A
| Agent (Agt.) | A person authorized to transact business for and in the name of another person or company.
(1) brokers,
(2) commission merchants,
(3) resident buyers,
(4) sales agents,
(5) manufacturer's representatives.
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| Arrival notice | An advice that the carrier sends to the consignee advising of goods coming forward for delivery. Pertinent information such as BL number, container number and total charges due from consignee etc, are included and sent to consignee prior to vessel arrival. This is done gratuitously by the carrier to ensure smooth delivery but there is no obligation by the carrier to do so. The responsibility to monitor the transit and present himself to take timely delivery still rests with the consignee. |
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B
| B/L | Abbreviation for "Bill of Lading."
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| Barrel (BBL) | A term of measure referring to 42 gallons of liquid at 60o F.
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| Berth Terms | Shipped under rate that includes cost from end of ship's tackle at load port to end of ship's tackle at discharge port.
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| Bill of Lading (B/L) | A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company. It serves as a document of title, a contract of carriage and a receipt for goods.
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| (1) Amended B/L: B/L requiring updates that do not change financial status; this is slightly different from corrected B/L.
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| (2) B/L Terms & Conditions: the fine print on B/L; defines what the carrier can and cannot do, including the carrier's liabilities and contractual agreements.
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| (3) B/L's Status: represents whether the bill of lading has been input, rated,reconciled, printed, or released to the customer.
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| (4) B/L's Type: refers to the type of B/L being issued. Some examples are: a Memo(ME), Original (OBL), Non.negotiable, Corrected (CBL) or Amended (AM) B/L.
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| (5) Canceled B/L: B/L status; used to cancel a processed B/L; usually per shipper'srequest; different from voided B/L.
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| (6) Clean B/L: A B/L which bears no superimposed clause or notation which declares a defective condition of the goods and/or the packaging.
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| (7) Combined B/L: B/L that covers cargo moving over various transports.
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| (8) Consolidated B/L: B/L combined or consolidated from two or more B/L's.
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| (9) Corrected B/L: B/L requiring any update which results in money . or other financially related changes.
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| (10) Domestic B/L: Non-negotiable B/L primarily containing routing details; usually used by truckers and freight forwarders.
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| (11) Duplicate B/L: Another original Bill of Lading set if first set is lost. also known as reissued B/L.
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| (12) Express B/L: Non-negotiable B/L where there are no hard copies of originals printed.
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| (13) Freight B/L: A contract of carriage between a shipper and forwarder (who is usually a NVOCC); a non-negotiable document.
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| (14) Government B/L (GBL): A bill of lading issued by the U.S. government.
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| (15) Hitchment B/L: B/L covering parts of a shipment which are loaded at more than one location. Hitchment B/L usually consists of two parts, hitchment and hitchment memo. The hitchment portion usually covers the majority of a divided shipment and carries the entire revenue.
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| (16) House B/L: B/L issued by a freight forwarder or consolidator covering a single shipment containing the names, addresses and specific description of the goods shipped.
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| (17) Intermodal B/L: B/L covering cargo moving via multimodal means. Also known as Combined transport B/L, or Multimodal B/L.
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| (18) Long Form B/L: B/L form with all Terms & Conditions written on it. Most B/L's are short form which incorporate the long form clauses by reference.
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| (19) Memo B/L: Unfreighted B/L with no charges listed.
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| (20) Military B/L: B/L issued by the U.S. military; also known as GBL, or Form DD1252.
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| (21) B/L Numbers: U.S. Customs' standardized B/L numbering format to facilitate electronic communications and to make each B/L number unique.
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| (22) Negotiable B/L: The B/L is a title document to the goods, issued "to the order of" a party, usually the shipper, whose endorsement is required to effect is negotiation. Thus, a shipper's order (negotiable) B/L can be bought, sold, or traded while goods are in transit and is commonly used for letter-of-credit transactions. The buyer must submit the original B/L to the carrier in order to take possession of the goods.
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| (23) Non-Negotiable B/L: See Straight B/L. Sometimes means a file copy of a B/L.
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| (24) Onboard B/L: B/L validated at the time of loading to transport. Onboard Air, Boxcar, Container, Rail, truck and Vessel are the most common types.
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| (25) Optional Discharge B/L: B/L covering cargo with more than one discharge point option possibility.
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| (26) Order B/L: See Negotiable B/L.
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| (27) Original B/L: The part of the B/L set that has value, especially when negotiable;rest of set are only informational file copies. Abbreviated as OBL.
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| (28) Received for Shipment B/L: Validated at time cargo is received by ocean carrier to commence movement but before being validated as "Onboard".
