5 More Freight Terms Everyone Should Know

When I wrote my original post, 6 Freight Terms Everyone Should Know, I had no idea it would become so popular.

Since that time, a lot of interesting freight questions from all over the world have come my way. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. Shipping stuff seems easy enough, but sometimes it feels like you have to learn a secret new language just to get a freight bill paid. That's why I've decided to expand on my first freight terms post.

A driver that transports product to any location at any time without a schedule or route is known in the industry as an over-the-road (OTR) carrier.

Below are more terms you might see on shipping documents:
  

1. DE PPD or DSTNTN-PPD
   Destination Prepaid
   This means that the buyer is taking delivery of goods being shipped by a supplier. After the goods arrive at the buyer's receiving dock, the supplier pays the shipping costs.
     
2. ORG
   Origin
   This identifies the starting location for the freight or shipment.
     
3. PPA
   Prepaid and Add
   This means the shipper pays for the freight charges using their preferred carrier and then passes along full (or partial) charges by adding the charges to customer's invoice for payment.
     
4. FFA
   Free Freight Allowance or Forward Freight Agreement
   Both meanings here are associated with how much a customer will be charged for freight. Free Freight Allowance allows for discounted shipping charges (usually issued when a customer reaches a certain volume or dollar amount). A Forward Freight Agreement is used when both parties agree on freight charges for future delivery. Since freight rates are always changing, both sides are gambling on rates going up or down (in their favor) at the time of shipment.
     
5. PP-PRTL
   Prepaid Partial Truckload
   When a load is too big to meet LTL standards but is still shy of a full load, it's called a partial truckload. If you see PP-PRTL, it means the customer agrees to prepay the shipping charges for a partial truckload.

What other terms have you seen on freight paperwork? New terms seem to pop up all the time so keep them coming. Post your questions in the comments below (and don't forget to check my original freight terms post too).

Post by: Amber Potts, Customer Service Representative