Dictionary of Procurement Terms

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  • Capital Project Funds

    Monies used to acquire major assets with a useful life of more than one year, which may be financed by some form of long-term debt.

  • Cardinal Change

    A change that is beyond the scope of the contract, and thus cannot be ordered by the contracting officer under the contract’s change clause. Cardinal changes are breaches of contract. They are outside of the scope of the contract.

  • Cardinal Rule

    1. To give plain meaning to contract terms unless the agency or legislation assigned a special meaning to the term. 2. When silent to an interpretation, cardinal rule allows for the meaning that fits most logically and comfortably into the body of both previously and subsequently enacted law to be utilized.

  • Cargo

    The freight or lading of a ship, a ship-load. (OED Online)

  • Carload

    1. The minimum weight, as defined by law, of a shipment entitled to a reduced freight rate. 2. The shipment amount that fills a freight car (or truck). 3. A load that fills the maximum capacity of a transporting unit.

  • Carrier

    A company that transports goods or people, usually over a fixed route and on a fixed schedule.

    See Also: Common Carrier

  • Carrier’s Lien

    A carrier’s claim on assets pending collection of freight cost or other charges.

  • Carrying Cost

    The cost of keeping inventory on hand including lost opportunity cost, storage cost, handling cost, insurance cost, shrinkage, damage, breakage, and obsolescence cost. (Schiller, 2000)

    See Also: Acquisition Cost

  • Cartage

    1. The act of carting or transporting, generally used to identify local delivery of goods received from a carrier.  2. The cost of such transportation.

  • Cartel

    An organized group (e.g., firms, countries) with an explicit agreement to fix/set prices and output shares in a particular market. (Business, 2002)