Glossary
Cargo Agent Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential cargo agent terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key cargo agent vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in cargo agent training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Air waybill
- Air shipping document.
- Bill of lading
- Shipping contract.
- Consignee
- Receiver.
- Customs broker
- Clears customs.
- Dangerous goods
- Hazardous materials.
- Dimensional weight
- Size-based weight.
- Freight forwarder
- Arranges shipping.
- Incoterms
- Trade terms.
- Known shipper
- Vetted air shipper.
- Manifest
- List of cargo.
- Pallet
- Shipping platform.
- Shipper
- Sender.
- Tracking number
- Shipment ID.
- Transit time
- Time in shipment.
- ULD
- Unit load device.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Cargo Agent practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Cargo Agent training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.