Question 1

Abatement

Accepted Answer

A discount allowed for damage or overcharge in the payment of a shipping bill.

Question 2

ABI (Automated Broker Interface)

Accepted Answer

ABI is by which brokers file importers' entries to the U.S. Customs electronically.

Question 3

Above board

Accepted Answer

If ocean cargo is on or above the deck of a ship then the cargo is above board.

Question 4

Absorption

Accepted Answer

Absorption is when one carrier assumes the charges of another without any increase in charges to the shipper.

Question 5

Accessorial charges

Accepted Answer

Charges that are applied to the base tariff rate or base contract rate, e.g., bunkers, container, currency, destination/delivery.

Question 6

Accountee

Accepted Answer

An accountee is the buyer, purchaser, or importer in international trades.

Question 7

ACH (Automated Clearing House)

Accepted Answer

An electronic funds-transfer system that make electronic payments to vendors with standardized remittance information in computer processable data formats.

Question 8

Acquiescence

Accepted Answer

When a bill of lading is accepted or signed by a shipper or shipper's agent without protest, the shipper is said to acquiesce to the terms, giving a silent form of consent.

Question 9

ACS (Automated Commercial Systems)

Accepted Answer

U.S. Customs' master computer system.

Question 10

Ad hoc charter

Accepted Answer

An entire aircraft carries a specific cargo on shipper's own terms dictating when and where to fly.

Question 11

Ad valorem duty

Accepted Answer

Ad valorem duty is the customs duty applied to the value of goods. A percentage premium is applied to the incoming goods based upon the invoice value.

Question 12

Affreight

Accepted Answer

Affreight means hiring or chartering a ship or aircraft for the transportation of goods or freight.

Question 13

Aft

Accepted Answer

Aft means at, near, or toward the stern (rear) of a ship or tail of an aircraft.

Question 14

Agency tariff

Accepted Answer

A tariff published by an agent on behalf of several carriers.

Question 15

Agent

Accepted Answer

Agent refers to a person authorized to transact business in the name of another person or company.

Question 16

Aggregate tender rate

Accepted Answer

A rate that a carrier may apply when simultaneously transporting multiple shipments that share the same freight class.

Question 17

Airport of discharge

Accepted Answer

The airport at which an air carrier unloads its cargo. The cargo is then picked up for transportation to its final delivery destination.

Question 18

Allotment

Accepted Answer

Allotment is a term used to describe blocked space by airlines and shipping lines on behalf of forwarders/shippers.

Question 19

Ambient temperature

Accepted Answer

Ambient temperature refers to the temperature of the environment surrounding the container’s location.

Question 20

ATF (Airline Terminal Fee)

Accepted Answer

ATF is to cover the cost of cargo handling. The ATF charge is a component of the air freight fees which may appear under origin fees or destination fees.

Question 21

AWB (Air waybill)

Accepted Answer

A bill of lading for air transport that serves as a receipt for the shipper, indicates that the carrier has accepted the goods listed, obligates the carrier to carry the consignment to the airport of destination according to specified conditions.

Question 22

Backhaul

Accepted Answer

The return trip of a commercial truck that is transporting freight back from the current destination to its point of origin.

Question 23

BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor)

Accepted Answer

Bunker refers to the fuel used by ships. Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) is a fee calculated by the shipping lines to cover the fluctuations in fuel costs. The fee is also known as bunker surcharge or bunker contribution.

Question 24

BCN (Buyers Consoliation)

Accepted Answer

BCN is a full container shipment from multiple suppliers for one consignee.

Question 25

BCO (Beneficial Cargo Owner)

Accepted Answer

Beneficial cargo owner (BCO) is the party that ultimately owns the product being shipped. BCO is also known as the importer of record.

Question 26

BUC (Bunker Contribution)

Accepted Answer

A bunker surcharge levied by the carrier (or the shipping company) to compensate for the risk of fuel price fluctuations.

Question 27

BL (Bill of Lading)

Accepted Answer

Bill of Lading (BL) is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that details the type, quantity and destination of the goods being carried. A bill of lading also serves as a shipment receipt, evidence of Contract of Carriage Receipt of Goods and Document of Title to the goods.

Question 28

Blank sailing

Accepted Answer

A blank sailing is when an ocean line decides to skip a particular port, or cancel the entire scheduled route.

Question 29

Blind shipping

Accepted Answer

Blind shipping hides the identity of the shipper and the shipment’s origin. Blind shipping is often used used when a manufacturer ships goods directly to customers on behalf of a seller.

Question 30

Bonded goods

Accepted Answer

Bonded goods are goods that have entered the country of import but have not been released by customs authorities. They are kept in an area of a warehouse called a customs bonded warehouse until duties, taxes, and any penalties are paid.

Question 31

Bonded warehouse

Accepted Answer

Bonded warehouse is a customs-controlled warehouse for the retention of imported goods until the duty owed is paid.

Question 32

Breakbulk cargo

Accepted Answer

Breakbulk cargo means goods that are too big to fit inside of a container. These goods get put on racks or pallets and stowed on board ship in individually counted units.

Question 33

Bulk

Accepted Answer

Bulk means a cargo that is not packaged in any way, and is carried loose in the hold of a ship.

Question 34

Bulk cargo

Accepted Answer

An item may be classified as bulk cargo if it is not containerized. Items such as oil, grain, or coal are all examples of bulk cargo.

Question 35

Cargo receipt

Accepted Answer

A consolidator or freight forwarder issues cargo receipt to a shipper. Cargo receipt is a document acknowledging receipt of goods for shipping. A consolidator or freight forwarder issues cargo receipt to a shipper.

