What a Load is (a physical cargo unit with dimensions, weight, quantity and handling rules) and how reusable Load Carrier templates such as "Euro Pallet" fill in default dimensions.
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A Load is a physical unit of cargo — a pallet, a box, a container — that a shipment carries and a tour hauls. A load type is a reusable template that fills in its typical dimensions for you.
A Load is one physical thing to be moved. It records:
A load always belongs to a Shipment, and rides along on the Tour that carries that shipment. You add and edit loads while entering a shipment's freight — they appear under the shipment's Loads section in Orbit MissionControl.
A single load line can stand for several identical units. Two pallets of the same goods are usually one load with a quantity of two, not two separate entries. When you want a total, read the quantity — shown as Total Load Count and Total Weight on the shipment — rather than counting the lines.
Most freight comes in standard formats — a Euro pallet, an industrial pallet, a standard box. Rather than re-typing dimensions each time, Orbit lets you define reusable templates. In Orbit MissionControl these are managed under Settings → Load Carriers, and each one carries a name, such as "Euro Pallet", and default dimensions.
When you pick a load carrier while entering freight, its preset dimensions fill in automatically — and you can still overwrite them for a particular load when that shipment is different. Load carriers are available across your organisation, and a template can be restricted so it is only offered to certain shippers.
The same cargo appears wherever it is relevant. On a Shipment you see what is being carried and its history. On a Tour you see that same cargo as part of the run, tied to the stops where it is picked up and dropped off, along with its current loading status. You don't enter it twice — it is one load, shown in the place that matters.
A load's dimensions, weight, and stacking rules are also what Orbit uses to check whether the cargo fits inside the assigned vehicle. That fit check is shown as a 3D load plan.
A Tour that carries only a small amount of dangerous goods can be exempt from most ADR rules (ADR 1.1.3.6). Orbit works this out for you: it gives each dangerous-goods Load points and adds them up per tour, so you see at a glance whether the tour needs full ADR compliance.
A load's points are its Net Weight/Volume times its points multiplier. Enter the net weight or volume for the whole load line, not per unit: a line of four drums with 25 kg each is 100 kg. Orbit recalculates the points every time the load is saved.
Orbit takes the multiplier from the first of these that applies:
The multiplier the load already carries. A multiplier sent with the load, or stored on it from an earlier save, is kept.
The transport category. Each category fixes a multiplier:
| Transport category | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 1 | 50 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 0 |
A few category 1 substances count 20, as ADR 1.1.3.6.3 sets.
The ADR table. Without a transport category, Orbit looks up the UN Number, narrowed by the Classification Code and the Packaging Group when you entered them. It uses the table only when every remaining row has the same multiplier. When the rows disagree, Orbit does not pick one: the load stays without points until it gets a transport category.
Some loads always count zero:
Transport category 0 works differently. Its loads have no points, but a tour with one such load is never exempt, whatever its total.
A tour is exempt when its loads add up to 1000 points or fewer, including exactly 1000, and none of them is in transport category 0. Above 1000 points, or with a category 0 load on board, the tour needs full ADR compliance.
Orbit MissionControl shows an ADR badge on the tour details and on the shipment details. Orbit Connect shows it on the tour details and on each callout in the Marketplace. A shipment's badge counts that shipment's loads only. The badge appears only when a load carries dangerous goods and reads:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Exempt (ADR 1.1.3.6) | 1000 points or fewer and no transport category 0 |
| The total, such as 1250 Points | More than 1000 points: full ADR compliance required |
| Full ADR compliance required | At least one load is in transport category 0 |
| ADR data incomplete | Orbit cannot work out the points of at least one load |
Hover over the badge to see each load with its calculation and the tour's total out of 1000. For an incomplete badge, the tooltip names each load and what it is missing, such as the Points multiplier or the Net weight/volume.
In Orbit Cockpit, the driver sees the same verdict in the tour's insights: This tour contains dangerous goods, followed by the points and whether the tour is exempt.
Nordlicht Spedition plans a Tour from Hamburg to Lyon with 300 litres of a category 2 paint (300 × 3 = 900 points) and 80 kg of a category 3 adhesive (80 × 1 = 80 points). The tour totals 980 points, and the badge reads Exempt (ADR 1.1.3.6). When Julia adds a carton of limited-quantity aerosols, the total stays at 980. When she adds 25 kg of a category 1 substance (1250 points), the badge shows 2230 Points, and the tour needs full ADR compliance.
A load is the actual cargo on a shipment, with its own dimensions and weight. A load carrier, managed in Settings, is a reusable template that fills in typical dimensions — for example a "Euro Pallet" preset. The template is not cargo itself; it just saves you typing.
Yes. Presets are a starting point. Overwrite the length, width, height, weight, or stackability on any individual load whenever a shipment differs from the standard.
Enter one load and set its quantity to two. The shipment totals reflect the count automatically, so there is no need to add a separate line per pallet.
On the 3D load plan, which uses each load's dimensions, weight, and stacking rules. See LoadPlan 3D.
No. Enter the transport category and the net weight or volume of the load line, and Orbit calculates the points. Without a transport category, Orbit uses the UN number when the ADR table gives one clear multiplier for it.
Orbit could not work out the points of at least one load, usually because its net weight or volume is missing, or because its UN number has several table rows with different multipliers and no transport category was entered. Hover over the badge to see which load is affected, then add the missing data to that load.
