Resources · Glossary

Freight & logistics glossary

Thirty B2B freight terms defined in plain English — the operational vocabulary you'll meet when shipping from Spain. Written to be useful, not padded.

Service modes

Groupage (LTL): Less-than-truckload: multiple consignors share space on the same trailer, each paying for the portion they use. Suits shipments of roughly 1–12 Euro pallets that don't justify a dedicated truck. Consolidation adds a hub stop; the lead time is confirmed for the collection and delivery postcodes.
Full truck load (FTL): One shipper's goods fill the trailer from origin to destination, with no consolidation stops. Fastest transit on any given lane because the route is direct. Priced per truck, so the cost-per-pallet drops as you fill the deck.
Express: Dedicated truck with a two-driver team or a tighter departure window, used when the transit time has to beat the standard schedule. Common use cases: automotive line-down events, trade-show freight, launch-day retail stock.
Cross-docking: Freight arrives at a hub and is re-sorted onto outbound trucks without being put into long-term storage — typically within hours. Used at consolidation hubs like Castellar del Vallès to combine small consignments into optimized trailers before dispatch.
Door-to-door: The carrier is responsible for the load from the shipper's loading dock to the consignee's receiving dock, end-to-end. The opposite of terminal-to-terminal, where the customer handles first- or last-mile drayage themselves.

Units & dimensions

Euro pallet (EUR 1): The standard EPAL/UIC pallet used across European road freight: 1,200 mm × 800 mm, load capacity 1,500 kg dynamic. Sized so 33 fit on the floor of a 13.6 m curtainsider (or 26 with a common central-aisle layout).
LDM (loading metre): One linear metre of trailer floor space, 2.4 m wide × 2.5 m high, used as a billing unit when a shipment isn't pallet-standard. A 13.6 m standard curtainsider is 13.6 LDM. LDM is how most European carriers price partial loads that don't fit neatly into pallet math.
Stackable / non-stackable: Whether a pallet can have another pallet placed on top of it in transit. Non-stackable cargo occupies the full vertical slot and is billed accordingly — often at double the LDM of the same footprint. Marked with an ISO-recommended 'do not stack' label on the packaging.
Gross weight vs chargeable weight: Gross weight is what the load physically weighs, in kilograms. Chargeable weight is the greater of actual weight or volumetric weight (volume converted to a weight equivalent using a lane-specific ratio, commonly 333 kg per cubic metre for road freight). Low-density freight is billed on volume, not mass.

Customs & documentation

CMR consignment note: The international consignment note for road freight, governed by the CMR Convention of 1956. Travels with the truck, signed by shipper, carrier, and consignee. The signed CMR is the carrier's proof of delivery and the basis for any later insurance claim.
EORI: Economic Operator Registration and Identification number. A unique identifier used by customs authorities to track a business's import and export activity. An EU EORI covers all EU member states; the UK and Switzerland each issue their own separate numbers.
T1: A customs transit document for goods that have not yet been cleared for free circulation in the EU — typically because they originated outside the EU or are in bond. The T1 follows the goods until they're either cleared at destination or re-exported.
T2: A customs transit document for goods already in free circulation within the EU that pass through a non-EU country (e.g. Switzerland) on their way to another EU member state. Proves EU status so no duty is charged on re-entry.
AEO (Authorised Economic Operator): An EU trusted-trader status granted to businesses that meet customs-authority standards for compliance, financial solvency, and security. AEO holders get simplified customs procedures and faster border treatment. Awarded by each EU member state's customs authority.
Customs broker: A licensed agent authorized to file import and export declarations with a customs authority on behalf of a shipper or consignee. Holds a local EORI and is legally liable for the declarations filed. For UK and Swiss imports from Spain, a licensed broker at destination is required.

Operator licensing (Reg. 1071/2009)

Community licence: The EU-wide operator authorisation required for international road haulage, issued under Regulation (EC) 1071/2009. A certified copy must be carried on board each vehicle. The licence confirms the operator meets all four access conditions: established seat, good repute, financial standing, and professional competence.
Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC): A qualification proving the holder has the knowledge required to manage a road transport undertaking, covering civil and commercial law, social legislation, tax, business management, market access, technical standards, and road safety. Required for at least one person in the undertaking — the designated transport manager.
Transport manager: The natural person designated by the operator to continuously and effectively manage transport activities. Must hold a valid CPC, meet the good repute requirement, and be an EU resident. An operator can designate an external transport manager if they manage no more than four undertakings with a combined fleet of up to 50 vehicles.
Financial standing: One of the four conditions for a community licence. The operator must demonstrate available capital and reserves of at least €9,000 for the first vehicle and €5,000 for each additional vehicle. Can be proved through audited accounts, a bank guarantee, or professional liability insurance.
Good repute: One of the four conditions for a community licence. Neither the operator nor the transport manager may have serious criminal convictions or have been declared unfit to manage a transport undertaking. Rehabilitation is possible after one year. Serious infringements — such as operating without a valid community licence or falsifying tachograph records — can trigger loss of good repute.
Cabotage: Domestic transport performed by a foreign-registered carrier within a host Member State. Under Regulation (EC) 1072/2009: up to three cabotage operations within seven days of the last international unloading (if the carrier entered with cargo), or one operation within three days (if the carrier entered empty).

