International Shipping Terms Glossary

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

(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.

Goods that are transported by different types of vehicles.

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

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.

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

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

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

(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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

The tariff applied for chartering tonnage in a particular trade.

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

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

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

Freight payable by the consignee at the port of destination.

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"

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

Products; commercial products and services.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Freight sent under a single contract of carriage.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Cargo that is prohibited.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

The document containing the calculation of the amount of security and confirming the introduction of security for customs payments in the form of a bank guarantee, pledge agreement or guarantee.

A government agency providing the procedure for moving goods and vehicles, things, and other items across the customs border, levying customs payments.

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.

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 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.

Duties on exports from China

Duty on imports to the US may apply

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

Payment charged by customs when importing or exporting goods.

The notional value of the goods used for customs duties.