Air Waybill – A non-negotiable contract for carriage of air transportation between an air carrier and a shipper.

BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) – An adjustment in shipping charges to offset price fluctuations in the cost of fuel. Also known as a Bunker Surcharge (B/S). The word Bunker refers to fuel storage containers on a vessel.

Bill of Lading (B/L) – A document issued by a common carrier to a shipper that serves as:

• A receipt for the goods delivered to the carrier for shipment.

• A definition of the contract of carriage of the goods.

• A Document of Title to the goods described therein.

• This document is generally not negotiable unless consigned “to order

Bill of Lading, On Board – A bill of lading acknowledging that the relative goods have been received on board a specified vessel.

Break-bulk Vessel – A vessel designed to handle large or oversized cargo; generally cargo unsuitable for container stowage.

Bulk Cargo – Loose cargo that is loaded directly into a ship’s hold.

Bulk Carrier – There are two types of bulk carriers, the dry-bulk carrier and the liquid-bulk carrier, better known as a tanker. Bulk cargo is a shipment such as oil, grain, or one which is not packaged, bundled, bottled, or otherwise packed and is loaded without counting or marking.

Certificate of Origin – A document containing an affidavit to prove the origin of imported goods. It is used for customs or foreign exchange purposes or both. Certificates of Origin are commonly certified by an official organization in the country of origin such as a consular office or a chamber of commerce.

Chargeable Weight – Rate for airfreight goods where dimensional weight factor exceeds the actual weight of the cargo.

Consignee – The individual or company, to whom a seller or shipper sends merchandise and who, upon presentation of necessary documents, is recognized as the merchandise owner for the purpose of declaring and paying customs duties.

Consignor – A term used to describe any person who consigns goods to himself or to another party in a bill of lading or equivalent document. A consignor might be the owner of the goods, or a freight forwarder who consigns goods on behalf of his principal.

Consolidated Shipment – A method of shipping whereby an agent (freight forwarder or consolidator) combines individual consignments from various shippers into one shipment made to a destination agent, for the benefit of preferential rates. (Also called “groupage”) The consolidation is then de-consolidated by the destination agent into its original component consignments and made available to consignees. Consolidation provides shippers access to better rates than would be otherwise attainable.

Consolidator – An agent who brings together a number of shipments for one destination to qualify for preferential rates.

Demurrage – A penalty for exceeding free time allowed for loading or unloading at a pier or freight terminal. Also a charge for undue detention of transportation equipment or carriers in port while loading or unloading.

FCL – Full Container Load, Full Car Load.

FEU – (Forty foot equivalent) Term normally used in ocean freight rate negotiations referring to the equivalent of two twenty foot ocean containers.

Flat Bed Chassis – A semi-trailer with a level bed and no sides or tops. The floor is a standard height from the ground.

Flat Rack – A platform designed with the flexibility to carry oversized cargo on board container vessels. It can be loaded from the sides and top, usually having adjustable or removable bulkheads at the front and back.

Force Majeure – The title of a standard clause found in marine contracts exempting the parties for non-fulfillment of their obligations by reasons of occurrences beyond their control, such as earthquakes, floods, or war.

Forwarder, Freight Forwarder, Foreign Freight Forwarder – An independent business that dispatches shipments for exporters for a fee. The firm may ship by land, air, or sea or it may specialize. Usually it handles all the services connected with an export shipment, including preparation of documents, booking cargo space, warehousing, pier delivery, and export clearance. The firm may also handle banking and insurance services on behalf of a client.

Free Port – A port which is a Foreign Trade Zone open to all traders on equal terms, or more specifically a port where merchandise may be stored duty-free pending re-export or sale within that country.

Gross Weight (GR Wt. /GW) – The full weight of a shipment, including containers and packaging materials.

Hi (or High) Cube – Any container exceeding 102 inches in height.

House Air Waybill – An air waybill issued by an airfreight consolidator

Inducement – When steamship lines publish in their schedules the name of a port and the words “by inducement” in parentheses, this means the vessel will call at the port if there is a sufficient amount of profitable cargo available and booked.

Intermodal – This refers to the capacity to go from ship to train to truck or the like. The term generally refers to containerized shipping or the capacity to handle containers across different modes of transport.

LCL – Less than Container Load; Less than Car load.

L&D – Loss and Damage.

Legal Weight – The weight of the goods plus any immediate wrappings or packaging that are sold along with the goods, e.g., the weight of a tin can as well as its contents.

Less than Truckload (LTL) – Rates applicable when the quantity of freight is less than the volume or truckload minimum weight.

Lo/Lo (Lift-On/Lift-Off) – Denotes the method by which cargo is loaded onto and discharged from an ocean vessel, which in this case is by the use of a crane.

