GLOSSARIES

Bay

Section of vessel in which containers are held.

Bill of Lading

BL

Legal document signed by or for the captain/master, agents, owners of a vessel or the (common) carrier. It is written evidence of the contract of carriage by sea and/or by land. It is (1) A receipt of the goods (in the owner’s/carrier’s or his/their agent’s custody) and (2) An undertaking to carry and deliver the goods safely to the place directed/agreed, dangers of the sea excepted, against (3) Surrender of the document where/when provisions in the document stipulate delivery to order of a named person, to order (blank) or to bearer 4) It evidences the terms of the contract of carriage.

Booking

1. Act of recording arrangements for the movement/transportation of goods by vessel or other conveyance. 2. To express in advance a desire for something in order to reserve it e.g. transportation of goods. 3. Also known as a booking request.

Cargo Declaration Amendment Fee

.CAM

A fee that covers re-submission of necessary information required by Customs due to an amendment request that is made by the customer after the carrier has submitted the documentation to local customs authorities. Import countries where this is applicable: – European Union – Norway – Switzerland – United States – Canada – Puerto Rico – Mexico

Container Cleaning Fee

.CCL

This fee covers the additional costs for extra or special cleaning and is applicable when the container does not meet the standard cleanliness criteria (inside and outside) upon empty return from the customer. This service of additional cleaning of the container may also be triggered by a customer request. This charge is not applicable to shipper-owned containers.

Currency Adjustment Factor

.CAF

This is a compensatory cost-sharing measure to remove the carrier’s risks associated with currency fluctuations. An overview of CAF calculations can be found here. The charge will apply to all bookings that are taken on these trade lanes. It is applicable primarily, but not limited, to European trades, e.g.: Europe – Far East Europe – Middle East/Red Sea/Indian Sub-Continent US to/from Europe

Dangerous Cargo Service

This fee covers the additional costs incurred by the carrier in the movement of Dangerous cargo from or to an inland location.

Additional costs consist of licenses, permits, and the carrier has to use specialized vendors with certifications that cost more.

This fee will be applicable to dangerous bookings where carrier inland haulage (export or import) has been requested by the customer.

Delivered Ex Ship

DES

For more information, see > www.iccwbo.org

Delivery

(1) The physical and legal transfer of a shipment from consignor to carrier and from carrier/ transport agent to consignee.
(2) The act of putting property into the legal possession of another, whether involving the actual transfer of the physical control of the object from one to the other or being constructively effected in various other ways.

Delivery Duty Unpaid

DDU

For more information, see > www.iccwbo.org

Delivery Ex Quay

DEQ

For more information, see > www.iccwbo.org

Delivery Order

An order from the consignee, shipper or owner of freight to a terminal operator, carrier or warehouse to deliver freight to another party. On imports, it may also be known as a pier release.

A document which is neither a bill of lading or a waybill but contains an undertaking which
(1) is given under or for the purposes of a contract for the carriage by sea of goods to which the document relates, or of goods which include those goods; and
(2) is an undertaking by the carrier to a person identified in the document to deliver those goods to that person which the document relates.

Delivery orders are capable of transferring contractual rights by way of endorsements, but they are not necessarily documents of title in the sense of being able to pass constructive possession.

Demurrage

This fee is applicable when the customer holds carrier equipment in the terminal for longer than the agreed amount of free time.

It can be incurred for both exports (early drop-off) and imports (late pick-up).

Export: Demurrage days are counted from gate-in (full) to container loading minus free days.

Import: Demurrage days are counted from container discharge to gate-out (full) minus free days.

Applicable to all containers that remain at a terminal location longer than agreed free time.

Detention Fee – Export

This fee is applicable when the customer holds carrier equipment longer than the agreed amount of free time.

Export: Detention days are counted from pick-up empty to gate-in full minus free days.

This fee is applicable to all containers that remain in the customer’s possession longer than the agreed free time.

Not applicable for shipper owned containers.

*Applicable calculation methods may vary by country.

Detention Fee – Import

This fee is applicable when the customer holds carrier equipment longer than the agreed free time.

