| Term |
Meaning |
| Cabotage |
(1) Trade or navigation in coastal waters. (2) The exclusive right of a country to operate the air traffic within its territory. |
| Cage |
(1) A secure enclosed area for storing highly valuable items, (2) a pallet-sized platform with sides that can be secured to the tines of a forklift and in which a person may ride to inventory items stored well above the warehouse floor. |
| Cargo |
Merchandise carried by a means of transportation |
| Carnet |
A customs document allowing special categories of goods to cross international borders without payment of duties. |
| Carrier |
An enterprise engaged in the business of transporting goods. |
| Carrier Certificate and Release Order |
Used to advise customs of the shipment's details. By means of this document, the carrier certifies that the firm or individual named in the certificate is the owner or consignee of the cargo. |
| Cartage |
There are two definitions for this term: 1) charge for pick-up and delivery of goods 2) movement of goods locally (short distances). |
| Cartel |
An association of several independent national or international business organizations that regulates competition by controlling the prices, the production, or the marketing of a product or industry. |
| Cartment |
Customs form permitting in-bond cargo to be moved from one location to another under Customs control, within the same Customs district. Usually in motor carrier's possession while draying cargo. |
| Cash Against Documents |
A method of payment for goods in which documents transferring title are given to the buyer upon payment of cash to an intermediary acting for the seller. |
| Cash In Advance |
A method of payment for goods whereby the buyer pays the seller in advance of shipment of goods. |
| Cash with Order |
A method of payment for goods where cash is paid at the time of order, and the transaction becomes binding on both buyer and seller. |
| Certificate of Insurance |
A negotiable document indicating that insurance has been secured under an open policy to cover loss or damage to a shipment while in transit. |
| Certificate of Origin |
A document containing an affidavit to prove the origin of imported goods. Used for customs and foreign exchange purposes. |
| Channel of Distribution |
A means by which a manufacturer distributes products from the plant to the ultimate user, including warehouses, brokers, wholesalers, retailers, etc. |
| Chargeable Weight |
The shipment weight used in determining freight charges. The chargeable weight may be the dimensional weight or, for container shipments, the gross weight of the shipment less the tare weight of the container. |
| Charterer |
The person to whom is given the use of the whole of the carrying capacity of a ship for the transportation of cargo or passengers to a stated port for a specified time. |
| Charter Party |
A contractual agreement between a ship owner and a cargo owner, usually arranged by a broker, whereby a ship is chartered (hired) either for one voyage or a period of time. |
| Charter Rates |
The tariff applied for chartering tonnage in a particular trade. |
| Clearance |
A document stating that a shipment is free to be imported into the country after all legal requirements have been met. |
| Collect Freight |
Freight payable to the carrier at the port of discharge or ultimate destination. The consignee does not pay the freight charge if the cargo does not arrive at the destination. |
| Collective Paper |
All documents (commercial invoices, bills of lading, etc.) submitted to a buyer for the purpose of receiving payment for a shipment. |
| Combined Transport |
Means the carriage of goods by at least two different modes of transport, from a place at which the goods are taken in charge situated in one country to a place designated for delivery situated in a different country. Combined Transport is also referred to in the USA as "Intermodal Transport" and in other parts of the world as "Multimodal Transport". |
| Commercial Invoice |
A document created by the seller. It is an official document which is used to indicate, among other things, the name and address of the buyer and seller, the product(s) being shipped, and their value for customs, insurance, or other purposes. |
| Commodities |
Any article exchanged in trade, most commonly used to refer to raw materials and agricultural products. |
| Commodity Code |
A code describing a commodity or a group of commodities pertaining to goods classification. This code can be carrier tariff or regulating in nature. |
| Conference |
A group of vessel operators joined for the purpose of establishing freight rates. |
| Conference Carrier |
An ocean carrier who is a member of an association known as a "conference." The purpose of the conference is to standardize shipping practices, eliminate freight rate competition, and provide regularly scheduled service between specific ports. |
| Concealed Damage |
Damage that is not evident from viewing the unopened package. |
| Consignee |
The receiver of goods, i.e. a freight shipment, usually the buyer. |
| Consignment |
Goods shipped to an overseas agent when an actual purchase has not been made, but when the consignee agrees to sell the goods. |
| Consignor |
The shipper of goods, or shipper of a transportation movement. |
| Consolidation |
Collecting smaller shipments to form a larger quantity in order to realize lower transportation rates. |
| Consolidation Point |
The location where consolidation takes place. |
| Consolidator |
An enterprise that provides services to group shipments, orders, and/or goods to facilitate movement. |
| Consolidator's Bill of Lading |
A bill of lading issued by a consolidator as a receipt for merchandise that will be grouped with cargo obtained from other shippers. |
| Container |
A van, flatrack, open top trailer or other similar trailer body on or into which cargo is loaded and transported without chassis aboard ocean vessels.; a large rectangular or square container/box of a strong structure that can withstand continuous rough handling from ship to shore and back. It opens from one side to allow cargo to be stacked and stowed into it. |
| Container Chassis |
A vehicle built for the purpose of transporting a container so that, when a container and chassis are assembled, the produced unit serves as a road trailer. |
| Container depot |
The storage area for empty containers. |
| Container Freight Station |
The location designated by carriers for receipt of cargo to be packed into containers/equipment by the carrier. At destination, CFS is the location designated by the carrier for unpacking of cargo from equipment/containers. |
| Container Freight Station Charge |
The charge assessed for services performed at the loading or discharge location. |
| Container ID |
An identifier assigned to a container by a carrier. |
| Container Manifest |
Document showing contents and loading sequence of a container. |
| Container Terminal |
An area designated for the stowage of cargoes in container; usually accessible by truck, railroad and marine transportation. Here containers are picked up, dropped off, maintained and housed. |
| Container Vessel |
A vessel specifically designed for the carriage of containers. |
| Container Yard |
The location designated by the carrier for receiving, assembling, holding, storing, and delivering containers, and where containers may be picked up by shippers or redelivered by consignees. |
| Containerization |
The technique of using a boxlike device in which a number of packages are stored, protected, and handled as a single unit in transit. |
| Contraband |
Cargo that is prohibited. |
| Countertrade |
A reciprocal trading agreement that includes a variety of transactions involving two or more parties. |
| Cube Out |
The situation when a piece of equipment has reached its volumetric capacity before reaching the permitted weight limit. |
| Cubic Capacity |
The carrying capacity of a piece of equipment according to measurement in cubic feet. |
| Customer |
An enterprise that uses the services as provided by another enterprise. |
| Customer Order |
The seller's internal translation of their buyer's Purchase Order. The document contains much of the same information as the purchase order but may use different Product IDs for some or all of the line items. It will also determine inventory availability. |
| Customs |
The authorities designated to collect duties levied by a country on imports and exports. |
| Customs Broker |
A firm that represents importers/exporters in dealings with customs. Normally responsible for obtaining and submitting all documents for clearing merchandise through customs, arranging inland transport, and paying all charges related to these functions. |
| Customs Clearance |
The act of obtaining permission to import merchandise from another country into the importing nation. |
| Customs Invoice |
A document that contains a declaration by the seller, the shipper, or the agent as to the value of the shipment. |
| Customs Value |
The value of the imported goods on which duties will be assessed. |
