Freight glossary

Terms

• OTRI (Outbound Tender Reject Index): The percentage of contracted truckload requests that carriers reject. https://freightfa.com/glossary/otri
• OTVI (Outbound Tender Volume Index): A normalized measure of how much truckload freight is being tendered nationally. https://freightfa.com/glossary/otvi
• L/T Ratio (Load-to-Truck Ratio): The number of available loads divided by the number of available trucks on a load board. https://freightfa.com/glossary/load-to-truck-ratio
• NTI (National Truckload Index): A daily benchmark of national van spot truckload rates including fuel. https://freightfa.com/glossary/nti
• FMI (Freight Market Index): A composite score blending tender volume, reject rate, and spot pricing into one market read. https://freightfa.com/glossary/freight-market-index
• RCAF (Rail Cost Adjustment Factor): A federal index used to escalate or de-escalate Class I rail freight rates over time. https://freightfa.com/glossary/rcaf
• Cass Freight Index (Cass Freight Index): A monthly benchmark of North American freight shipment volume and spend, indexed to January 1990. https://freightfa.com/glossary/cass-freight-index
• Truck Tonnage Index (ATA Truck Tonnage Index): A monthly measure of the total tonnage hauled by the U.S. for-hire trucking industry. https://freightfa.com/glossary/ata-truck-tonnage-index
• LMI (Logistics Managers' Index): A monthly survey-based diffusion index tracking inventory, warehousing, and transportation conditions. https://freightfa.com/glossary/logistics-managers-index
• Fuel Surcharge (Diesel Fuel Surcharge): A variable per-mile add-on that passes changes in diesel price through to the freight rate. https://freightfa.com/glossary/diesel-fuel-surcharge
• SMS BASIC (SMS BASIC Percentile): FMCSA's continuously updated safety-performance percentile score across seven roadside-inspection categories. https://freightfa.com/glossary/sms-basic-percentile
• Freight Class (NMFC) (Freight Class): An 18-tier density-based classification (Class 50–500) that determines LTL pricing under the NMFC. https://freightfa.com/glossary/freight-class
• Detention & Demurrage (Detention and Demurrage): Fees billed when a truck (detention) or a container (demurrage) sits idle past its free time. https://freightfa.com/glossary/detention-and-demurrage
• DIM Weight (Dimensional Weight): A billing weight based on a shipment's size rather than its actual scale weight, for low-density freight. https://freightfa.com/glossary/dimensional-weight
• BOL (Bill of Lading): The legal shipping document that serves as a contract of carriage, receipt of goods, and title document. https://freightfa.com/glossary/bill-of-lading
• Deadhead % (Deadhead Percentage): The share of a truck's total miles driven empty, without a paying load. https://freightfa.com/glossary/deadhead-percentage
• Accessorials (Accessorial Charges): Fees for services beyond standard pickup-to-delivery, such as liftgate, residential, or inside delivery. https://freightfa.com/glossary/accessorial-charges
• Linehaul vs. All-In (Linehaul Rate): The base transportation rate before fuel surcharge and accessorials are added. https://freightfa.com/glossary/linehaul-rate