break bulk
Split freight shipments
Break bulk means to open cargo and begin distributing it in smaller quantities.
A shipment arrives intact, and breaking bulk is the point at which it's divided for delivery or sale: The warehouse broke bulk on the container shipment this morning.
In shipping, break-bulk cargo refers to goods loaded individually rather than in standardized containers—pallets, crates, barrels, or machinery too large for containerization.
Ship cargo handler
- longshoremanHarbor freight worker
- dockworkerPort cargo loader
- forkliftPowered pallet-hoisting vehicle
- palletStackable freight platform
crane · hoist · derrick · gantry · sling · cargo net · stowage · lashing
Vessel for transporting goods
- coasterPad under drinks
- portDocking place for ships
- terminalAt the endpoint
- wharfShip docking structure
quay · berth · harbor · maritime · nautical · shipyard · charter · voyage
Storing goods commercially
- inventoryCatalog of held assets
- consolidationCombining into unified whole
- deconsolidationReversal of consolidation
- distributionAllocation across recipients
transshipment · palletization · unitization · storage · tracking · customs clearance · intermodal · oversized cargo
Sawn wood for building
- machineryCollective mechanical equipment
- vehiclesMachines for transportation
- drumsStruck membrane instruments
- cratesSturdy shipping containers
pipes · turbines · generators · construction equipment · agricultural equipment · heavy machinery · rolled paper · plywood
stevedore
Ship cargo handler
- longshoremanHarbor freight worker
- dockworkerPort cargo loader
- forkliftPowered pallet-hoisting vehicle
pallet · crane · hoist · derrick · gantry · sling · cargo net · stowage · lashing · securing
freighter
Vessel for transporting goods
wharf · quay · berth · harbor · maritime · nautical · shipyard · charter · voyage · bill of lading
warehousing
Storing goods commercially
- inventoryCatalog of held assets
- consolidationCombining into unified whole
- deconsolidationReversal of consolidation
distribution · transshipment · palletization · unitization · storage · tracking · customs clearance · intermodal · oversized cargo
lumber
Sawn wood for building
- machineryCollective mechanical equipment
- vehiclesMachines for transportation
- drumsStruck membrane instruments
crates · pipes · turbines · generators · construction equipment · agricultural equipment · heavy machinery · rolled paper · plywood · timber
- truckingsemi, 18-wheeler, trucks, truckers, big rig
- portsport, seaport, harbor, seaports, harbors
- freightcargo, cargo ships, air freight, freight rates, cargo ship
- freight logisticscargo trains, shipping containers, freight cars, customs clearance, cargo handling
- shipping termson-time delivery, expedited, en route, postage, cash on delivery
- dock worklongshoreman, stevedore, docker, cargo handler, loading