Freight and Shipping Terms Glossary

For your convenience, Logistics Worldwide offers a Freight Terms Glossary compiled by the Georgia Institute of Technology in association with the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute. The glossary includes over 750 freight, shipping and supply chain & logistics terms for all modes of transportation for our visitors and customers. To use the glossary, simply click on the letters corresponding to the word or phrase you are searching for.

Using this glossary can help you determine the definitions of specific acronyms, slang, payment, credit, and other shipping terms. We believe you’ll find all your transportation industry definition of terms in this glossary but if you are unable to find what you are searching for or need clarification, please contact us and we will be more than happy to assist you.

Logistics Worldwide is pleased to provide a glossary of freight and shipping terms for all modes of transportation to our visitors and customers. To use the glossary, click on the letters below corresponding to the word or acronym you are searching for. If you are unable to find what you are searching for, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

Validated Export License

A document issued by the U.S. government; authorizes the export of commodities for which written authorization is required by law.

Validation

Authentication of B/L and when B/L becomes effective.

Vanning

A term for stowing cargo in a container.

Variable Cost

Costs that vary directly with the level of activity within a short time. Examples include costs of moving cargo inland on trains or trucks, stevedoring in some ports, and short-term equipment leases. For business analysis, all costs are either defined as variable or fixed. For a business to break even, all fixed costs must be covered. To make a profit, all variable and fixed costs must be recovered plus some extra amount.

Ventilated Container

A container designed with openings in the side and/or end walls to permit the ingress of outside air when the doors are closed.

Vessel Manifest

The international carrier is obligated to make declarations of the ship's crew and contents at both the port of departure and arrival. The vessel manifest lists various details about each shipment by B/L number. Obviously, the B/L serves as the core source from which the manifest is created.

Vessel Supplies for Immediate Exportation (VSIE)

Allows equipment and supplies arriving at one port to be loaded on a vessel, aircraft, etc., for its exclusive use and to be exported from the same port.

Viz.

Namely. Used in tariffs to specify commodities.

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