Exclusive Use

Exclusive use is an agreement that specified transportation equipment or space is reserved for one customer’s shipment. The agreement must identify what is exclusive: an entire vehicle, an individual container, or a defined allocation of space. These are different commitments.

What the term means in practice

A customer may hear “exclusive” and expect a dedicated truck. An operator may mean that only the customer’s belongings go inside an assigned container while other containers travel on the same vehicle. United’s Snapmoves description, for example, uses exclusive use to describe separation inside the containers. That example does not establish a whole-truck promise for every container service.

What to confirm before booking

• Identify the equipment or space reserved and whether other shipments may travel on the same vehicle.
• Ask whether goods may be transferred, the container opened, or substitute equipment used, and how those events are documented.
• Confirm any capacity-based minimum, additional charge and cancellation terms in the written estimate.
• Record pickup and delivery commitments separately. Exclusive use alone does not define transit speed or a guaranteed arrival date.

Who needs the same information?

Sales should describe the reserved unit clearly. Dispatch needs its capacity and availability. Crews need loading and identification instructions. The customer needs the same scope in the estimate and transportation documents so the promise survives each handoff.

Common misunderstanding

“My own container” and “my own truck” are not interchangeable. For a shared vehicle, ask how shipment identification and separation will be maintained. For a dedicated vehicle, ask whether the agreement covers the full journey or only a particular leg.

Proposed TRE common-language definition

Exclusive use: a documented reservation of specified equipment or space for one shipment, with the boundaries, sharing restrictions and applicable charges stated explicitly.

Related terms

See Capacity, Expedited Service and Day-Certain Service.

Source and scope

United Van Lines: Snapmoves illustrates container-level exclusive use. Provider descriptions are examples, not universal contract terms. TRE’s questions and proposed definition are editorial guidance. Source reviewed September 5, 2026.