The logistics industry has a deep fondness for jargon. Few other industries can match the breadth and depth of the specialized words, acronyms and abbreviations used in logistics that often remain only dimly understood by industry outsiders.
Here we attempt to clear up some of the obfuscation.
3PL – Third-party logistics. When a logistics company manages a distribution system on behalf of another firm, it is said to be a 3PL company.
Jumbo aircraft – A freight aircraft weighing more than 100 tons at take off or an airliner with more than 150 seats.
ULD – Unit load device. Any container or loading unit used to transport cargo by air.
Dry-Lease – A kind of leasing agreement where one party operates an aircraft hired from another party.
FEU – Forty-foot equivalent unit. A unit of measurement equivalent to one standard container used in ocean freight that is 40 feet long, 8 feet wide, and about 8 feet high.
TEU – Twenty-foot equivalent unit. Half the size of an FEU.
DWT – Deadweight tonnage. The difference between the unloaded and maximum load displacements, including cargo, stores, fuel and passengers, of a ship.
Poka-Yoke – The process of fool-proofing a manufacturing process, tools or equipment. A Poka-Yoke device or mechanism makes an operation impossible to perform incorrectly.
DOA – Dead on arrival. Describes stock that is not functional upon delivery.
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