A working glossary of auto-transport terms.
The trade has its own vocabulary, and a lot of shipper frustration starts with words that mean one thing to a dispatcher and another to a customer. Here are the ones I keep explaining. Bookmarkable.
Equipment types, at a glance
- Authority (operating authority)
- A carrier's permission from the federal regulator to operate in interstate commerce. Verified by MC number. "Active" is table stakes; "in good standing" is a separate check.
- BOL — Bill of Lading
- The contract and receipt for the shipment, executed between shipper and carrier at origin and re-executed at delivery. The document the damage claim lives or dies on.
- Cargo policy
- The carrier's insurance policy covering the vehicles on their trailer. Standard minimum in auto transport is $100,000 for open, $250,000 for enclosed. The declarations page lists the limits; the exclusions are where you find the surprises.
- Carmack Amendment
- The 1906 federal law that governs carrier liability for interstate cargo loss and damage. It is why the BOL is a legal instrument and not a receipt.
- Contingent cargo
- The broker's backup insurance, which pays only when the carrier's cargo policy fails to. Not a first resort. Any broker who leans on it instead of vetting the carrier's primary has a process problem.
- Deadhead
- Miles driven without a load. Every dispatcher's least favorite word, every carrier's largest cost.
- Declarations page (dec page)
- The cover summary of an insurance policy showing limits, deductibles, named insureds, and — crucially — listed exclusions. The single document I want from any carrier I haven't used.
- Dispatch sheet
- The working document for a single load: origin, destination, vehicle details, carrier assigned, rate, pickup window, delivery window, BOL status. My desk runs on them.
- Enclosed (hard-side / soft-side)
- Hard-side: aluminum-skinned trailer, typically 2–4 car, often with liftgate. What people actually picture when they say "enclosed." Soft-side: curtain-sided, 6-car, cheaper, protects against debris but not impact.
- Ground clearance
- The lowest point of the vehicle relative to the ground, measured at the front splitter on sporty cars. Under ~4" is a hard stop for standard open-deck ramps.
- Hotshot
- Non-CDL or light-duty pickup-and-trailer operation, typically running 1–3 cars. Faster on short notice, priced differently, useful in specific situations. Not a downgrade; a different product.
- Inop (inoperable)
- A vehicle that does not run. Pricing and equipment requirements change sharply. "Rolls and steers" is the minimum; a car that does not roll and steer is a winch load or a flatbed load.
- Lane
- A defined origin-to-destination corridor. "Chicago to Atlanta" is a lane. "The I-75 southeast lane" is a lane. Lanes have their own seasonality, pricing, and carrier populations.
- Liftgate
- A hydraulic platform at the rear of an enclosed trailer that raises the vehicle to deck height without a ramp. Required for very low clearance vehicles.
- MC number
- Motor Carrier number. The regulator-issued ID that identifies a carrier's authority. Paired with a USDOT number.
- MCS-150
- The carrier's biennial registration filing. Contains fleet size, driver count, operating areas. Reading one carefully tells you whether a carrier is who they say they are.
- Rate confirmation ("rate con")
- The short agreement between broker and carrier locking in a specific load, rate, pickup, and delivery. The four clauses I watch: detention, TONU, payment terms, and claims handling.
- Ramp scrape
- Damage to the front lip of a vehicle caused by the angle of the loading ramp. Low cars, tall ramps, impatient drivers — the claim that dispatchers spend the most hours preventing.
- Snowbird season
- Late October through mid-December southbound, mid-March through April northbound. The predictable seasonal lane imbalance that reshapes pricing on the eastern corridor for eight weeks at a time.
- Spot market
- Loads priced and dispatched one at a time, as opposed to contract freight. Most retail auto transport is spot. Rates discover themselves hourly.
- Subject to daylight inspection
- A notation on a delivery BOL when the walkaround cannot be performed in adequate light. Gives the receiver 24 hours to document damage that was not visible at signing. Standard. Defensible.
- Terminal transfer
- Moving a vehicle between two carriers at a shared yard mid-transit. Cheaper on long lanes, adds one handoff to the claim-risk budget. I use two terminals regularly and avoid the third.
- TONU — Truck Ordered, Not Used
- A partial fee paid to a carrier when a load is canceled after the carrier has committed. Varies by region and relationship. Cheaper than the cost of a carrier who stops answering your calls.
- Winch load
- An inop that must be pulled onto the deck with the trailer's winch rather than driven. Takes longer, costs more, and requires a trailer equipped for it. Not every hauler carries one.
— If a term you expected isn't here, it's because I haven't needed to explain it lately. I add entries when a client asks a question I've answered more than twice.