FAQs

Freight forwarder take possession of items that are to be transported consolidating smaller shipments into one large shipment. They hold smaller shipments until they amass a larger shipment and move the items onto their various destinations. Freight forwarders typically have significant warehouse space used for consolidation.
A freight forwarder connects shippers and carriers. Freight Management Logistics as utilizes its knowledge, technology and human resources to insure that shippers and carriers are matched correctly and that freight is delivered on-time and on-budget.

Shipper
The person or business that has the items that will be transported as freight.
Receiver
The person or business that items are being transported to as freight

The shipping charge depends on the weight and size of your order, the shipping method, and your distance from

A bill of lading is one of the most important documents in the shipping industry.  In general , the bill of lading is a contract between the person shipping the item, the carrier and the receiver of the item... Bill of Lading (B/L) : A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company.
The bill of lading has 3 basic purposes or roles..
1.    Evidence of Contract of Carriage
2.    Receipt of Goods
3.    Document of Title to the goods
•  Combined B/L: B/L that covers cargo moving over various transports. 
•  Consolidated B/L: B/L combined or consolidated from two or more B/L's.
•  Express B/L: Non-Negotiable B/L where there are no hard copies of originals printed. 
•  Freight B/L: A contract of carriage between a shipper and forwarder (who is usually a NVOCC). a Non-Negotiable document.
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.
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.

Probably one of the most common terms that people have questions about in the freight industry is terms of sale with acronyms like FOB which means free on board or freight on board.  Which term that applies depends on where the shipment is going.  Free on board always applies to international shipments, where the seller has met his obligations to the buyer when freight has been loaded on the ship.  

The first step in this process is to make sure that the goods are adequately packed and that all packaging is labeled with the proper placards to insure that contents are known as hazardous.
The second step in this process is to properly note on your bill of lading that the shipment contains hazardous or explosive materials.  A freight broker or carrier representative should be able to assist in this process the more information that you can provide to your freight broker or carrier on the bill of lading when arranging your hazardous freight transport the better. 

Under FOB terms the seller bears all costs and risks up to the point the goods are loaded on board the vessel. The seller must also arrange for export clearance. The buyer pays cost of marine freight transportation, bill of lading fees, insurance, unloading and transportation cost from the arrival port to destination. 

The seller makes the goods available at their premises. This term places the maximum obligation on the buyer and minimum obligations on the seller. The Ex Works term is often used when making an initial quotation for the sale of goods without any costs included. EXW means that a buyer incurs the risks for bringing the goods to their final destination. Either the seller does not load the goods on collecting vehicles and does not clear them for export, or if the seller does load the goods, he does so at buyer's risk and cost. If the parties agree that the seller should be responsible for the loading of the goods on departure and to bear the risk and all costs of such loading , the buyer arranges the collection of the freight from the supplier's designated ship site, and is responsible for clearing the goods through Customs. The buyer is also responsible for completing all the export documentation, although the seller does have an obligation to provide information relating to the goods on request.

 GRI (General Rates Increase) is the average amount by which Carriers tariff rates increase applied to base rates. In a stable market, GRI applies on contract sales once a year at the end of the year.
General Rate Increase which is an adjustment of freight rates across all or specific trade routes during a specific time frame.
This is applied by shipping lines according to their requirement and the quantum of the rate increase is decided by them, generally based on the supply and demand on that route 

FCA – Free Carrie
The seller delivers the goods, cleared for export, at a named place. This can be to a carrier nominated by the buyer, or to another party nominated by the buyer.
It should be noted that the chosen place of delivery has an impact on the obligations of loading and unloading the goods at that place. If delivery occurs at the seller's premises, the seller is responsible for loading the goods on to the buyer's carrier. However, if delivery occurs at any other place, the seller is deemed to have delivered the goods once their transport has arrived at the named place; the buyer is responsible for both unloading and loading the goods onto their own carrier.

The seller delivers when the goods are placed alongside the buyer's vessel at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks of loss of / or damage to the goods from that moment. 

Seller is responsible for delivering the goods to the named place in the country of the buyer, and pays all costs in bringing the goods to the destination including import duties and taxes. The seller is not responsible for unloading.

 Air waybill Transport document for Airfreight. The Air waybill (AWB) number and flight information enables tracking of your consignment. 

 All in rate - meaning that the cost of transportation includes all the additional fees provided under the conditions of carriage. For example, in the case of freight under LILO, this means that in the U.S., except for freight, loading and unloading, also includes all related costs, such as BAF, CAF, etc.
Basic Service Rate Additional (BSRA) is the charge levied by shipping companies to importers for LCL cargo, including the port charges, transport to an unpacking depot (see CFS) subsequent sorting and storage of the goods and finally loading onto a vehicle collecting the goods for delivery to the buyer
Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) - an adjustment to shipping companies' freight rates to take into account fluctuations in the cost of fuel oil (bunkers) for their ships.
Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF) is an adjustment to shipping companies' freight rates to take into account the effect over time of fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
IMO surcharge is applied when transporting goods classified by the UN as hazardous (in accordance with the IMDG code (International Marine Dangerous Goods code)) , the shipping company imposes a surcharge on the sea freight. This relates to the additional handling required for planning the goods at the terminal and onboard the ship.
ISPS or SEC - security charges
GRI - planned increase of a base rate from a certain date
THC, Terminal handling charge, levied by CY and CFS operators for goods passing through their operations. THC are additional costs, on top of the sea freight, charged by the shipping company for the handling of containers at the container terminal before being loaded onboard a vessel. Examples include the unloading of the container from a truck, stacking and transport from the stacking location to just below the crane. This concerns FCL (Full Container Load) shipments.
Heavy Weight Charge is a surcharge for exceeding certain weight. 20ft containers exceeding the weight of 14,000 kg tare (container) are subject to a heavy weight surcharge (HWT). An empty 20ft container weighs approximately 2,300 kg. 40ft containers are not subject to a heavy weight surcharge. Both 20ft and 40ft containers can carry a load of more than 28,000 kg.
Port Congestion Surcharge applied by shipping lines to cover losses caused by congestion and idle time for vessels serving that port. Shipping lines therefore have the right to impose a surcharge on the freight to recover revenue lost. Another factor which influences port congestion surcharge would be labour disputes. Port congestion surcharges are calculated as a percentage of the freight rate.
PSS (Peak Season Surcharge) is added to cargo moving from ASIA. This fee remains in effect for the duration of a typical Peak Season, currently from June 1 - October 31.
Winter Surcharge is imposed for all containers to cover extra costs related to serving the port due to harsh weather, convoy restrictions, ice conditions etc. This surcharge is only effective during winter period.