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| (29) Reconciled B/L: B/L set which has completed a prescribed number of edits between the shippers instructions and the actual shipment received. This produces a very accurate B/L.
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| (30) Short Term B/L: Opposite of Long Form B/L, a B/L without the Terms &Conditions written on it. Also known as a Short Form B/L. The terms are incorporated by reference to the long form B/L.
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| (31) Split B/L: One of two or more B/L's which have been split from a single B/L.
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| (32) Stale B/L: A late B/L; in banking, a B/L which has passed the time deadline of the L/C and is void.
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| (33) Straight (Consignment) B/L: Indicates the shipper will deliver the goods to the consignee. It does not convey title (non-negotiable). Most often used when the goods have been pre-paid.
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| (34) To Order B/L: See Negotiable B/L.
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| (35) Unique B/L Identifier: U.S. Customs' standardization: four-alpha code unique to each carrier placed in front of nine digit B/L number; APL's unique B/L Identifier is "APLU". Sea-land uses "SEAU". These prefixes are also used as the container identification.
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| (36) Voided B/L: Related to Consolidated B/L; those B/L's absorbed in the combining process. Different from Canceled B/L.
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| Bill of Lading Port of Discharge | Port where cargo is discharged from means of transport.
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| Bill of Sale | Confirms the transfer of ownership of certain goods to another person in return for money paid or loaned.
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| Bill to Party | Customer designated as party paying for services.
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| Billed Weight | The weight shown in a waybill and freight bill, i.e, the invoiced weight.
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| Booking | Arrangements with a carrier for the acceptance and carriage of freight; i.e., a space reservation.
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| Booking number | A reference number for bookings registered. It should be unique without duplication for a three-year period.
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| Break Bulk | To unload and distribute a portion or all of the contents of a rail car, container, or trailer.
Loose, non-containerized cargo.
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| Break-bulk cargo | Goods shipped loose in the vessel's hold and not in a container.
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| Broker | A person who arranges for transportation of loads for a percentage of the revenue from the load.
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| Brokerage | Freight forwarder/broker compensation as specified by ocean tariff or contract.
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| Bulk carriers | A vessel carrying dry, liquid, grain, not packaged, bundled or bottled cargo, and is loaded without marks & number or count.
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| Bulk-Freight Container | A container with a discharge hatch in the front wall; allows bulk commodities to be carried.
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C
| Cargo | Freight loaded into a ship.
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| Cargo Tonnage | Most ocean freight is billed on the basis of weight or measurement tons (W/M). Weight tons can be expressed in short tons of 2000 pounds, long tons of 2240 pounds or metric tons of 1000 kilos (2204.62 pounds). Measurement tons are usually expressed as cargo measurement of 40 cubic feet (1.12 meters) or cubic meters (35.3 cubic feet.)
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| Carrier | Any person or entity who, in a contract of carriage, undertakes to perform or to procure the performance of carriage by rail, road, sea, air, inland waterway or by a combination of such modes.
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| Cash in Advance (CIA) | A method of payment for goods in which the buyer pays the seller in advance of the shipment of goods. Usually employed when the goods, such as specialized machinery, are built to order.
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| Cash With Order (CWO) | Cash With Order (CWO).
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| Claim | A demand made upon a transportation line for payment on account of a loss sustained through its alleged negligence.
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| Clean Bill of Lading | A receipt for goods issued by a carrier with an indication that the goods were received in "apparent good order and condition," without damage or other irregularities. If no notation or exception is made, the B/L is assumed to be "cleaned."
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| Clearance | The size beyond which cars or loads cannot use Limits bridges, tunnels, etc.
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| Commodity | Article shipped. For dangerous and hazardous cargo,the correct commodity identification is critical.
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| Consignee | A person or company to whom commodities are shipped.
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| Consignment | (1) A stock of merchandise advanced to a dealer and located at his place of business, but with title remaining in the source of supply.
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| (2) A shipment of goods to a consignee.
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| Consignor | A person or company shown on the bill of lading as the shipper.
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| Container | A truck trailer body that can be detached from the chassis for loading into a vessel, a rail car or stacked in a container depot. Containers may be ventilated, insulated, refrigerated, flat rack, vehicle rack,open top, bulk liquid or equipped with interior devices. A container may be 20 feet, 40 feet, 45 feet, 48 feet or 53 feet in length, 8'0" or 8'6" in width, and 8'6" or 9'6" in height.
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| Container Booking | Arrangements with a steamship line to transport containerized cargo.
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| Container number | The unique identification of a container.