Import: Detention days are counted from gate-out full to gate-in empty minus free days.*

This fee is applicable to all containers that remain in the customer’s possession longer than the agreed free time.

*Applicable calculation methods may vary by country.

Detention in Transit Service

The carrier has the ability to hold shipments at transhipment ports until further instructions are received from the customer.

This gives the customers the flexibility to delay the cargo arrival, when it assists them in their business.

Note: the carrier is unable to hold containers longer than 14 days unless the customer submits a written letter of indemnity to the carrier which states that the carrier will not be liable for any cargo damage not covered by Insurance during the extra detention period.

The DIT charge is applicable based on the request by the customer and subject to the carrier’s acceptance.

Differential

Amount added or deducted from base rate to create a rate to or from some other point or via another route.

Distribution

The full range of activities and planning required to move a product from the production line to the end-user.

Distribution Requirements Planning

A system of determining demand for an inventory at distribution centres, consolidating the demand information backwards, and acting as input to the production and material system.

Diversion Charge

Fee for diverting cargo from original intended destination port to a new location.

Dock Receipt

Receipt given for a shipment received or delivered at a pier or dock. When delivery of a foreign shipment is completed, the dock receipt is exchanged for a bill of lading with the transportation line.

Double Stack Car

Rail car capable of carrying two containers stacked on top of each other.

Draft

Marine: The depth to which a vessel’s deepest point is under water. Rail: A cut of coupled cars. Financial: A signed, written order by one party that instructs another party to pay a third party a specific amount. It can also be called a bill of exchange.

Drawback

99% refund of imported or duty paid materials which are to be re-exported.

Drayage

Inland transportation from vendors to the port of shipment, and from discharge port to the point of stripping the ocean container. Drayage is hence undertaken for CY and CFS cargo.

Dry Dock

Used to lay up vessels for repair.

Dunnage

Material used around cargo to prevent breakage or shifting, normally provided by shipper. Its weight is included in the rating.

Duty Drawback

(1) Payment returned for cargo re-exported or trade show material.
(2) A customs refund on re-exported cargo.

EAN 8

EAN barcodes are used when the country origin needs to be known. There are 8 digits in EAN 8, where the first two characters are used to define the country of origin, the next 5 are data, followed by the checksum. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

EIR

Equipment Interchange Receipt. A document used to receive or deliver a full or empty container/chassis at any terminal or inland container pool/depot.

Earnings

Income after a company’s taxes and all other expenses have been paid. Also called profit or net income.

Error List
EL

Report showing discrepancies (errors) in data input.

Feeder
F

Transportation conveyance utilised to relay cargo from the mother vessel to ultimate destination or from first receipt port to mother vessel.

Floating Cranes
FC

Heavy duty cranes that are able to handle exceptionally heavy cargo if unable to use conventional gantry cranes.

For-Hire Carriers
FHC

Persons or firms engaged in the transportation of goods or passengers for compensation. Classified into two general categories, specialised and general freight motor carriers.

Freight Bill
FB

Destination (Collect) Freight Bill: Prepaid Freight Bill. (1) Bill rendered by a transportation line to consignee containing description of freight shipper name, point of origin and weight charges (if not prepaid). (2) Bill rendered by a transportation line to shipper containing description of freight, consignee, destination and weight charges.

Freight Forwarder
FF

(1) Person engaged in assembling, collecting, consolidating shipping and distributing less than trailerload freight. (2) Also, a person acting as an agent in the transshipping of freight to or from foreign countries and clearing freight through federal customs.

Gantry Crane
G

Gantry Crane Port crane used to load and discharge containers from vessels, can be positioned by moving along rail tracks.

Handling Costs

The cost involved in transferring, preparing and otherwise contracting inventory.

Hangertainer

Specialised container equipped with hanger beams for the purpose of stowing garments on hangers.

Harmless Chemicals

A cargo description, which is a contradiction of terms. A chemical is a substance and whether it is harmless or not, depends on the context in which the substance appears or is used. The carrier does not accept harmless chemicals as a valid cargo description on the shipping documents.

IMCO Classification

International Maritime Control Organisation classification for hazardous cargo.