Manifest – A list of the goods being transported by a carrier.

Measurement Ton – The measurement ton (also known as the cargo ton or freight ton) is a space measurement, usually 40 cubic feet or one cubic meter. Cargo is assessed a certain rate for every 40 cubic feet or one cubic meter it occupies.

M/T or Metric Ton – 1000 Kilos

Net Weight (Actual Net Weight) – The 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.

Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) – In the United States, a term for an FMC-Licensed cargo consolidator of shipments in ocean trade, generally arranging for or performing consolidation and containerization functions. In trade lanes that do not include the U.S.A., NVOCC’s operate under different rules and governmental licensing may not be a requirement.

Port of Discharge – A port where a vessel is off-loaded and cargo discharged.

Port of Entry – A port at which foreign goods are admitted into the receiving country.

Port of Loading – A port where cargo is loaded aboard the vessel, lashed, and stowed.

Prepaid Freight – Generally speaking, freight charges both in ocean and air transport may be either prepaid in the currency of the country of export or they may be billed collect for payment by the consignee in his local currency. On shipments to some countries, however, freight charges must be prepaid because of foreign exchange regulations of the country of import or rules of steamship companies or airlines.

Reefer – A refrigerated container, trailer or railcar for transporting perishables.

Ro/Ro (Roll-on/Roll-Off) Vessel – A ship designed to accommodate cargo that is rolled on and rolled off. Many Ro/Ro vessels can also accommodate containers and/or break-bulk cargo.

Ship’s Manifest – An instrument in writing containing a list of the shipments constituting the ship’s cargo.

Shipment – Freight tendered to a carrier by one consignor at one place at one time for delivery to one consignee at one place on one bill of lading.

Shipper – Term used to describe an exporter (usually the seller

Steamship Agent – A duly appointed and authorized representative in a specified territory acting on behalf of a steamship line or lines and attending to all matters relating to the vessels owned by his principals.

Steamship Line – A company usually having the following departments: vessel operations, container operations, tariff department, booking, outbound rates, inward rates, and sales. The company can maintain its own in-country offices to handle regional sales, operations, or other matters, or appoint steamship agents to represent them doing the same. Some lines have liner offices in several regions and appointed agents in others.

Tare Weight – The weight of packing and containers without the goods to be shipped.

Tariff – A general term for any listing of rates or charges. The tariffs most frequently encountered in foreign trade are: tariffs of international transportation companies operating on sea, land, and in the air; tariffs of international cable, radio, and telephone companies; and the customs tariffs of the various countries that list goods that are duty free and those subject to import duty, giving the rate of duty in each case. There are various classes of customs duties.

Temperature Controlled Cargo – Any cargo requiring carriage under controlled temperature.

TEU – A twenty-foot equivalent unit (6.1m). A standard unit for counting containers of various lengths and for describing container ship or terminal capacity. A standard 40′ container (FEU) equals 2 TEUs.

THC (Terminal Handling Charge) – A charge for handling services performed at terminals.

Ton – Freight rates for liner cargo generally are quoted on the basis of a certain rate per ton, depending on the nature of the commodity. This ton, however, may be a weight ton or a measurement ton.

Transshipment – The transfer of a shipment from one carrier to another in international trade, most frequently from one ship to another. Because the unloading and reloading of delicate merchandise may cause damage, transshipments are avoided whenever possible.

War Risk – The possible aggressive actions against a ship and its cargo by a belligerent government. This risk can be insured by a marine policy with a risk clause.

War Risk Insurance – Insurance issued by marine underwriters against war-like operations specifically described in the policy. In former times, war risk insurance was taken out only in times of war, but currently many exporters cover most of their shipments with war risk insurance as a protection against losses from derelict torpedoes and floating mines placed during former wars, and also as a safeguard against unforeseen warlike developments. In the U.S.A., war risk insurance is written in a separate policy from the ordinary marine insurance; it is desirable to take out both policies with the same underwriter in order to avoid the ill effects of a possible dispute between underwriters as to the cause (marine peril or war peril) of a given loss.

Weight

• Gross – The weight of the goods including packing, wrappers, or containers, both internal and external. The total weight as shipped.

• Net – The weight of the goods themselves without the inclusion of any wrapper.

• Tare – The weight of the packaging or container.

• Weight/Measurement Ton – In many cases, a rate is shown per weight/measurement ton, carrier’s option. This means that the rate will be assessed on either a weight ton or measurement ton basis, whichever will yield the carrier the greater revenue.

• Weight Ton – Metric measure equals 1000 Kilograms; in English measure a short ton is 2000 pounds, a long ton is 2240 pounds.

W/M – Weight and/or Measurement.