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| Container seal number | The number of high security seals provided by OOCL.
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| Container size | The length of a container i.e. 20'', 40'' and 45'' (feet).
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| Container type | The purpose of a container of which the code is to be adhered to ISO standard.
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| Container Yard (CY) | A materials.handling/storage facility used for completely unitized loads in containers and/or empty containers. Commonly referred to as CY.
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| Contract | A legally binding agreement between two or more persons/organizations to carry out reciprocal obligations or value.
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| Customs | Government agency charged with enforcing the rules passed to protect the country's import and export revenues.
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| Customs Entry | All countries require that the importer make a declaration on incoming foreign goods. The importer then normally pays a duty on the imported merchandise. The importer's statement is compared against the carrier's vessel manifest to ensure that all foreign goods are properly declared.
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| Customs Invoice | A form requiring all data in a commercial invoice along with a certificate of value and/or a certificate of origin. Required in a few countries (usually former British territories) and usually serves as a seller's commercial invoice.
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| Customs of the Port | A phrase often included in charter parties and freight contracts referring to local rules and practices which may impact upon the costs borne by the various parties. |
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D - F
| Dangerous Goods | The term used by I.M.C.O. for hazardous materials which are capable of posing a significant risk to health, safety or property while being transported.
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| Delivery Order | A document authorizing delivery to a nominated party of goods in the care of a third party. Can be issued by a carrier on surrender of a bill of lading and then used by the merchant to transfer title by endorsement.
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| Destination | The place where the carrier actually turns over the cargo to consignee or his agent.
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| Dock | For ships, a cargo handling area parallel to the shoreline where a vessel normally ties up.
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| For land transportation, a loading or unloading platform at an industrial location or carrier terminal.
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| Door-to-Door | Through transportation of a container and its contents from consignor's premises to consignee's premises.
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| Dry Cargo | Cargo that does not require temperature control.
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| Dry-Bulk Container | A container constructed to carry grain, powder and other free flowing solids in bulk.
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| Endorsement | A legal signature usually placed on the reverse of a draft; signifies transfer of rights from the holder to another party.
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| Export | Shipment of goods to another country.
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| Feeder Service | Cargo to/from regional ports are transferred to/from a central hub port for a long-haul ocean voyage.
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| Feeder Vessel | Vessel employed in normally short sea routes to fetch or carry goods and containers to and from ocean going vessels.
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| Freight | (1) The price paid to the carrier for the transportation of goods or merchandise by sea from one place to another.
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| (2) Freight is also used to denote goods which are in the process of being transported from one place to another.
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| Freight Forwarder | A person whose business is to act as an agent on behalf of the shipper. A freight forwarder frequently makes the booking reservation. |
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G - L
| Gateway | Industry-related: A point at which freight moving from one territory to another is interchanged between transportation lines.
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| GATT | General Agreement on Tariff and trade. An international multilateral agreement embodying a code of practice for fair trading in international commerce.
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| Gross Tonnage | Applies to vessels, not to cargo. Determined by dividing by 100 the contents, in cubic feet, of the vessel's closed-in spaces. A vessel ton is 100 cubic feet.
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| Gross Weight | Entire weight of goods, packaging and container, ready for shipment.
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| High Cube | Any container which exceeds 8 feet 6 inches (102 inches) in height, usually 9 feet 6 inches.
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| Import | Shipment of goods from a foreign country.
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| Import License | A document required and issued by some national governments authorizing the importation of goods into their individual countries.
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| Import Permit | Usually required for items that might affect the public health, morals, animal life, vegetation, etc. Examples include foodstuffs, feedstuffs, pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary), medical equipment, seeds, plants and various written material (including tapes, cassettes, movies, TV tapes or TV movies). In some countries an import permit is the same as an import license.
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| Kilogram | 1,000 grams or 2.2046 pounds.
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| Landing Certificate | Certificate issued by consular officials of some importing countries at the point or place of export when the subject goods are exported under bond.
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| Lading | Refers to the freight shipped; the contents of a shipment.
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| Licenses | Some governments require certain commodities to be licensed prior to exportation or importation. Clauses attesting to compliance are often required on the B/L.
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| Various types issued for export (general, validated) and import as mandated by government(s). |
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M - N
| Maritime | Business pertaining to commerce or navigation transacted upon the sea or in seaports in such matters as the court of admiralty has jurisdiction.
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| Maximum Payload | Maximum cargo that can be loaded into a container either by weight or volume.
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| MultiTank Container | A container frame fitted to accommodate two or more separate tanks for liquids.