INCO Terms

Incoterms 2000 is the latest version of ICC’s standard trade definitions, commonly known as the INCO terms. The terms consist of 13 rules which are fundamental to international trade, defining the most important responsibilities of buyers and sellers in international sales contracts. Incoterms are a basic reference for sales contracts, recognised as the international standard by customs authorities and courts everywhere. Since they were first published in 1936, Incoterms – a trademarked ICC product – have been updated six times. For more information, see: www.iccwbo.org

IPI

Inland Point Intermodal. Cargo moving via land from/to an inland point. See also Micro Bridge.

ISA

Information System Agreement. Leading organisation of ocean carriers that develops, promotes and implements electronic commerce solutions for the maritime industry.

IT

(1) Immediate Transportation Entry: refers to an IT entry (U.S. Customs). Allows the cargo to move beyond the vessel entry point in bond for customs clearance at the destination named in the I.T. movement from one customs district to another, e.g. cargo entering the U.S. at Los Angeles destined for Chicago can move to Chicago before having a customs inspection. (2) Information Technology: A generic term for people or systems working toward business improvement.

ITIGG

International Transport Implementation Guidelines Group.ITIGG is an international group of experts engaged in the development and implementation of UN/EDIFACT-standard messages for electronic trading in the transport industry. ITIGG is a subgroup of D4, the UN/EDIFACT Message Development Group for Transport. ITIGG develops recommendations which provide software developers with a series of simple, straightforward tools to assist in designing applications which can be used for trading electronically throughout the world, and to clarify the intentions of the designers of key UN/EDIFACT messages.

Inbound

Import Shipment.

Independent Action
IA

A separate action taken by an individual member of a conference agreement to change rates or terms of carriage as laid out in the conference agreements.

Inland Carrier

Transportation company which hauls imports or exports between ports and inland points.

Insurance Certificate

Document which assures the consignee that insurance is provided to cover loss or damage to the cargo while in transit. A certificate issued by an insurer to a shipper (or other party) as evidence that a shipment of merchandise is covered under a marine policy.

Integrated Carriers

Carriers that have both air and ground fleets or other combinations, such as sea, rail and truck. They usually handle thousands of small parcels an hour.

Interleaved 2 of 5

This is strictly a numeric barcode. Each encoded character is made up of five elements, two are wide and three are narrow. The number of characters to be printed must be an even number. If the number of characters to be printed is odd, a zero will be appended to the beginning of the code.

Intermodal

Coordinated transport of freight, especially in connection with relatively long-haul movements, using any combination of freight forwarders, piggy-back, containerisation, air freight, assemblers, rail and road.

Intermodal Marketing Company
IMC

Consolidates container loads or piggyback trailers from several shippers and contracts with railroads for volume space.

International Freight Forwarders

Freight torwarders that handle booking, paperwork and consolidation of exports.

International Maritime Control Organisation
IMCO

International Maritime Control Organisation. See IMO.

Inventory Carrying Costs

Generally, carrying costs or holding costs are financial measurements that calculate all the costs associated with holding goods in storage. It includes inventory-in-storage, warehousing, obsolescence, deterioration, spoilage and labour costs, as well as insurance and taxes.

Inventory Turnover

The cost of goods sold, divided by the average level of inventory on hand. The ratio measures how many times a company’s inventory has been sold during the year.

Inventory Velocity

The speed with which products move from receiving dock to shipping dock.

Joint Rate

A rate from a point located on one transportation line to a point on another transportation line which is published in a single tariff.

Jones Act

Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requiring that all shipments by water between ports in the United States (including Puerto Rico) be carried by U.S.-flag, be U.S.-built, and U.S.-crewed vessels.

Journal of Commerce
JOC

Journal of Commerce A trade publication. Trade transportation journal.

Just-In-Time
JIT

In this method of inventory control, warehousing is minimal or non-existent; the container is the moveable warehouse and must arrive “just in time,” i.e. not too early and not too late.

LNG Carrier

Liquified Natural Gas Carrier.

LT

Long Ton1 Long Ton = 2,240 lbs

Label Cargo

Cargo, including all commodities, requiring a label according to the provisions of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.

