Transportation Industry Lingo
Moving to Hawaii? Expecting a shipment in Honolulu? Here are some terms that you may have heard but are not familiar with.
Bonded —
- Driver — driver with authority to accept money from customers.
- Cargo — imported cargo that is under the bond of Customs.
- Warehouse — a secure warehouse in which imported goods must be inspected and cleared by Customs before release.
CCR — stands for Central Contractor Registration. All companies that do or wish to do business with the Federal government must be registered with the CCR.
Chassis — steel equipment used to carry and/or position containers. The front end of the chassis has adjustable “legs,” while the back end is supported by wheels.
Consolidation — to combine multiple owners’ shipments to fill a container. Commonly used term when referencing neighbor island or mainland shipping.
Containers (aka “cans”) — 20′, 40′ or 45′ steel ocean shipping containers. Used for shipping and storing household goods and products.
Demurrage — Customers are given a specific amount of time to pick up their container once it’s been made available. When your container is under the care of a port, terminal, depot, or container yard, a demurrage fee is levied if your container is not picked up by the deadline.
Destination Agent — agent who is responsible for your shipment when it reaches its destination.
Detention — similar to demurrage. Refers to containers outside a port, terminal, depot, or container yard.
Dolly — wooden or metal cart with wheels used to support and move heavy furniture, office equipment, appliances, etc.
Door-to-Door — describes a type of service that covers a shipment from its point of origin all the way to its final destination.
Door-to-Port — describes a type of service that covers a shipment from its point of origin to the destination port. Customer either picks up the shipment from the port, or arranges ground or air transport of the shipment to the final destination.
Drayage — another word for hauling. Describes the movement of the container from one place to another. Dray means “to haul by means of a low, heavy, sideless cart.”
Inbound — a shipment that is coming to Hawaii.
Origin Agent — agent who is responsible for your shipment from the point of origin.
Outbound — a shipment that is leaving Hawaii.
Pads — These moving pads are actually quilted blankets that are used to protect your personal property from being scratched. Pads are also used to protect walls, hallways, elevators, etc. for the same reason.
Pallets (palletized) — wooden supports that keep items from touching the ground. Palletized refers to items that are located on or secured to pallets.
PUC — stands for Public Utilities Commission. We are regulated by the PUC and are bound by strict guidelines and restrictions. You can see our PUC number on all of our vehicles.
Reefer — In appliance talk, this means refrigerator. In container talk, it means a refrigerated container.
Shrink wrap — strong plastic wrap that is often used to secure boxes and miscellaneous items to pallets.
Vanpack — large, wooden crate that is made to store household items.
