Laden - Term meaning that cargo is loaded aboard a vessel.

Lading - Refers to the freight shipped or the contents of a particular shipment.

Land Bridge - Trains, carrying containers on flatcars: maxi - from vessel to train to vessel; mini - from port to train to another port for loading aboard the vessel (or the reverse); micro- between inland point and port. An example would be a through movement of European cargo to Asia across North America.

Landed Cost - The complete cost of the goods delivered to the buyer, including all transportation costs.

Landed Price - The buyer's calculation of its total costs of buying and receiving a product.

Landing Certificate- A certificate issued by consular officials of an importing country at the point or place of export when the subject goods are exported under bond.

Landing Gear - A retractable supporting mechanism that is attached to the front portion of a chassis, used to support the front end of a chassis when the tractor has been removed.

Lane Analysis - A study of traffic between two points.

Lash Ship - Lighter aboard Ship - A barge carrier.

LASH Vessel - A ship measuring at least 820 feet long with a deck crane able to load and unload barges through a stern section that projects over the water. The acronym LASH stands for Lighter Aboard (barge) Ship.

Lay Order - The period during which imported merchandise may remain at the place of unlading without some action for its disposition.

LC - Abbreviation for Letter of Credit.

LCL - Acronym meaning Less that Container Load which means an amount of cargo to small to fill a single container. LCL cargoes are generally consolidated until there are enough products to fill the container.

Legal Weight - Weight of goods plus any immediate wrapping. This weight does not include export crating.

Less Than Truckload - Also known as LTL or LCL.

Letter of Credit (LC) - A letter addressed by a bank, at the insurance and responsibility of a buyer of merchandise, to a seller, authorizing him to draw drafts to a stipulated amount under specified terms and undertaking conditionally or unconditionally to provide for eventual payment of drafts.

• Back-to-Back: A secondary letter of credit issued to a beneficiary on the strength of the primary credit.
• Clean: A letter of credit that requires the beneficiary to present only a draft or a receipt for specified funds before receiving payment.
• Confirmed: A revolving letter of credit that permits any amount not utilized during any of the specified periods to be carried over and added to amounts available in later periods.
• Deferred Payment: A letter of credit issued for the purchase and financing of merchandise, similar to acceptance-type letter of credit except that it requires presentation of sight drafts payable on an installment basis.
• Irrevocable: An instrument that, once established, cannot be modified or cancelled without the agreement of all parties concerned.
• Non-cumulative: A revolving letter of credit that prohibits the amount not used during the specific period to be available afterwards.
• Restricted: A condition within the letter of credit that restricts its negotiation to a named bank.
• Revocable: An instrument that can be modified or cancelled at any moment without notice to and agreement of the beneficiary, but customarily includes a clause in the credit to the effect that any draft negotiated by a bank prior to the receipt of a notice of revocation or amendment will be honored by the issuing bank.
• Revolving: An irrevocable letter of credit issued for a specific amount; renews itself for the same amount over a given period of time.
• Straight: A letter of credit that contains a limited engagement clause which states that the issuing bank promises to pay the beneficiary upon presentation of the required documents at its counters or the counters of the named bank.
• Transferable: A letter of credit that allows the beneficiary to transfer in part or in whole any amount which, in aggregate, of such transfers does not exceed the amount of the credit.
• Unconfirmed: A letter of credit that is forwarded to the beneficiary by the advising bank without engagement on the part of the advising bank.

Letter of Indemnity - When a bank does not want to accept a foul bill of lading, the shipper (so that there shall be nothing to prevent that draft in question from being discounted or for any other reason) may obtain a clean bill of lading. To accomplish that, a shipper signs a letter of indemnity on the basis of which a clean bill of lading may be obtained, even though the dock receipt indicates that the shipment was damaged or in less than good condition.

Licenses - 1) Some governments require certain commodities to be licensed prior to exportation or importation.  Clause attesting to compliance are often required on the 8/L. 2) Various types issued for export (general, validated) and import as mandated by government (s).

Licensing - A business arrangement in which the manufacturer of a product - or a firm with proprietary rights over certain technology, trademarks, etc. - grants permission to some other group or individual to manufacture that product or make use of that proprietary material, in return for specified royalties or other payment.

Lien - A legal claim upon goods for the satisfaction of some debt or duty.

Liftvans - Specially constructed wooden crates used in international relocations or storage.

Lighter - A barge type vessel used to carry cargo between the shore and a cargo ship. While the terms barge and lighter are sometimes used interchangeably, a barge usually refers to a vessel used for a long haul. A lighter is ordinarily used for a short haul.

Lighterage - The unloading of a large vessel into a smaller vessel and/or the cost of loading or unloading a vessel by means of barges alongside.

Line Haul (Linehaul) - A movement between major terminals. Excluding local pickup, delivery, local drayage, and switching services.

Liner - A vessel sailing between specific ports of call on a regular basis on published schedules.

Liner In-Free Out - The ship owner/operator is paying for the goods to be loaded on the vessel, the charter/receiver is bearing the cost for discharging the goods.

Liner Terms (Also Full Liner Terms) - The cost for loading, stowing, trimming and discharging is included in the freight rate quoted by the owner of the vessel.

List - In degrees, the amount of tilt a vessel has from the vertical

Liter - Unit of liquid measure. 1.06 liquid U.S. quarts or 33.9 fluid ounces.

Live Axle -Axle driven by engine as compared to dead axle that only follows as pulled.

Lloyd's Registry - An organization maintained for the classification of ships so that interested parties may know the quality and condition of the vessels offered for insurance or employment.

Load Displacement - Vessel's load capacity according to structure displacement.

Loaded to Capacity - A conveyance loaded to its cube or weight-carrying capacity. Also, a conveyance loaded with that quantity of material which is so filled that no more like material, in the shipping form tendered, can be loaded in or on the conveyance.

Load Factor - The percentage of capacity used.

Load Ratio - The ratio of loaded miles to empty miles per tractor.

Loading Line - Guide on ship indicating to what depth it has sunk with lading, serves as safety factor.

Loan Receipt - Document signed by the Assured where he acknowledges receipt of money advanced by the insurance company as an interest free loan (instead of payment of a loss) repayable to the insurance company only if the loss is recovered from a third party and then only to the extent of the recovery.

Local Cargo - Cargo delivered to or from the carrier and the carrier's West Coast terminal where origin/destination of the cargo is in one of the states lying west of the Rocky Mountains.

Logistics Over-The-Shore (LOTS) - Loading and unloading of ships without benefit of fixed port facilities, in friendly or non-defended territory, and in time of war, during phases of theater deployment in which there is no enemy opposition.

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) - The interest rate at which banks in London are prepared to lend funds to first-class banks.

Long Tons - Weight of 2,240 pounds.

Longshoreman - Person employed on wharves of port to load/unload vessels .

LO/LO - The acronym meaning "Lift-on/Lift-off' denoting the method by which the cargo is loaded onto and discharged from an ocean vessel, which in this case by use of a crane.

Loose - Cargo without packing.

Loss and Damage - Usually applied when loss/damage is discovered when package is delivered.

Loss of Market - A situation in which, for one reason or another, sound cargo is no longer wanted by the consignee when it arrives. This is a "business loss" not recoverable under a Marine Cargo Policy; e.g. Christmas trees arriving in January undamaged.

Low-Boy - A trailer or semi-trailer that has no sides and with a floor of the unit close to the ground.

LTL - The acronym meaning Less-than-Truckload , which means a volume of cargo too small to make up a truckload. LTL cargoes are usually consolidated with several products to make up a single truckload.

Luffing - Angular movement of crane in vertical plane.