Land Bridge

Containers moving from a foreign country by vessel, and then sent to an inland point in the U.S. or elsewhere by land transportation (rail or truck). See also MLB.

Less Than Container Load
LCL

Common term for an amount of goods to be shipped and which do not fill an entire container. Ocean rates for LCL are commonly higher on a per-unit basis than for a full container load. Thus, consolidation of several LCL loads from different places or shippers into a full container can save on costs.

Less Than Trailer Load
LTL

See “Less Than Container Load” (LCL).

Letter of Credit

LC

(1) Letter of agreement issued by a bank stating a foreign purchaser has established a line of credit in a seller’s favour, and confirming that payment for goods will be made upon presentation of certain documents which are in agreement with terms on the letter of credit. (2) A letter addressed by a banker to a correspondent certifying that a person named therein is entitled to draw on him or his credit up to a certain sum. (3) A letter addressed by a banker to a person, to whom credit is given, authorising him to draw on the issuing bank or on a bank in his country up to a certain sum and guaranteeing to accept the drafts if duly made, also called commercial letter of credit, confirmed credit or confirmed letter of credit. Letters of credit may take various forms, represent various undertakings for various purposes and be subject to different conditions.

Line Haul

Marine portion of a vessel’s route covering the greatest distance, usually across an ocean (e.g. Singapore-Los Angeles).

Logistics

The management of freight and information throughout the total supply chain from the original raw material source to the ultimate consumer of the finished product, encompasing factories, assembly and packing plants, warehouses, distribution centres and retail outlets.

Longshoreman

Also known as stevedore.Worker who loads and unloads a ship. Terminal operator who is designed to facilitate the operation of loading and discharging vessels, as well as other terminal activities.

MLB

An abbreviation for Mini Land Bridge Containers moving from a foreign country by vessel, and then sent to an inland point in the U.S. or elsewhere by land transportation (rail or truck). See also Land Bridge.

MSI Plessey

This barcode is a variable length barcode that can encode up to 15 numeric digits. Checksum generation is dependent on the value of the checksum parameter. The following table indicates the value of the checksum property and the type of checksum created. Setting, Description, 0, one modulus 10 checksum, 1, two modulus 10 checksums, 2, one modulus 11 checksum/one modulus 10 checksum.

Manifest

Entire listing of all cargo on board a vessel as required by the relevant local authorities e.g. customs. Same as cargo manifest.

Marks and Numbers

The identifying details on or of a package or the actual markings that appear on the packages.

Materials Management

The procurement, movement and management of materials and products from acquisition through to production.

Merchant Haulage Service

Service of coordinating 3rd party logistics services (Merchant Haulage arrangements) on behalf of the customer. This service is applied based upon the customer’s request for the carrier to coordinate inland haulage on a merchant haulage Bill of Lading. The customer holds the contract with the haulage provider.The carrier can refuse to offer this service.

Metric Ton
MT

Metric Ton. 1 MT = 2,204.62lbs or 35.314 cft.

Mixed Shipment

Shipment consisting of items described in and rated under two or more rate items within a tariff.

Mother Vessel

Main ocean vessel in a liner service designated to move containers from set origin points to set destination ports/points on a regular basis.

Negotiable Bill of Lading

Something that can be negotiated, transferred or assigned from one person to another in return for equivalent value by being delivered either with endorsement (as of an instrument to order) or without endorsement (as of an instrument to bearer) so that the title passes to the transferee who is not prejudiced in his rights by any defect or flaw in the title of prior parties nor by personal defenses available to prior parties among themselves provided in both cases that the transferee is a bona fide holder without notice e.g. bills of lading, bills of exchange, promissory notes, and cheques that are payable to bearer or order are negotiable instruments, as are also, in some jurisdictions, some other instruments (as bonds, some forms of stock) i.e. negotiable paper/negotiable securities. “Negotiable” used analogously for “transferable” – see also negotiability/transferability.

Negotiating Bank

Bank where a shipper negotiates documents or where documents are first presented, usually at country of origin.Also, often referred to as the advising bank.

