GLOSSARY

A person authorized to transact business for and in the name of another person or company. Types of agent are:
(1) brokers
(2) commission merchants
(3) resident buyers
(4) sales agents
(5) manufacturer’s representatives.

The forwarding agreement or carrying agreement between shipper and air carrier and is issued only in nonnegotiable form.

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.

A warehouse authorized by Customs authorities for storage of goods on which payment of duties is deferred until the goods are removed.

Arrangements with a carrier for the acceptance and carriage of freight, a space reservation.

Freight loaded into a ship.

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.

A certified document showing the origin of goods; used in international commerce.

Abbreviation for Collect (cash) on Delivery.

Represents a complete record of the transaction between exporter and importer with regard to the goods sold. Also reports the content of the shipment and serves as the basis for all other documents about the shipment.

A person or company to whom commodities are shipped.

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.

A person or firm, licensed by the treasury department of their country when required, engaged in entering and clearing goods through Customs for a client (importer).

A warehouse authorized by Customs to receive duty-free merchandise.

An unconditional order in writing, addressed by one party (drawer) to another party (drawee), requiring the drawee to pay at a fixed or determinable future date a specified sum in lawful currency to the order of a specified person.

A partial refund of an import fee. Refund usually results because goods are re-exported from the country that collected the fee.

The title of a common clause in contracts, exempting the parties for non-fulfillment of their obligations as a result of conditions beyond their control, such as earthquakes, floods or war.

A person whose business is to act as an agent on behalf of the shipper. A freight forwarder frequently makes the booking reservation.

An agreement to hold a carrier harmless with regard to a liability.

This type of clause covers merchandise if the damage amounts to three percent or more of the insured value of the package or cargo. If the vessel burns, sinks, collides, or sinks, all losses are fully covered. In marine insurance, the word average describes partial damage or partial loss.

This type of insurance offers the shipper the broadest coverage available, covering against all losses that may occur in transit.

A document, issued by a bank per instructions by a buyer of goods, authorizing the seller to draw a specified sum of money under specified terms, usually the receipt by the bank of certain documents within a given time.

A legal claim upon goods for the satisfaction of some debt or duty.

Itemized list of commodities with marks/numbers but no cost values indicated.

A certificate issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to satisfy import regulations of foreign countries; indicates that a U.S. shipment has been inspected and found free from harmful pests and plant diseases.

The act of calling for freight by truck at the consignor’s shipping platform.

Refrigerated container.

The tender of one lot of cargo at one time from one shipper to one consignee on one bill of lading.

A joint Bureau of the Census’ International Trade Administration form used for compiling U.S. exports. It is completed by a shipper and shows the value, weight, destination, etc., of export shipments as well as Schedule B commodity code.

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.

The document required by the carrier or freight forwarders to obtain (besides the data needed) authorization to issue and sign the air waybill in the name of the shipper.

The point at which sellers have fulfilled their obligations so the goods in a legal sense could be said to have been delivered to the buyer. They are shorthand expressions that set out the rights and obligations of each party when it comes to transporting the goods. The thirteen terms of sale in international trade reflected in the recent amendment to the International Chamber of Commerce Terms of Trade (INCOTERMS) are EXW, FCA, FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP, DAF, DES, DEQ, DDU and DDP.