Glossary of Trade Terms:

L

L/C - (See Letter of Credit)

LCL - Less than Container Load; Less than Car load.

L&D - Loss and Damage.

Legal Weight - The weight of the goods plus any immediate wrappings or packagings that are sold along with the goods, e.g., the weight of a tin can as well as its contents. (See also Gross Weight)

Less than Truckload (LTL) - Rates applicable when the quantity of freight is less than the volume or truckload minimum weight.

Letter of Credit (L/C) - A document issued by a bank per instructions by a buyer of goods authorizing the seller to draw a specified sum of money under specified terms. Issued as revocable or irrevocable.

Letter of Credit, Confirmed - A letter of credit containing a guarantee on the part of both the issuing and advising banks of payment to the seller, provided the seller's documentation is in order and the terms of the letter of credit are met.

Lighter - An open or covered barge equipped with a crane and towed by a tugboat. Used mostly in harbors and inland waterways.

Liner - The word "liner" is derived from the term "line traffic," which denotes operation along definite routes on the basis of definite, fixed schedules. A liner thus is a vessel that engages in this kind of transportation, which usually involves the haulage of general cargo as distinct from bulk cargo.

Load Factor - Capacity used as against capacity available and expressed as a percentage.

Logistics Management - The efficient and cost-effective management of the physical movement of goods from supply points to final sale and the associated transfer and holding of such goods at various intermediate storage points.

Lo/Lo (Lift-On/Lift-Off) - Denotes the method by which cargo is loaded onto and discharged from an ocean vessel, which in this case is by the use of a crane.

LTL - (See Less than Truckload)