Freight, shipping and chartering glossary

Type Meaning
Certificate of Origin

Сertificate submitted by an exporter to those countries requiring it, listing goods to be imported and stating their place of origin. Used for customs and foreign exchange purposes.

Cabotage

Navigation of a commercial cargo or passenger ship between seaports of the same state.

Carnet

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

Carriage & Insurance Paid To Incoterm (CIP)

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.

Carrier Certificate and Release Order

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

Carrier’s Lien

A freight carrier‘s right to hold on to cargo until they have received payment for transporting the goods.

Cartment

Customs form permitting in-bond cargo to be moved from one location to another under Customs control, within the same Customs district.

Cash In Advance

The buyer pays the seller in advance the shipment of goods.

Certificate of Insurance (COI)

Issued by an insurance company or broker. The document confirms the existence of an insurance policy and summarizes the main aspects and conditions of the policy.

Charter Party

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

Charterer

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

Collect Freight

Freight payable by the consignee at the port of destination.

Commodity Code

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

Conference Carrier

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.

Congestion Surcharge

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

Consignor

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

Container Chassis

Devices for transporting containers for ship or other operations.

Container Cleaning Fee

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.

Container Freight Station

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.

Container Manifest

Document showing contents and loading sequence of a container.

Customs Duty (at Destination)

Duties on exports from China

Customs Entry

The document that provides US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with details of your shipment, such as cost, classification, and origin.

Contract of Carriage

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

Containerization

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.

Countervailing Duties (CVD)

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

Cost Freight Incoterm (CFR)

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

Cube Out

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

Container Fumigation (at Export)

Disinfection allowance (fumigation).

Customs Value

The notional value of the goods used for customs duties.

Cartage

(1) Movement of goods locally (short distances). (2) Сharge for pick-up and delivery of goods.

Customs Duty (at Origin)

Duty on imports to the US may apply

Cash Against Documents (CAD)

Settlement form, in which the exporter receives payment after submission of shipping documents to the bank or the importer receives documents for the goods after payment.

Customs Bond

The bond protects the US government should an importer not pay any duties, penalties, etc. either while the goods are in CBP custody or after release.

Customer

An enterprise that uses the services as provided by another enterprise.

Channel of Distribution

A network of agencies and other intermediaries that link the manufacturer and the end-user.

Cost and Insurance (CNI)

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.

Container Yard

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

Concealed Damage

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

Container Freight Charge

The charge made for the packing or unpacking of cargo into or from ocean freight containers.

Container

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

Consignment

Freight sent under a single contract of carriage.

Consolidator's Bill of Lading

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

Countertrade

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.

Container ID

An identifier assigned to a container by a carrier.

Cage

(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.

Carrier

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

Consolidation Fee

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

Cartel

A group of countries producing the same product and having concluded an agreement between themselves to control the supply volume and price level of this product.

Chassis Usage Fee

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

Charter Rates

The tariff applied for chartering tonnage in a particular trade.