a 20ft). With no walls, all securing falls to the shipper.Guide: Container types: dimensions, payloads and when to use each
Freight
The goods being transported — and, by extension, the price of moving them. Freight is quoted by weight, by volume (CBM) or by loading metre depending on the mode and shipment type.
Freight forwarder
The intermediary who arranges transport on the shipper's behalf: mode and carrier selection, documentation, customs, consolidation. The forwarder produces the shipping file — load plans included.
FTL (full truck load)
The shipper books the entire truck, whatever its fill rate. It makes sense as soon as volume approaches vehicle capacity — or when goods cannot tolerate the transhipments of groupage. The opposite of LTL.Guide: How many pallets fit in a truck? 33… or 34 — here's the proof

G

GMA pallet
The North American standard: 48 × 40 inches (1,219 × 1,016 mm), rated around 1,134 kg dynamic and 3,402 kg static. Its extra 19 mm over 1,200 mm breaks bracing patterns designed for Euro pallets — never mix the two without recomputing the load.Guide: Pallet types: EUR, EPAL 2, GMA… sizes and load limits
Gross weight
The weight of goods including packaging — as opposed to net weight (goods alone). Gross weight is what counts against payload, axle limits and the VGM. Mixing up net and gross on transport documents is a classic and costly mistake.
Groupage (consolidation, LCL)
Consolidating shipments from several shippers into one truck or container (LCL in ocean freight). Each pays their share — by weight, CBM or loading metre. Cheaper than a full load for small volumes, at the cost of longer lead times and extra handling.Guide: CBM calculation: formula, loading metres and volume traps
GVW (gross vehicle weight)
The maximum permissible weight of a loaded vehicle, set by its type approval and by regulation. Payload = GVW minus kerb weight. For an articulated combination, the equivalent is the gross combination weight (GCW).

H

High cube
A container variant about 30 cm taller: 2,697 mm of interior height on a 40ft HC versus 2,393 mm on a standard 40ft — nearly 13% more volume at practically the same payload. The de facto standard for bulky imports.Guide: Container types: dimensions, payloads and when to use each

I

Incoterms
The International Chamber of Commerce rules allocating costs, risks and obligations between seller and buyer (EXW, FOB, CIF, DAP, DDP…). Among other things they determine who arranges and pays for the main carriage — and therefore who owns the load plan and the VGM.

L

LDM (loading metre)
One metre of trailer floor length across the full usable width of 2.4 m. Formula: (cargo length × cargo width) / 2.4. A Euro pallet on the floor is 0.4 LDM; a full trailer offers 13.6. It is the quoting unit for road part-loads, especially non-stackable freight.Guide: CBM calculation: formula, loading metres and volume traps
Leftover cargo
The items that do not fit in the computed load. A serious tool states it explicitly, with a reason per item (oversized, over weight limit, no space left, stacking conflict) — never silently. Leftovers discovered on the dock are a planning failure, not bad luck.Guide: Load plans: from spreadsheet sketch to executable sequence
Load plan
The item-by-item representation of a load: position, orientation and stacking of every case, a numbered loading sequence, control metrics (utilisation, weight, centre of gravity) and the leftover list. Its quality is judged on the dock: a plan the forklift driver cannot follow is just a picture.Guide: Load plans: from spreadsheet sketch to executable sequence
Load securing (lashing)
All means of restraining cargo during transport: straps, chains, anti-slip mats, anchor points. The European reference is EN 12195-1, which dimensions restraint for 0.8 g of forward deceleration. It complements blocking, which eliminates voids.Guide: Container stuffing: the six-step method
LTL (less than truck load)
The shipment occupies only part of the truck and travels with others. Quoted by loading metre or weight in Europe. Between parcel networks and full loads, it is the natural regime for anything from a few pallets to a few floor metres.

M

Multi-drop (LIFO)
A route with several delivery points. Loading follows LIFO logic (last in, first out): the final stop's goods load first, the first stop's goods sit against the door. A plan that ignores this condemns the driver to unload and reload at every stop.Guide: Load plans: from spreadsheet sketch to executable sequence

O

Open top
A container with a tarpaulin instead of a rigid roof, loaded from above by crane. The choice for pieces too tall for the door but craneable — machinery, coils, glass. Interior height is measured to the tarpaulin line.Guide: Container types: dimensions, payloads and when to use each

P

Packing list
The breakdown of a shipment into packages: for each SKU, the number of cartons with their unit dimensions and weights. It is both a core shipping document and the raw material of any load plan.
Parcel & pallet network
A hub-and-spoke transport network for small consignments (parcels and single pallets), involving several transhipments. Fast and cheap for small shipments — but every transhipment is an opportunity for shock or loss, so packaging must be dimensioned accordingly.
Payload
The maximum cargo weight a vehicle or container can carry: permissible gross weight minus tare. A 20ft Dry carries about 28,200 kg, a standard European trailer about 24,000 kg. It is the second limit of every load, alongside volume — and on dense freight it saturates first.Guide: Container types: dimensions, payloads and when to use each

R

Reefer
A temperature-controlled refrigerated container. Its machinery and insulation are paid for in space: a 20ft Reefer loses about 45 cm of length and 15 cm of height versus a 20ft Dry. It has its own rules: never block the T-bar floor, and preserve air circulation at the top.Guide: Container types: dimensions, payloads and when to use each

S

Semi-trailer
The standard European road trailer: 13.6 m of usable length, about 2.45 m of interior width and 24 t of payload. It takes 33 Euro pallets on the floor loaded 3-wide — and 34 with the sideways pattern. Variants: mega (3 m ceiling), reefer (shortened body), flatbed, curtainsider.Guide: How many pallets fit in a truck? 33… or 34 — here's the proof
SKU
Stock Keeping Unit: the unique identifier of an article in a product master. For load planning, each SKU carries its dimensions, weight and constraints (stacking, orientation, fragility). A reliable SKU master is the foundation of any repeatable load calculation.
Stacking
Placing packages or pallets on top of one another. Three distinct regimes: non-stackable (nothing on top), a maximum layer count, or — the only physically correct one — a maximum supported weight, checked transitively down the stack. Stacking decides half of a load's fill rate.Guide: Load plans: from spreadsheet sketch to executable sequence

T

Tail lift
The lifting platform at the rear of a truck that allows loading and unloading without a dock. Essential for city deliveries and consignees without ramps — but it can reduce usable length or payload depending on configuration, and requires cargo movable by pallet truck.
Tare
The empty weight of a container, pallet or vehicle. It enters the VGM calculation (method 2: sum of packages and dunnage plus the container tare) and the payload calculation (gross weight minus tare). A container's exact tare is stencilled on its doors.

U

ULD
Unit Load Device: the standardised containers and pallets of air freight (AKE/LD3, PMC…). Their contours follow the fuselage — they are truncated shapes, not boxes — and any contour overhang is rejected at loading, no exceptions.

V

VGM
Verified Gross Mass: the verified gross weight of a container, mandatory before vessel loading since the July 2016 SOLAS amendment, under the shipper's responsibility. Two methods: weigh the stuffed container (method 1), or sum packages, pallets, dunnage and tare (method 2).Guide: Container stuffing: the six-step method