Freight terminology, explained simply

Every industry has its own language, and freight has more than most. When you're new, half the battle is just understanding what a broker is actually saying on the phone. Here are the terms that come up most — defined the way I'd explain them to you over coffee.

The documents that get you paid

These three are your payment trail — and they come in this order. The rate con sets what you'll be paid, the BOL proves what you hauled, and the POD proves you delivered it. Together they're the packet you (or your factoring company) send to get paid. Lose or skip one and your money waits.

1. Rate Confirmation ("rate con") — what you'll be paid

Comes first, before you roll. The written agreement between you and the broker for a specific load: the agreed rate, pickup and delivery details, and any special terms. This is the number you'll bill against, so read it carefully and keep it — no rate con, no proof of what you were promised.

2. BOL (Bill of Lading) — what you hauled

Created at pickup and travels with the freight. The legal document listing what's being hauled, who's shipping it, and who's receiving it. Get it signed and clean (no damage noted) at pickup and delivery — a signed BOL is the backbone of your payment packet.

3. POD (Proof of Delivery) — that you delivered

The final piece, captured at the receiver. The signed paperwork confirming the load was delivered — very often the BOL signed by the consignee at drop-off. This is what closes the loop. No POD, no payment.

If you factor your invoices: the NOA

When you use a factoring company, one more piece of paper sets up the whole payment trail: the Notice of Assignment (NOA). It's a short letter your factor sends to your broker or customer telling them that your invoices have been "assigned" — meaning pay the factor, not you.

NOA (Notice of Assignment)

The letter from your factoring company directing your customer to send payment for your invoices to the factor. Once it's on file, every invoice you bill that customer is paid to the factor, who then funds you. Brokers and shippers take NOAs seriously — if they pay around it (i.e. pay you directly after receiving an NOA), they can end up paying twice. So never tell a customer to ignore an NOA, and don't try to bill an account around it. The good news: with a full-service factor like mine, we send the NOA and manage the relationship for you — you just keep hauling.

The players

Broker

The middleman who connects shippers with carriers. They find the freight and take a cut; you haul it. Good ones are worth their margin.

Shipper

The company that owns the freight and wants it moved. Working "direct" means dealing with the shipper instead of through a broker.

Consignee

The receiver — the business or person the freight is being delivered to.

Load types

FTL (Full Truckload)

One shipment fills (or pays for) the whole trailer. Simpler and usually your bread and butter.

LTL (Less Than Truckload)

Smaller shipments from multiple customers share one trailer. More stops, more handling.

Reefer

A refrigerated trailer (and the loads that need it) — produce, frozen goods, anything temperature-controlled.

Dry van

The standard enclosed trailer for non-perishable freight.

Flatbed

An open trailer for oversized or oddly shaped freight — lumber, steel, machinery — usually requiring straps and tarps.

Drayage

Short-haul moves, typically hauling a container to or from a port or rail yard.

Money, miles & time

Deadhead (empty miles)

Miles you drive with an empty trailer — usually to get to your next pickup. Deadhead burns fuel and time but earns nothing, so always factor it into whether a load actually pays.

Detention

Pay you're owed when a shipper or receiver holds you past the free loading/ unloading window (often two hours). Document your arrival and departure times to collect it.

Layover

Compensation when you're stuck waiting overnight because a pickup or delivery can't happen as scheduled.

Lumper fee

A charge for third-party workers who load or unload your trailer, common at grocery and food warehouses. Usually reimbursed — keep the receipt.

Accessorials

Extra charges beyond the line-haul rate — detention, lumper, tarping, extra stops, etc. They add up; make sure they're on the rate con.

Line haul

The base rate for moving the freight from point A to B, before accessorials and fuel surcharge.

Fuel surcharge (FSC)

An add-on that adjusts with fuel prices to help cover diesel costs, on top of the line haul.

RPM (Rate Per Mile)

What a load pays divided by the miles. The real number to watch is your all-in RPM — including deadhead.

Quick pay

A broker option to pay you faster than standard terms in exchange for a small fee. Factoring often does the same job across all your brokers.

Compliance & the road

MC / DOT number

Your federal operating authority and registration. Brokers check these before they'll load you.

ELD (Electronic Logging Device)

The device that automatically records your hours of service.

HOS (Hours of Service)

The federal rules limiting how long you can drive before resting. They shape what loads you can realistically take.

IFTA

The International Fuel Tax Agreement — how you report and pay fuel taxes across the states you run.

Keep this page bookmarked — and when something comes up that isn't here, just call me. Part of my job is making sure you never have to nod along to a term you don't actually understand.

Find your team — and the right factoring partner

Two relationships make everything else in this business easier. The first is finding a team to support you. You can't drive, dispatch, sell, bill, and handle compliance all at once and do any of it well — a good dispatcher and the right partners take work off your plate so you can focus on the road and on growing.

The second is finding the right factoring company — one that does direct billing with real humans, not a faceless app that just deposits money and leaves you on your own. The right factor invoices your customers for you, picks up the phone when you call, and treats you like a name instead of a ticket number. That's exactly how I work.