Nested

Three or more different sizes of the same item or commodity which must be enclosed, each smaller piece within the next larger piece, or three or more of the items must be placed one within the other so that the top item does not project above the lower item by more than 1/3 of its height.Nested Solid: Three or more of items must be placed on or inside the other, so that the external side surfaces of the top item is in contact with the internal side surfaces of the item below, and the top item does not project above the next lower item by more than 1/2 inch.

Neutral Body

Investigating body designated by conference carriers to ensure that all regulations and rules are adhered to.

Non-Asset-Based Third Party Providers

Third party providers who generally do not own assets, such as transportation and/or warehouse equipment.

Non-Negotiable Bill of Lading

A document not made out “to order”, but being a receipt and evidence of the contract of carriage, but which is not a document of title, e.g. a waybill and, in some jurisdictions (such as the USA), a (straight) consigned bill of lading.

Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier
NVOCC

Non-Vessel Operating Common CarrierCarrier offering an international cargo transport service through the use of underlying carriers and under their own rate structure in accordance with tariffs filed with the Federal Maritime Commission in Washington D.C.

Not Otherwise Enumerated
NOE

Not Otherwise Enumerated

Not Otherwise Stated

NOS

Not Otherwise Stated.

Notify Party

Company/person who appears on the bill of lading or waybill to be notified when the cargo arrives at destination. Could be different from the consignee, but is often the actual receiver of the goods. A notify party has no particular rights (beyond the notification) under the bill of lading or waybill.

On Deck Stowage

Cargo stowed on the deck of the vessel.

On-Carriage

Service of providing inland import transportation to our customer’s premises from the port of discharge. This offers the customer flexibility of door to door transportation.This service is applicable when the carrier provides inland transportation to the desired inland location, based on the request of the customer.

On-Time Performance

The proportion of time that a transit system adheres to its published schedule times within stated tolerances.

Open Rates

Rates established for each individual carrier. These rates are listed in a tariff list but may differ according to carrier.

Order Cycle

This includes the time and the process involved from the placement of the order to the receipt of the shipment. It includes the following processes: Communicating the order, order processing, transporting the shipment.

Origin Motor Terminal, Origin Rail Terminal, Destination Motor Terminal

OMT, ORT, DMT

Origin Motor Terminal, Origin Rail Terminal, Destination Motor Terminal. Location designated by a motor/rail carrier at origin/destination points where, the motor carrier or his authorised agent assembles, holds or stores an ocean carrier’s containers and chassis; where loaded containers are received from shippers or their agents; where empty containers are delivered to shippers or their agents.

Original Bill of Lading
OBL

Original bill of lading. See also Negotiable Bill of Lading.

Out of Gauge Service

The service is to handle and ship cargo that is “out-of-gauge”. This is to provide the ability to ship cargo which exceeds the dimensions of standard containers by length, width, height and/or weight, but which still remains feasible for the carrier to handle as ‘containerized cargo’. This fee is applicable to out of gauge shipments.

Outbound

Export shipments.

Outport

Destination port, other than a base port, to which rates apply but which may be subject to additional outport arbitraries.

Outsource

To hire a third-party provider to assume tasks previously performed in-house.

Over Landed

(1) Cargo volume count more than originally shipped. (2) Cargo taken beyond original port of discharge.

Overland Common Port
OCP

A special rate concession made by shipping lines, rail carriers and truckers serving the U.S. West Coast for export and import traffic, intended to benefit midwest shippers and importers by equalising rates to and from other coastal areas, and offering these midwest companies a comparable alternative. The steamship companies lower their rates and the inland carriers pick up the terminal charges, which consist of handling charges, wharfage charges and car loading or unloading charges. OCP rates apply to cargo shipped from or consigned to the states of: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico and all states east thereof. OCP rates in Canada apply to the provinces of: Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

POSTNET

The POSTNET barcode is used on envelopes and postcards that are sent through the U.S. Postal Service. This barcode is placed in the lower right-hand corner of the envelope.

Packing List

List of packages for each shipment, showing individual breakdown in weights/measure and quantity.

Pallet

Wooden structure used to support cargo and ease movement by forklifts.

Partlow Chart

A chart that indicates the temperature reading in a reefer container.

