Freight, shipping and chartering glossary

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Payment for the weight of the item. The chargeable weight may be the dimensional weight or, for container shipments, the gross weight of the shipment less the tare weight of the container.

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

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.

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

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"

Products; commercial products and services.

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

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

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

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

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

Collection and storage of small consignments from several consignors for their subsequent transportation by one transport document.

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

The location where consolidation takes place.

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.

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

An identifier assigned to a container by a carrier.

Disinfection allowance (fumigation).

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

A legal entity that has received a license to perform intermediary functions in the field of customs clearance of goods at the expense and on behalf of the represented person.

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.

The procedure provided for by the customs legislation of the country related to the import/export of goods and vehicles. Customs clearance includes: a) customs clearance, b) payment of customs duties, c) all types of administrative actions related to the legalization of cargo.

Duty on imports to the US may apply

Payment charged by customs when importing or exporting goods.

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

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

Goods that are transported by different types of vehicles.

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.

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

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

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.