Logistics glossary

A reefer container is a refrigerated shipping container that maintains a set temperature throughout a journey, allowing perishable cargo to be moved internationally without losing shelf life in transit.

Reefers draw power from the vessel at sea and from generator sets or plug points on land, which is why the time a container spends unplugged during the road leg is a critical risk point.

Related service:Container Transport

The cold chain is the unbroken sequence of temperature-controlled storage, handling and transport that keeps perishable cargo within its required temperature range from packing through to delivery.

A break anywhere in the sequence is permanent — product does not recover shelf life once it has been lost, and the damage is typically only visible at destination.

Related service:Cold Chain Monitoring

Verified gross mass, or VGM, is the certified total weight of a packed container and its contents, which must be declared to the shipping line before the container can be loaded onto a vessel.

The requirement comes from the SOLAS convention. A container without a valid VGM declaration will not be loaded, so the weighing and the filing sit on the critical path of every shipment.

Related service:Container Transport

A stack is the window of time during which containers can be delivered to a port terminal for loading onto a particular vessel.

Stacks open and close on a schedule set by the terminal. Missing a stack usually means missing the vessel, which is why stack status is tracked alongside the sailing schedule rather than separately from it.

Related service:Root2Go

Transshipment is the transfer of cargo from one vessel to another at an intermediate port on the way to its final destination.

It introduces a handover point where containers can be delayed or missed, so transshipment cargo is expedited and tracked more closely than direct shipments.

Related service:Root2Go

A letter of credit is a bank undertaking to pay an exporter once a specified set of documents is presented exactly as the credit requires.

Because payment depends on documentary compliance rather than on the cargo itself, a discrepancy in the presented documents is a payment problem, not just a paperwork one.

Related service:Export Documentation

A marine survey is an independent inspection of cargo condition, usually performed on arrival, producing a report that documents the state of the goods and any damage found.

The surveyor’s report is normally the primary evidence supporting a cargo claim, which is why it is commissioned before cargo is moved or unpacked further.

Related service:Imports & Destination

A phytosanitary certificate is an official document issued by a national plant protection authority confirming that a consignment of plant products meets the importing country’s plant health requirements.

Fresh produce exports generally cannot be released at destination without one, and the specific requirements vary by market and by commodity protocol.

Related service:Export Documentation

Pre-cooling is the rapid removal of field heat from freshly harvested produce before it is packed or loaded, bringing it down to its target carrying temperature.

Reefer containers are designed to hold a temperature, not to pull it down. Loading warm produce into a reefer means the cargo never reaches its regime properly, so pre-cooling is done before the container is packed.

Related service:Cold Storage & Warehousing

Breakbulk is cargo shipped loose or on pallets directly in a vessel’s hold rather than inside a container.

It remains common for conventional reefer vessels carrying fruit, where cargo is loaded as palletised units into refrigerated holds.

Demurrage is a charge levied by a shipping line when a container is held at the port beyond the free time allowed for collection or return.

It is one of the main avoidable costs in an import operation, and it is usually caused by documentation or clearance delays rather than by transport.

Related service:Imports & Destination

A sailing schedule is the published timetable of vessel departures and arrivals for a shipping line on a given trade route.

Schedules change frequently. A verified schedule that has been checked against the line is materially more useful for planning than an aggregated one that has not.

Related service:Root2Go