Partnerships and Alliances

Shippers and providers who enter into agreements designed to benefit both parties.

Per Diem

On a daily basis.

Physical Distribution

All logistics activities from the production line to the final user, including traffic, packaging, materials handling, warehousing, order entry, customer service, inventory control etc.

Piggyback

The transportation of highway trailers or demountable trailer bodies on specially equipped rail flat cars.

Pilferage

Cargo stolen from the container, warehouse or terminal.

Plimsoll Mark

Depth to which a vessel may safely load. Identified by a circle on the vessel’s side with a vertical line through and a number of small horizontal lines showing the max depth for summer and winter.

Positioning

The moving of empty equipment from surplus areas to deficit areas.

Pre-Carriage
PRE – CARRIAGE

Service of providing inland export transportation from our customer’s premises to the port of loading. This offers the customer the flexibility of door to door transportation. This service is applicable when the carrier provides inland transportation from the desired inland location, based on the request of the customer.

Pre-Trip Inspection Service

A service arranged by the carrier to have a technician perform an extra check on temperature controlled containers to ensure that the unit is functional and ready to transport commodities at the required temperature settings. The inspection is performed before release of the empty container. This service is applied upon the customer’s request and/or to certain types of commodities where it is mandatory to be applied in order to permit transport of the shipment.

Purchase Order

Common grouping of orders for goods/services. Several SKU categories may be listed on one purchase order. Most customers group their orders in a particular way to facilitate distribution at the other end. For example, one purchase order for an apparel importer might encompass 2 dozen green sweaters and 2 dozen red sweaters. If those P.O.s originated from the same store, it is simple for the store to put all items under that P.O. onto the right truck.

Quality Control

The systematic planning, measuring and control of a combination of people, materials, metrology and machines, with the objective of producing a product that satisfies the quality and profitability of the enterprise.

Quay

A pier, wharf or other structure built along a shore for landing, loading and unloading boats or ships.

Quick Response
QR

A consumer-driven system of replenishment in which high-quality products and accurate information flow through a paperless (EDI) system between all distribution points from the manufacturing line to the retail checkout counter. Distributors, carriers and suppliers act as trading partners and focus on improving the total supply system.

Quitclaim

A legal instrument used to release one person’s right, title or interest to another without providing a guarantee or warranty of title.

Railhead

Location for loading and unloading containers at railroad terminal.

Rate Agreement

Group of carriers who discuss rates and common problems with options to file independent tariffs.

Re-engineering

An approach to improving business operations through reinventing, reevaluating, redesigning and redoing.

Received for Shipment Bill of Lading

Can be issued on the carrier’s actual receipt or taking custody of goods, if requested goods are not yet necessarily loaded on board a vessel or other conveyance. This form of bill of lading would usually be switched to an on board bill of lading or added as an on board notation upon the actual loading of goods on board a vessel or other conveyance.

Register Ton

A unit of interior capacity of ships.1 Register Ton = 100 cubic feet or 2,832 cubic metres.Also known as vessel ton.

Relay

Marine shipment that is transferred to its ultimate destination port after having been shipped to an intermediate point.

Replenishment

The process of moving the inventory of an item from a reserve storage location to the primary picking location or to another mode of storage in which picking is performed.

Return Cargo

Cargo to be returned to original place of receipt.

Revenue Ton

Number of tonnes which freight is paid for per ton.

Reverse Logistics

Reverse Logistics is a rather general term. In its broadest sense, reverse logistics stands for all operations related to the reuse of products and materials. The management of these operations can be referred to as Product Recovery Management (PRM). PRM is concerned with the care of products and materials after they have been used. Some of these activities are, to some extent, similar to those occurring in the case of internal returns of defective items due to unreliable production processes. Reverse logistics refers however to all logistics activities the collection, disassembly and processing of used products, product parts and/or materials in order to ensure a sustainable (environmentally-friendly) recovery.

Ro-Ro

Roll on/Roll offVessel used for carrying cars and light trucks. Vehicles are driven on and driven off, as opposed to being loaded with cranes or other external equipment.

ST

1 Short Ton = 2 000 lbs.

STC

Abbreviation for Said To Contain.