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| Nautical Mile | Distance of one minute of longitude at the equator, approximately 6,076.115. The metric equivalent is 1852.
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| Negotiable Instruments | A document of title (such as a draft, promissory note, check, or bill of lading) transferable from one person to another in good faith for a consideration. Non-negotiable bills of lading are known as "straight consignment". Negotiable bills are known as "order b/l's."
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| Net Tonnage (NT) | (0.2+0.02 log10(Vc)) Vc (4d/3D)2, for passenger ships the following formula is added: 1.25 (GT+10000)/10000 (N1+(N2/10)), where Vc is the volume of cargo holds, D is the distance between ship's bottom and the uppermost deck, d is the draught N1 is the number of cabin passengers, and N2 is the number of deck passengers.)"Ton" is figured as an 100 cubic foot ton.
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| Net Weight | Weight of the goods alone without any immediate wrappings, e.g., the weight of the contents of a tin can without the weight of the can. Also called actual net weight.
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| Non-vessel Owning / Operating Common Carrier (N.V.O.C.C.) | (a) A cargo consolidator of small shipments in ocean trade, generally soliciting business and arranging for or performing containerization functions at the port.
(b) A carrier |
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O
| Ocean Bill of Lading (Ocean B/L) | Document indicating that the exporter will consign a shipment to an international carrier for transportation to a specified foreign market. Unlike an inland B/L, the ocean B/L also serves as a collection document. If it is a Straight B/L the foreign buyer can obtain the shipment from the carrier by simply showing proof of identity. If a negotiable B/L is used, the buyer must first pay for the goods, post a bond or meet other conditions agreeable to the seller.
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| Ocean Route | The all water transportation portion of a route.
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| On Board | A notation on a bill of lading that cargo has been loaded on board a vessel. Used to satisfy the requirements of a letter of credit, in the absence of an express requirement to the contrary.
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| On Deck | A notation on a bill of lading that the cargo has been stowed on the open deck of the ship.
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| On Board | Cargo has been loaded on board a combined transport mode of conveyance. Used to satisfy the requirements of a letter of credit, in the absence of an express requirement to the contrary.
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| On Board B/L | A B/L in which a carrier acknowledges that goods have been placed on board a certain vessel.
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| Open Top Container | A container fitted with a solid removable roof, or with a tarpaulin roof so the container can be loaded or unloaded from the top.
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| Optimum Cube | The highest level of cube utilization that can be achieved when loading cargo into a container.
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| Overheight Cargo | Cargo more than eight feet high which thus cannot fit into a standard container. |
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P - Q
| Parcel Receipt | An arrangement whereby a steamship company, under rules and regulations established in the freight tariff of a given trade, accepts small packages at rates below the minimum bill of lading, and issues a parcel receipt instead of a bill of lading.
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| Payee | A party named in an instrument as the beneficiary of the funds. Under letters of credit, the payee is either the drawer of the draft or a bank.
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| Payer | A party responsible for the payment as evidenced by the given instrument. Under letters of credit, the payer is the party on whom the draft is drawn, usually the drawee bank.
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| Pickup | The act of calling for freight by truck at the consignor's shipping platform.
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| Port | Harbor with piers or docks.
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| Port of Call | Port where a ship discharges or receives traffic.
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| Port of Entry | Port where cargo is unloaded and enters a country.
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| Port of Exit | Place where cargo is loaded and leaves a country.
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| Prepaid (Ppd.) | Freight charges paid by the consignor (shipper) prior to the release of the bills of lading by the carrier. |
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R - S
| Route | The manner in which a shipment moves; i.e., the carriers handling it and the points at which the carriers interchange.
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| Service | A string of vessels which makes a particular voyage and serves a particular market.
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| Ship Chandler | An individual or company selling equipment and supplies for ships.
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| Ship owner | One of the persons in whom is vested the title of property of a ship or ships.
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| Shipment | The tender of one lot of cargo at one time from one shipper to one consignee on one bill of lading.
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| Shipped bill of lading | A bill of lading issued only after the goods have actually been shipped on board the vessel, as distinguished from the received for shipment bill of lading. Also see on board bill of lading.
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| Shipped on board | Endorsement on a bill of lading confirming loading of goods on vessel.
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| Shipper | The person or company who is usually the supplier or owner of commodities shipped. Also called Consignor.
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| Shipper owned container | The container used for cargo shipment is owned by the shipper.
