NACS

An intermodal equipment program is designed to facilitate the free interchange of domestic 48' and 53' containers between member railroads.

NAFTA

A free trade agreement, implemented on January 1, 1994, between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, includes measures for the elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. It also includes many more specific provisions concerning the conduct of trade and investment that reduce the scope for government intervention in managing trade.

National Carrier

A for-hire certificated air carrier that has annual operating revenues of $75 million to $1 billion. The carrier usually operates between major population centers and areas of lesser population.

National Industrial Traffic League

An association representing the interests of shippers and receivers in matters of transportation policy and regulation.

National Industrial Transportation League (NITL)

A national trade association of transportation providers.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

A federal technology agency that develops and promotes measurement, standards, and technology within the United States.

Nationalization

Public ownership, financing, and operation of a business entity.

National Motor Bus Operators Organization

An industry association representing common and charter bus firms, now known as the American Bus Association.

National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC)

A tariff contains descriptions and classifications of commodities, as well as rules for domestic movement by motor carriers in the U.S.

National Railroad Corporation

Also known as Amtrak, the corporation was established by the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 to operate most of the United States' rail passenger service.

National Stock Number (NSN)

A 13-digit numeric code identifies all the 'standardized material items of supply' as recognized by the United States Department of Defense. Pursuant to the NATO Standardization Agreements (STANAGs), the NSN has come to be used in all treaty countries, where it is also known as a NATO Stock Number. Many countries that use the NSN program are not members of NATO, such as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. A two-digit Material Management Aggregation Code (MMAC) suffix may also be appended to denote asset end use, but it is not considered part of the NSN. An item having an NSN is said to be 'stock-listed.

NES

Not otherwise specified/Not elsewhere specified.

Net Assets

Total net assets are calculated as total assets minus total liabilities. The total assets are made up of fixed assets (plant, machinery, and equipment) and current assets, which include stock, debtors, and cash (also including accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid assets, deferred assets, intangibles, and goodwill). The total liabilities are made up in much the same way, consisting of long-term liabilities and current liabilities (including accounts payable, accrued expenses, and deferred liabilities).

Net Asset Turns

The number of times you replenish your net assets in your annual sales cycle is a measure of how quickly assets are used to generate sales. It can be calculated as Total Product Revenue divided by Total Net Assets.

Net Change MRP

An MRP or other planning system generation recalculates requirements only for items that have changed since the last generation. This includes changes in order quantities and dates, inventory levels, bill of material or routings, lead times, or other parameters. A flag is usually set by programs that initiate changes for those items, which is used by MRP as the basis to regenerate them. This approach typically reduces generation time and is most useful for companies that have many part numbers, with only a small percentage of them being active in a given week. The antonym of regeneration is MRP.

Net Landed Costs

The cost of the product, in addition to the relevant logistics costs such as transportation and handling.

Net Present Value (NPV)

A financial measure of performance for long-term projects, the net present value is a calculation of a time series of future cash flows in today's (current year) dollars.

Net Requirements

The requirements for an item are based on its gross requirements (from forecasts, customer orders, or upper-level demand), minus stock already on hand and scheduled receipts.

NetWeight

The weight of the merchandise, unpacked, exclusive of any containers.

Network Model

A database model is created to represent objects and their relationships in a flexible way.

Network Optimization

A process or methodology to make a network as perfect, functional, effective, or efficient as possible. The use of mathematics may be involved in finding the best solution.

Network Planning

An inventory distribution or transportation planning strategy that attempts to optimize the time/cost of travel or the cost of holding inventory across multiple sites.

New Product Introduction (NPI)

A process that introduces a new product to the market, from the idea stage to the mass production sign-off of the final product.

Next in, first out (NIFO)

Under this inventory valuation method, an item's cost is determined based on the replacement value rather than relying on previously established expenses. This method is most helpful for companies looking to price ahead of inflation.

NII

Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology.

NIST

National Institute of Standards and Technology.

NITL

National Industrial Transportation League

Nixie

A direct mail letter, which has been returned to the sender because the address was wrong, is considered a nixie. Additionally, any undelivered piece of mail is also classified as a nixie. Nixies are used to correct a list.

NMFC

National Motor Freight Classification

Node

A fixed point in a firm's logistics system where goods come to rest includes plants, warehouses, supply sources, and markets.

No Location (No Loc)

A received item for which the warehouse has no previously established storage slot.

Non-Certified Carrier

A for-hire air carrier that is exempt from economic regulation.

Non-Compliance

Failure or refusal to do as requested by higher authority or as prescribed by a set of rules that describe the correct procedure to follow (i.e., rules on hazardous waste disposal).

Nonconformity

A quality management event that captures the failure to meet specified inspection or testing requirements.

Non-Conveyable

Materials that cannot be moved on a conveyor belt.

Non-Durable goods

Goods whose service life is considered to be less than three years.

Non-Intrusive Inspection technology (NII)

Originally developed to address the threat of smugglers using increasingly sophisticated techniques to conceal narcotics deep in commercial cargo and conveyances, NII systems, in many cases, give customs inspectors the capability to perform thorough examinations of cargo without having to resort to the costly, time-consuming process of unloading cargo for manual searches or intrusive examinations of conveyances by methods such as drilling and dismantling.

Non-Vessel-Owning Common Carrier (NVOCC)

A firm that offers the same services as an ocean carrier but does not own or operate a vessel is known as a Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC). NVOCCs typically act as consolidators, accepting small shipments (LCL) and consolidating them into full container loads. They also consolidate and disperse international containers that originate from or are destined for inland ports. Subsequently, they function as shippers by tendering the containers to ocean common carriers. NVOCCs are required to file tariffs with the Federal Maritime Commission and are subject to the same laws and statutes that apply to primary common carriers.

North American Container System (NACS)

An intermodal equipment program is designed to facilitate the free interchange of domestic 48' and 53' containers between member railroads.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

A free trade agreement, implemented on January 1, 1994, between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, includes measures for the elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. It also includes many more specific provisions concerning the conduct of trade and investment that reduce the scope for government intervention in managing trade.

NOS

Not otherwise specified/Not elsewhere specified.

Not Otherwise Specified / Not Elsewhere Specified (NOS/NES)

This term often appears in ocean or airfreight tariffs, respectively. If no rate for the specific commodity shipped appears in the tariff, then a general class rate (for example, printed matter NES) will apply. Such rates usually are higher than rates for specific commodities.

NPI

New Product Introduction

NPV

Net Present Value

NSN

National Stock Number

NVOCC

Non-vessel owning common carrier.