Dangerous goods (ADR)

ADR (general): The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road. Governs how dangerous goods are classified, packed, labelled, loaded, and transported between signatory countries. Applies to virtually all European road freight of dangerous goods.
UN number: A four-digit identifier assigned to each dangerous substance or article under the UN Model Regulations (e.g. UN 1263 for paint, UN 3480 for lithium-ion batteries). The UN number drives packing, labelling, and documentation requirements.
ADR Class (1–9, brief table): Nine hazard classes: 1 explosives, 2 gases, 3 flammable liquids, 4 flammable solids and reactive substances, 5 oxidizers and organic peroxides, 6 toxic and infectious substances, 7 radioactive, 8 corrosives, 9 miscellaneous (including lithium batteries and environmentally hazardous substances). SAVA LOGISTIC does not carry Class 1 or Class 7.
Dangerous Goods Declaration: The transport document for a dangerous goods shipment, listing UN number, proper shipping name, class, packing group, quantity, and emergency contact. The shipper is legally responsible for the accuracy of the classification; the carrier prepares the declaration from the Safety Data Sheet.
Tunnel restriction code: A letter code (A–E) in the ADR that determines which road tunnels a given UN number is allowed to pass through, based on the hazard the substance poses inside a confined space. Route planning on ADR loads checks tunnel codes against the actual route.

Operational

Driving ban (Sunday, holiday & seasonal): A national prohibition on heavy goods traffic during set hours. Fifteen transit countries apply one: most from 7.5 t, Switzerland from 3.5 t. Sunday hours are not uniform — Germany, France and Slovakia run 00:00–22:00, Slovenia 08:00–22:00, Czechia 13:00–22:00, and Switzerland all day. Austria adds Saturdays 15:00–24:00, and Italy's hours change month by month under an annual decree. Poland, Romania and Spain have no general nationwide ban; theirs are seasonal or route-specific.
ePOD / POD: Proof of delivery: the signed confirmation that the consignee received the load. Traditionally a paper CMR signed at the dock; electronic POD (ePOD) captures the signature digitally, usually on the driver's device, and is typically available within hours of delivery.
Pre-alert: A notification sent to the consignee ahead of arrival — typically 24 hours or on the morning of delivery — confirming the estimated time window, driver contact, and any special handling requirements. Reduces failed deliveries caused by an empty dock or a missing forklift.
Loading window: The agreed time range during which the driver can arrive to load or unload at a site. Missed windows typically trigger demurrage. Tight windows (e.g. 'between 09:00 and 09:30') are common in retail and automotive; open windows ('anytime on Thursday') are common in industrial.
Tachograph: The recording device in an EU commercial vehicle that logs driving time, rest time, and speed. EU driver-hours rules limit daily and weekly driving — a single driver averages ~9 hours behind the wheel per day, which is why multi-day lanes often require team driving or overnight stops.
Detention & demurrage: Charges for time the truck spends waiting beyond the agreed free period — detention at a shipper or consignee site, demurrage at a port or terminal. Usually billed per hour after the first two free hours, since a stationary truck earns nothing.
Fuel surcharge (BAF): Bunker Adjustment Factor: a variable surcharge added to the base freight rate to reflect current diesel prices. Usually expressed as a percentage of the base rate and indexed monthly to a published diesel benchmark, so both sides are protected from fuel-price volatility.

Commercial

Incoterm (general): The Incoterms rules, published by the International Chamber of Commerce, define who is responsible for transport costs, insurance, customs clearance, and risk of loss at each stage of an international sale. Current version is Incoterms 2020. The chosen Incoterm is written on the commercial invoice.
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): The seller delivers the goods to the buyer's named destination, cleared for import, with all duty and VAT paid. Maximum obligation on the seller. Common when the seller wants a 'landed price' experience for the buyer; tricky for the seller into countries where they're not VAT-registered.
DAP (Delivered at Place): The seller delivers to the buyer's named destination but does not handle import clearance — the buyer is the importer of record and pays duty and import VAT. The most common Incoterm for EU-to-UK and EU-to-Switzerland B2B road freight.
EXW (Ex Works): The seller makes the goods available at their premises; the buyer organizes pickup, export clearance, international transport, and import clearance. Minimum obligation on the seller, maximum on the buyer. Rare in practice for cross-border EU freight because the buyer ends up filing the seller's export declaration.

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