SWIFT

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial TelecommunicationA cooperative organised under Belgian law providing the following services to participating financial institutions: Letters of credit (opening and transmission), money transfers, payment security settlements. Other businesses participating in SWIFT are: Security brokers and delaters, clearing and depository institutions, security exchanges and travellers cheques issuers.

Seawaybill

A type of bill of lading used for port-to-port or combined transport carriage. A waybill is identical to a negotiable bill of lading except that it is not a document of title. There are no originals issued for this type of document. In some jurisdictions, such as the USA, a waybill is deemed the equivalent of a (straight) consigned bill of lading. See also Waybill.

Service Agreement

Private contracts between one or more carriers and one or more shippers to transport cargo between specified points under terms and conditions of carriage agreed and listed in the contract. It often allows for particular rates based on volume over a specified period of time. Also commonly known as a service contract.

Ship’s Chandlers

Suppliers of various items to the vessel.

Shipper

1) Person who consigns something (e.g. the goods of an individual shipment). 2) Legal entity or person named on the bill of lading or waybill as shipper and/or who (or in whose name or on whose behalf) a contract of carriage has been concluded with a carrier. Also known as consignor.

Shipper Packed

Contents of containers as loaded (stuffed), stowed (packed/braced), weighed and/or counted by or for the shipper, usually a CY load.

Shipping Order

Equivalent of booking and contract of carriage evidencing the agreement to transport goods.

Short Landed

Cargo volume count (at delivery destination) less than originally shipped.

Short Shipped

Cargo missing a vessel that it was originally intended for.

Slot Charter

A carrier’s chartering of slots/spaces on other carrier’s vessels.

Special Customs Invoice

An official form usually required by U.S. Customs if the rate of duty is based upon the value, and the value of the shipment exceeds USD 500. This document is usually prepared by the foreign exporter or his forwarder and is used by customs in determining the value of the shipment. The exporter or his agent must attest to the authenticity of the data furnished.

Special Rate

Rate established for a specified commodity for a specific period of time.

Stevedore

Terminal operator who is designated to facilitate the operation of loading and discharging vessels and various terminal activities. Also known as longshoreman.

Stock Keeping Unit
SKU

Smallest unit grouping for goods, normally indicating a single retail item. Usually, several SKUs will be under one purchase order.

Storage Charge

Charge for goods held in storage facilities (warehouses) under a fixed agreement for periods of time, and which is not included in other arrangement.

Store-Door Delivery

Service of providing inland import transportation to our customer’s premises from the port of discharge. This offers the customer flexibility of door to door transportation. This service is applicable when the carrier provides inland transportation to the desired inland location, based on the request of the customer.

Stripping

A service offered to the customer in which the carrier performs stripping (cargo unloading) or stuffing (cargo loading) of the customer’s container at the port area. This service is applied based upon the customer request.

Stuffing

A service offered to the customer in which the carrier performs stripping (cargo unloading) or stuffing (cargo loading) of the customer’s container at the port area.This service is applied based upon the customer request.

Supply Chain

The movement of materials and information through the logistics process from acquisition of raw materials to delivery to end-user. The supply chain includes all vendors, service providers and customers.

Supply Chain Management

The management and control of all materials and information in the logistics process from acquisition of raw materials to delivery to end-user.

Surcharges

Additional charges above ocean freight.See also Add-Ons.

Switch Bill of Lading

This service is provided by the carrier to ‘switch’ transport documents (B/L’s) to show new parties by issuing a 2nd set of documents. A ‘switch’ is used to prevent the shipper from being visible to the buyer and protects the interests of the cargo intermediary. The service is applicable upon the customer’s request for this service.

TEU

Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit A measure of container capacity still used by some institutions 1 FFE = 2 TEU

TIR Carnet

A document which can be issued to ease border crossings in Europe. Customs at a European location places a seal on a container and issues the TIR Carnet. The document and seal allow the container to cross borders without inspection to the consignee’s door, where destination customs will then inspect the cargo.

Tare Weight

Weight of an empty container. Gross weight = net weight + tare weight.