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| Shipper's Export Declaration | A custom house form filled by the shipper of goods to other countries. Also called shipper's manifest. It mentions the marks, numbers, quantity, description and value of the goods at time and place of export. There is a different definition in USA as "The shipper's export declaration (SEDs) forms 7525-V and 7525-V-Alternate (Intermodal) and the shipper's export declaration for In-transit Goods, Form 7513, are JOINT-BUREAU OF THE CENSUS- INTERNATIONAL trADE ADMINIStrATION DOCUMENTS used for compiling the official U.S. export statistics and administering the requirements of the Export Administrative Act.
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| Shipper's Load & Count | Shipments loaded and sealed by shippers and not checked or verified by the carriers.
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| Shipper's Instructions | Shipper's communication(s) to its agent and/or directly to the international water-carrier. Instructions may be varied, e.g., specific details/clauses to be printed on the B/L, directions for cargo pickup and delivery.
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| Shipping order | Usually for the same set of Shipping Orders, there are a number of copies with the same form and contents but with different names such as the 1st copy is called Shipping Order and remainders are called Shipping Order Copy or Dock Receipt for different purposes such as space control, surveyor and sworn measurer, documentation. As EDI is more popular nowadays and used by both the shipper and Customs, hardcopy Shipping Order is no longer widely used.
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| Shipping permit | Issued by a shipping or carrier company; authorizes the receiving clerk at pier, dock, warehouse, airport or onboard to receive a stipulated amount of goods or materials from a specified firm.
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| Shipment | The tender of one lot of cargo at one time from one shipper to one consignee on one bill of lading.
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| Ships | (1) Bulk Carriers: All vessels designed to carry bulk cargo such as grain,fertilizers, ore and oil.
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| (2) Combination Passenger and Cargo Ships: Ships with a capacity for 13 or more passengers.
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| (3) Freighters: Breakbulk vessels both refrigerated and unrefrigerated, containerships, partial containerships, roll & #17;on/roll& #17;off vessels, and barge carriers.
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| (4) Barge Carriers: Ships designed to carry barges; some are fitted to act as full containerships and can carry a varying number of barges and containers at the same time. At present this class includes two types of vessels LASH and Sea-Bee.
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| (5) General Cargo Carriers: Breakbulk freighters, car carriers, cattle carriers,pallet carriers and timber carriers.
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| (6) Full Containerships: Ships equipped with permanent container cells, with little or no space for other types of cargo.
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| (7) Partial Containerships: Multipurpose containerships where one or more but not all compartments are fitted with permanent container cells. Remaining compartments are used for other types of cargo.
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| (8) Roll-on/Roll-off vessels: Ships specially designed to carry wheeled containers or trailers using interior ramps.
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| (9) Tankers: Ships fitted with tanks to carry liquid cargo such as: crude petroleum and petroleum products; chemicals, Liquefied gasses(LNG and LPG), wine, molasses, and similar product tankers.
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| Stripping | The unloading of a container.
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| Stuffing | The loading of a container.
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| Supply Chain | A logistical management system which integrates the sequence of activities from delivery of raw materials to the manufacturer through to delivery of the finished product to the customer into measurable components. "Just in Time" is a typical value-added example of supply chain management.
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| Surcharge | An extra or additional charge. |
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T
| Tank Container | A specially constructed container for transporting liquids and gases in bulk.
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| Tare Weight | The weight of packing material or, in carload shipments, the weight of the empty freight car.
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| Tariff (trf.) | A publication setting forth the charges, rates and rules of transportation companies.
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| Temperature Recorder | A device to record temperature in a container while cargo is en route.
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| Tonnage | 100 cubic feet. Generally refers to freight handled.
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| trailer | The truck unit into which freight is loaded as in tractor trailer combination. See Container.
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| transport | To move cargo from one place to another.
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| transportation & Exit (T & E) | Allows foreign merchandise arriving at one port to be transported in bond through the U.S. to be exported from another port, without paying duty. |
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U - Z
| Unloading | Removal of a shipment from a vessel.
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| Ventilated Container | A container designed with openings in the side and/or end walls to permit the ingress of outside air when the doors are closed.
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| Warehouse | A place for the reception, delivery, consolidation, distribution, and storage of goods/cargo.
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| Warehouse Entry | Document that identifies goods imported when placed in a bonded warehouse. The duty is not imposed on the products while in the warehouse but will be collected when they are withdrawn for delivery or consumption.
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| Warehousing | The storing of goods/cargo.
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| Weights and Measures | Measurement ton, 40 cubic ft or one cubic meter
Net ton, or short ton - 2,000 lbs
Gross ton/long ton - 2,240 lbs
Metric ton/kilo ton - 2,204.6 lbs
Cubic meter - 35.314 cubic ft.
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| Yard | A classification, storage or switching area. |
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