It may not sound crucial for shipping, but it is essential to know freight shipping acronyms. There are a lot of reasons why companies have established them. Sea freight companies in Kuwait use them in their businesses, too. However, even if you are not a professional, it is good to recognize at least commonly used acronyms.
Freight shipping acronyms that companies use to mark shipping methods
For companies, shipping is not as simple as for us. They must make a difference between shipping methods, clients, size, and weight of the load. However, it is not easy to define all those definitions in the small and short text as a contract. They have made standardized acronyms that every shipping company should understand. In that way, they have resolved many problems in shipping.
- Thanks to that, they could fulfill the document correctly and show to the other shipping company or client which service they charge;
- Freight shipping acronyms are short so companies could put them on the contract in a bigger font and bolded, so client and company see it immediately;
- Cargo shipping companies in Kuwait work much faster thanks to these acronyms – they decrease the time needed for checking the contract.
LTL
The abbreviation is made of the words Less Than Load. However, you will not find it in air freight Kuwait companies. Shipping companies use it to show a truck with five or fewer pallets of the load and lighter than 5,000 pounds. It means that you cannot use the car alone. It would help if you shared it with other clients.
TL
This acronym is shortened from Truck Load, meaning that you have enough goods for the full truck. Moving services do not use it often, but logistic companies use it to mark vehicles that will not make stops at terminals. Since there are no other users and clients, they do not need to control trucks during transportation. It also means that you will be the only shipper that uses it.
PTL
Sometimes you will not have goods for the full truck, but you still do not want to share a vehicle with other companies. In that case, you can pay for a full load truck, and it will not make stops, like in TL shipping.
Common freight shipping acronyms that you can see on documents
Usually, shipping companies use those acronyms for measures and weight of the load. However, other abbreviations mark the type of shipping or contract that companies have signed. Those acronyms are ubiquitous in shipping, so it is not wrong to learn them, too. Some of them use to mark vehicles.
BOL
The word is an acronym that is shortened from the Bill of Lading. It is a standardized and commonly used contract between a freight carrier and a shipper. Usually, they include information about the date, description, names, and address.
NMFC
National Motor Freight Classification is an essential label that determines many things connected with transportation. Shipping companies use it as one of the freight shipping acronyms to standardize pricing for freight shipment.