Tariff

List of published rates, rules and regulations applicable to the transportation of goods in specified trade lanes or between two areas.

Terminal Handling Service-Destination

DHC

This service covers the cost of the handling of a container at the destination port or terminal. This service is applicable to all shipments.

Terminal Handling Service-Origin

OHC

This service covers the cost of handling a container at the origin port or terminal. This service is applicable to all shipments.

Terminal Receiving Charge

TRC

Charge assessed by the terminal for cargo being delivered for export.

Terms of Sale

TOS

Terms of Sale (i.e. FOB/CIF/FAS).

Through Rates

A rate applicable from point of origin to destination. A through rate may be either a joint rate or a combination of two or more rates.

To order of Shipper

The shipper, by way of endorsement and passing of the document, allows a transfer of the rights to take delivery of the goods in the document e.g. a bill of lading.

Total Average Inventory

(1) The sum of average order quantity (one half of order quantity) plus safety stock. Safety stock is the amount on hand after the arrival of the order. (2) Also, the average normal use stock plus the average lead stock plus safety stock.

Total Cost of Distribution

The sum of purchasing, transportation and storage costs in the movement of finished products through the post production channel.

Total Quality Management

An approach to business management that focuses on quality and typically has: a strong customer orientation, total involvement, measurement systems, systematic support and continuous improvement.

Tracer

A request on a transportation line to trace a shipment for the purpose of expediting its movement or establishing delivery. Common usage of this term has been simplified to mean any request for status of a shipment.

Trailer on Flat Car Rail
TOFC

Trailer on Flat Car Rail Service in which a container is loaded on a rail car with chassis, bogies or wheels.

Transloading

Transfer of containers from one vessel to another vessel. Synonymous with Transshipments.

Transmittal Letter

List of the particulars of the shipment and a record of the documents being transmitted, together with instructions for the disposition of documents.

UCC-128

This barcode is a specially defined subset of Code 128 that is used mostly on shipping containers. It is numeric only, having a fixed length of 19 digits.

UN-CEFACT

UN/CEFACT

United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business. The worldwide facilitation of international transactions through the simplification and harmonisation of procedures and information flows.

UPCA

UPC (Universal Product Code) version A is used to encode an 11 digit number. The first digit is the system number and the rest are data characters. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

UPCE0 6-Digit

UPCE is a zero suppressed version of the UPCA barcode. This version allows 6 digits to be encoded. The first digit must be zero. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

UPCE1 6-Digit

UPCE is a zero suppressed version of the UPCA barcode. This version allows 6 digits to be encoded. The first digit must be zero. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

Usufruct

The legal right of using and enjoying the profits of something belonging to another party.

Vendor

External supplier of merchandise.

Vessel Sharing Agreement

VSA

A term agreement between two or more carriers in which a number of container positions (“slots”) equal in space are reserved on particular vessels for each of the participants. The number of slots (space) on different vessels on the same route can vary by vessel type and direction but may also be expressed as each party’s capacity use of the vessels employed jointly.

Vessel Ton

A unit of interior capacity of ships equal to 100 cubic feet or 2,832 cubic metres; register ton.

Waiver

Document used to allow cargo carriage by different flag vessels other than original destination country vessels. Also for government cargo where vessels under certain flags cannot carry the shipments.

Waybill

See Seawaybill.

Weights

Gross/Long Ton: 2,240 lbs. (1016 kg) Net/Short Ton: 2,000 lbs (907.19 kg) Metric/Kilo Ton: 2,204.6 lbs (1,000 kg)

Wharf

A structure built along a shore, and often into the water, at which boats can be docked and loaded or unloaded; Also known as pier or quay.

Wharfage

This fee is assessed by a port authority or port operator to the carrier for the usage of a port’s wharf. The fee is then charged back to the customer in order to provide transparency and to share the costs. This fee will be applicable to shipments moving to/from port terminals that charge wharfage fees.

X12 ANSI

Standard for inter-industry electronic interchange of business transactions.

Xeric

Requiring a miniscule amount of moisture.

Year To Date

YTD

Year To Date.

ZN

Abbreviation for: Azimuth, Zinc.

Zonate

Marked with or arranged in zones.