Question 36

CBM (Cubic Meter)

Accepted Answer

Cubic meter (CBM) is the freight volume of the shipment. For example, a 40ft container is 67 CBM.

Question 37

CBP (Customs and Border Protection)

Accepted Answer

CBP is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. CBP provides security and facilitation operations for ports of entry throughout the U.S.

Question 38

CDD (Contract Delivery Date)

Accepted Answer

A contract delivery date (CDD) is the date of delivery required by a contract. CDD is specified on a line item basis.

Question 39

CFR (Cost and Freight)

Accepted Answer

Under the Incoterm CFR, the supplier pays the costs and freight to bring the goods to the port of destination. Once goods are on board the vessel at the point of export, responsibility for the goods then falls on the buyer.

Question 40

CFS (Container Freight Station)

Accepted Answer

Container Freight Station (CFS) is a place for the packing and unpacking of LCL (Less than Container Load) consignments.

Question 41

Chassis

Accepted Answer

A chassis is a special trailer or undercarriage used to transport ocean containers over the road. A chassis will be necessary for a shipment traveling by truck and will incur a chassis fee. Generally, a tri-axle chassis is required for a 20' container above 36,000 lbs.

Question 42

Chassis split

Accepted Answer

A chassis split is when the container is not located in the same place as the chassis. In this case, the trucking company may assess a chassis split fee to cover the costs of bringing the chassis to the container location.

Question 43

CHB (Customs House Broker)

Accepted Answer

Customs House Broker (CHB) is a business firm that oversees the movement of international shipments through Customs, and ensures that the documentation accompanying a shipment is complete and accurate.

Question 44

CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight)"

Accepted Answer

Under the Incoterm CIF, the seller assumes the responsibility for all of the arrangement and transportation costs for shipping goods to the destination port. The buyer will then assume all further responsibilities once the ship has reached port. CIF is broadly similar to the term CFR (Cost and Freight), with the exception that the seller is required to obtain insurance for the goods while in transit.

Question 45

COC (Carrier-owned Container)

Accepted Answer

Carrier-owned Container (COC) is the shipping container owned by the carrier.

Question 46

Cold chain

Accepted Answer

A cold chain is a low temperature-controlled supply chain. An unbroken cold chain is an uninterrupted series of refrigerated production, storage and distribution activities, which maintain a desired low-temperature range.

Question 47

Commercial invoice

Accepted Answer

A commerical invoice is a document prepared by the seller to indicate the value of goods and request payment from the buyer. It is also used by customs authorities to calculate duty.

Question 48

Consignee

Accepted Answer

The consignee is the party that receives goods from a carrier when transportation is complete. The party that sends goods is the consignor.

Question 49

Consignor

Accepted Answer

The consignor is the party that sends goods. The consignee is the party that receives goods from a carrier when transportation is complete.

Question 50

Consolidation

Accepted Answer

Consolidation is when a carrier or a shipper combines several smaller shipments (less than container load) into one full container.

Question 51

Customs Broker

Accepted Answer

Customs Broker is 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.

Question 52

DAP (Delivery at Place)

Accepted Answer

If the goods are sent on DAP basis, the seller is responsible for the delivery of the goods including transport costs to the named destination of the buyer.

Question 53

DC (Dry Container)

Accepted Answer

Dry Container or Dry Cargo Container. It is used for transporting all types of goods, except liquids. The dry container comes in a variety of sizes, 20′, 40′ or slightly above 45′. In logistics DC may also stand for Distribution Center.

Question 54

DDC (Desitnation Delivery Charge)

Accepted Answer

Destination Delivery Charge (DDC) is a charge based on container size applied in many tariffs to cargo. DDC is considered accessorial and is added to the base ocean freight.

Question 55

DDP (Delivery Duty Paid)

Accepted Answer

In DDP (Delivery Duty Paid) shipping the seller takes responsibility for all risk and fees of shipping goods until they reach their destination.

Question 56

DDU (Delivery Duty Unpaid)

Accepted Answer

Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU): Seller is responsible for ensuring goods arrive safely to a destination; the buyer is responsible for import duties.

Question 57

DEM (Demurrage Charge)

Accepted Answer

DEM (demurrage charge) is a container storage charge at a port collected by a shipping company.

Question 58

Density

Accepted Answer

An item's weight and dimensions.

Question 59

Density-based

Accepted Answer

When freight is density-based, the freight’s density will determine the class. The NMFC code will tell you how to class your item. Some items have a permanent class, whereas others could be classed based on density, packaging, value, or other factors.

Question 60

DET (Detention Charge)

Accepted Answer

DET is the charge to store containers at the shipping lines' warehouse. Similar to DEM fees, DET fees also have a policy of free container storage for a period of time (or days).

Question 61

EXW (Ex Works)

Accepted Answer

In Ex Works (EXW) the seller makes a product available for pick up at a specific location normally the seller's premises, and the buyer has to pay the transport costs.

Question 62

FAK (Freight All Kinds)

Accepted Answer

FAK (Freight All Kinds) refers to the FCL (full container load) of mixed shipments for different consignees. FAK combines different classes of shipments into a given classification to be transported as a single shipment at a fixed rate.

Question 63

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)

Accepted Answer

FBA is a program run by Amazon online retail offering warehousing, packaging, and shipping services through the Amazon platform.

Question 64

FCA (Free Carrier)

Accepted Answer

Under the FCA Incoterm, the seller is responsible for delivering the goods to an agreed port. The seller then transfers the cleared goods to the carrier appointed by the buyer. The seller includes transportation costs in its price and assumes the risk of loss until the carrier receives the goods. At this point, the buyer assumes all responsibility.