The sum of container, breakbulk and bulk tonnage
Loose cargo (dry or liquid) that is loaded (shoveled, scooped, forked, mechanically conveyed or pumped) in volume directly into a ship’s hold; e.g., grain,
coal and oil.
Merchandise hauled by transportation lines.
A short wooden, metal or plastic platform on which package cargo is placed,
then handled by a forklift truck.
A rail transport mode where a loaded truck trailer is shipped on a rail flatcar.
A box made of aluminum, steel or fiberglass used to transport cargo by
ship, rail, truck or barge. Common dimensions are 20' x 8’ x 8' (called a TEU or
twenty-foot equivalent unit) or 40' x 8' x 8', called an FEU. Variations are collapsible containers, tank containers (for liquids) and "rag tops" (open-topped containers covered by a tarpaulin for cargo that sticks above the top of a closed box). In the container industry, containers are usually simply called boxes.
A structure used to protect against shifting cargo and/or to separate the load.
International Organization for Standardization. Worldwide organization formed to promote development of standards to facilitate the international carriage and exchange of goods and services. Governs construction specifications for ISO containers.
The ship captain’s list of individual goods that make up the ship’s cargo.
Short for roll on/roll/off . A ro/ro ship is designed with ramps that can be
lowered to the dock so cars, buses, trucks or other vehicles can drive into the belly of the ship, rather than be lifted aboard. A ro/ro ship, like a container ship, has a quick turnaround time of about 12 hours.
A large, flat-bottomed boat used to carry cargo from a port to shallow-draft
waterways. Barges have no locomotion and are pushed by towboats. A single,
standard barge can hold 1,500 tons of cargo or as much as either 15 railroad cars or 60 trucks can carry. A barge is 200 feet long, 35 feet wide and has a draft of 9 feet. Barges carry dry bulk (grain, coal, lumber, gravel, etc.) and liquid bulk (petroleum, vegetable oils, molasses, etc.).
A wharf, which parallels the waterline.