Freight, shipping and chartering glossary

The carrying capacity of a container according to measurement in cubic feet, cubic centimeters or cubic meters.

When a shipping container has been filled by volume but has not reached its maximum weight limit.

Special duties imposed on imports to offset the benefits of subsidies to producers or exporters in the exporting country.

An umbrella term for several sorts of trade in which the seller is required to accept goods or other instruments or trade, in partial or whole payment for its products.

The same as CFR, but insurance is added for the seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance can be any.

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board, and paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination.

Same as the FCA, but insurance is added for the seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance can be any.

Cargo that is prohibited.

This is a fee for bringing together and packing several smaller shipments into the same container., applicable to ocean freight LCL and air freight.

The location where consolidation takes place.

An agent groups the cargo of several customers for container transportation.

A bill of lading issued by a consolidating freight forwarder to a shipper.

A single rigid, sealed, reusable metal box in which merchandise is shipped by vessel, truck, or rail.

Devices for transporting containers for ship or other operations.

Registration of all formalities and operations necessary to obtain permission to unload the container from the vessel and to load it on board the vessel.

A storage area, other than a container yard, where shippers and consignees may pick up or drop off empty containers.

Contract on the legal obligations of the carrier and the client.

Disinfection allowance (fumigation).

An identifier assigned to a container by a carrier.

Document showing contents and loading sequence of a container.

An area intended for storing goods in containers, usually delivered by road, rail, and sea, where containers are picked up, dropped off, maintained and housed.

An oceangoing vessel designed specifically to easily handle the loading, stowage, and off-loading of ocean freight containers.

A place for handling/storage of materials used for fully unified cargo in containers and/or empty containers.

The practice or technique of using a boxlike device in which a number of packages are stored, protected, and handled as a single unit in transit.

A carrier-designated facility at which LCL cargo is received from consignors for consolidation and loading into containers or at which LCL cargo is unloaded from containers and delivered to consignees.

A method of payment for goods, in which something is sold on a cash with order basis, payment must be sent along with the order, before the goods are sent out, and the transaction becomes binding on both buyer and seller.

A natural or legal person who delivered the goods for carriage and is indicated as the sender in the carriage document.

Freight sent under a single contract of carriage.

A natural or legal person to whom, at the direction of the shipper, the goods should be delivered at the destination.

This surcharge is dependent on unusual events, e.g. strikes, bad winter, major port fires.

An ocean carrier who is a member of an association known as a "conference." The purpose of the conference is to standardize shipping practices, eliminate freight rate competition, and provide regularly scheduled service between specific ports.

A group of vessel operators joined for the purpose of establishing freight rates.

Freight that might have been damaged during transit, but, the damage/loss/shortage was not notated on the Proof of Delivery.

A code describing a commodity or a group of commodities pertaining to goods classification. This code can be carrier tariff or regulating in nature.

Products; commercial products and services.

Document claiming payment for goods supplied under conditions agreed between seller and buyer.

Transportation of goods by at least two different modes of transport; widely used in container shipping. When using it, transportation can be carried out by sea and further by rail and/or road according to one document. Combined Transport is also referred to in the USA as "Intermodal Transport" and in other parts of the world as "Multimodal Transport"

All documents (commercial invoices, bills of lading, etc.) submitted to a buyer for the purpose of receiving payment for a shipment.

Freight payable by the consignee at the port of destination.

A document stating that a shipment is free to be imported into the country after all legal requirements have been met.

Fee charged by ocean carriers at certain U.S. ports for the use of their chassis.

A person or organization that rents a ship for the transportation of cargo or passengers from its owner.

The tariff applied for chartering tonnage in a particular trade.

Contract by which the owner of a ship lets it to others for use in transporting cargo.

A document allowing special categories of goods to cross international borders without paying duties. This document is issued by customs.

A document to advise customs of the shipment's details. This document confirms the owner or consignee of the cargo.

A person who, under a contract of carriage, performs or mediates in the delivery of goods using a vehicle.

The seller arranges the delivery to the indicated place and includes it in the goods price. As a rule, such a place is a terminal where an ocean carrier (shipping line) can accept cargo for further transportation.

Same as CPT but insurance is added for seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance can be any.

(1) A secure enclosed area for storing highly valuable items, (2) a pallet-sized platform with sides that can be secured to the tines of a forklift and in which a person may ride to inventory items stored well above the warehouse floor.