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Glossary
Pallet, freight and warehouse terms, in plain words.
Fifty-four terms a warehouse or transport manager hears every week, defined the way an operator would say them on the dock. Each one links to the page where it matters.
3PL
Third party logistics. A warehouse and transport provider that stores and ships goods for other businesses. Many 360 pallet and freight customers are 3PLs or sell through one.
Australian standard pallet
The 1165 x 1165 mm hardwood pallet used across Australian supply chains. The size most racking, trucks and docks are built around.
Euro pallet
The 1200 x 800 mm pallet used in Europe and by importers and narrow aisle sites. Block base, four way entry.
Export pallet
A pallet treated and stamped so it can leave Australia. Usually heat treated to ISPM 15, often one way.
Heat treated (HT)
Timber heated to a set core temperature to kill pests. Shown by a stamp on the pallet. Required for export and asked for by many food sites.
ISPM 15
The international standard for treating timber packaging, pallets included, before it crosses a border. The stamp proves the treatment.
One way pallet
A lighter pallet built for a single trip, usually export, where it will not come back.
Block pallet
A pallet with blocks between the top and bottom deck, so a forklift or pallet jack can enter from all four sides.
Stringer pallet
A pallet with three parallel timbers (stringers) under the deck. Two way forklift entry, cheaper to make, common in Australia.
Pallet grade
How a used pallet is sorted by condition. 360 uses New, A (premium used), B (standard used), C (economy or one way) and R (repairable core).
Core
A damaged pallet worth repairing rather than scrapping. 360 credits repairable cores when it collects them.
Pallet pooling
Renting pallets from a pool operator and paying by the day and by the move, instead of owning them.
Rackable
A pallet strong enough to sit in pallet racking carrying load on its deck without support underneath. Depends on grade and construction, not just size.
Four way entry
A pallet a forklift can pick up from any side. Two way entry means the long sides only.
Free pickup rule
360 collects sixty or more reusable pallets anywhere in Greater Sydney at no charge. A pile with broken timber through it is quoted as a clearance first.
Clearance
A quoted job to remove a lot of pallets that does not meet the free pickup rule, because it is small, mixed or mostly damaged.
Palletised freight
Goods moved on pallets by truck, as opposed to loose cartons or bulk.
Dedicated vehicle
The whole truck for one customer's job, priced by lane and vehicle. The load goes straight from pickup to delivery.
Lane
A regular route between two places, such as Sydney to Newcastle, with its own pricing and pattern.
Backhaul
Freight carried on the return leg of a trip that would otherwise run empty. A cheaper way to move pallets when the timing fits.
Tailgate
A hydraulic platform on the back of a truck that lowers freight to the ground. Needed when the delivery point has no forklift or dock.
Dock
A raised platform a truck backs onto so freight can be moved straight off the deck with a pallet jack or forklift.
POD
Proof of delivery. The photo, signature and time that show a delivery was made. 360 sends it once the delivery is done.
Consignment note
The document that travels with the freight, listing what is being moved, from where, to where and for whom.
Cut-off time
The time a booking or freight has to be in by for a given departure. Stated on the lane page as a range, not a promise.
Transit time
How long freight takes from pickup to delivery, given as a range because traffic, weather and access vary.
Chargeable weight
The greater of actual weight and cubic weight. Light, bulky freight is charged on the space it takes up.
Cubic weight
Volume converted to a weight figure for pricing. Length by width by height in metres, times the carrier's cubic factor.
Fuel levy
A percentage added to freight rates that moves with the diesel price. Shown separately so the base rate can be compared.
Load restraint
Strapping, wrapping and blocking that stops freight moving in transit. A legal duty under the national load restraint rules.
Chain of Responsibility
The law that makes everyone in the freight chain, including the customer who loads and the business that books, responsible for safety: fatigue, mass, loading and speed.
Dangerous goods
Freight classed as hazardous under the Australian Dangerous Goods Code. Needs declared, licensed carriage; 360 confirms what it can carry before booking.
DIFOT
Delivered in full, on time. The share of orders that arrived complete and inside the promised window. The single best number for a delivery operation.
Perfect order rate
The share of orders delivered in full, on time, undamaged and with correct paperwork. Stricter than DIFOT.
Pick accuracy
The share of order lines picked correctly in the warehouse. Errors here become credits, returns and lost customers.
Cost to serve
What it costs to serve a particular customer, channel or product once warehousing, freight, returns and handling are counted, not just the margin on the sale.
Cross-dock
Moving freight straight from an inbound truck to an outbound one without putting it away. Cuts handling when timing lines up.
Operations health check
360's free ten minute check: 24 questions, six areas scored (delivery, cost, warehouse, process, people and supplier spend), result on the page.
WMS
Warehouse management system. The software that tracks stock, locations, picking and dispatch inside a warehouse.
B-double
A prime mover towing two semi trailers, 34 pallet positions on our fleet and about 40 tonnes of payload. Only runs on approved B-double routes; where either end is off the network the freight moves on a semi trailer or is split.
Semi trailer
A prime mover and one trailer, 22 pallet positions and about 24 tonnes of payload on our fleet. The standard long lane vehicle for a full load.
Tautliner
A trailer or truck body with curtain sides that slide open for forklift loading from either side. The usual body for palletised freight.
Pantech
A hard sided, fully enclosed truck body loaded from the rear, often with a tail lift. Suits deliveries where the freight must be locked and weatherproof.
Drop deck
A trailer with a lower rear deck for tall freight. Used when a load is over height for a standard trailer.
Pallet position
The floor space one Australian standard pallet takes on a vehicle. A 2 tonne truck has four, a 10 pallet rigid ten, a B-double 34. Freight is quoted in positions or weight, whichever runs out first.
Payload
The weight a vehicle can legally carry, including the pallets themselves. A 2 tonne truck carries 1,900 kg across four positions, which is 475 kg a position.
Pallet jack
A hand pump trolley that lifts and rolls one pallet on flat, hard ground. Carried on tailgate trucks and vans. It does not do steps, grass, gravel or slopes.
Waiting time
Time a truck spends on a dock beyond the time the unload needs. It is charged on the invoice, which is why a wider receiving window keeps the rate down.
Receiving window
The hours a site will accept a delivery. A 7am to 3pm weekday window is the cheapest to serve; tight or late windows add waiting time and change the run.
Standing order
A pallet order that repeats on a schedule, the same grade and count each week or fortnight, priced on the volume rather than on each drop.
Heavy duty pallet
A hardwood pallet with thicker bearers and a full deck, rated for racking at 2 tonnes. Weighs 45 to 60 kg. Used under bricks, bagged cement, steel and other dense loads.
Nestable pallet
A plastic pallet that stacks inside the one below it when empty, light (6 to 12 kg) and cheap to store, but not built to sit on racking beams.
Repairable core
A pallet with broken or missing boards on a sound frame. Repaired and returned to service; credited against a clearance when collected, never sold as is.
Page updated 13 October 2026. Missing a term? Call Jayden on 0494 820 639 and it goes on the list.