Trade documentation glossary

The air cargo equivalent of a bill of lading, and unlike one it is never a document of title.

A carrier's receipt, a contract of carriage, and — uniquely among shipping documents — a document of title.

A statement of where goods were produced, usually stamped by a chamber of commerce.

Whichever is greater of actual weight and volumetric weight. What the carrier bills on.

A bill with no carrier notation of damage or shortage. The opposite is claused, and banks reject claused bills.

The consignment note for international road transport in Europe, issued in three copies.

Who takes delivery, and on a bill of lading the box that decides who can claim the cargo.

Where LCL cargo is consolidated into containers and broken out again at the other end.

Seller pays freight and insurance to the destination port, but risk passes at origin.

A charge for leaving a container inside the terminal beyond its free time.

A charge for keeping a container after taking it out of the terminal, until you return it empty.

Any mismatch between your documents and a letter of credit's terms. Grounds for refusal, however minor.

Seller delivers on board the vessel at the named port. Risk and cost pass to the buyer there.

The allowance before demurrage or detention starts. Contractual, not a fairness mechanism.

Goods plus packaging plus pallet. The figure that must match across every document.

The international product classification that decides your duty rate.

A bill issued by a forwarder or NVOCC to its customer, sitting under the ocean carrier's master bill.

Ten data elements US importers must file at least 24 hours before ocean cargo is loaded abroad.

Eleven three-letter rules dividing cost, risk and customs duties between seller and buyer.

A bank's undertaking to pay against documents that comply exactly with stated terms.

A promise to cover a carrier's loss for doing something its rules do not normally allow.

What is stencilled on the outside of packages, so a specific carton can be found without unloading.

The goods alone, without any packaging.

A carrier that issues bills of lading in its own name without owning ships.

Who the carrier contacts on arrival. Being notified confers no right to the goods.

A signed acknowledgement that goods arrived, and the trigger for payment on many terms.

The technical tests deciding where goods legally originate, written per tariff heading.

A receipt and contract of carriage that is not a document of title. No original to surrender.

The party handing goods to the carrier, and the one carrying the VGM obligation.

The change that gives goods a new origin: a new name, character or use.

A second set replacing the first, usually to keep a supplier's identity from the final buyer.

The packaging by itself, or the empty container's own weight.

A message from the carrier's origin office letting destination release cargo without an original.

A preferential origin claim for US–Mexico–Canada trade. There is no official form.

The certified weight of a packed container. Without it, the box is not loaded.