Shipping Definitions
Duty
A duty is an indirect tax on the value of an imported or exported product.
Dry Van Shipping
Dry Van is the most common type of freight transportation in the US. Dry van trailers, or box trailers, could be described simply as a box on wheels with doors in the back. It has no temperature control and is designed to carry pallets or boxes of ...
Dry Run
A dry run alludes to a situation when the trucker cannot complete pickup or delivery.
Drop and Pick
A delivery option - a drop is when a truck driver drops off the container at the warehouse and then leaves (instead of waiting while it’s unloaded, as in a live unload). After the container has been unloaded, the driver returns to pick up the empty ...
Drop Fee
A drop fee (AKA drop off fee or bobtail fee) happens when the delivery trucker is required, due to time constraints, to drop off an FCL container at the warehouse to be unloaded, and pick it up after the unloading is complete.
Drop
A drop is a type of trucking delivery for FCL shipments where the trucker leaves after dropping off the container at the warehouse.
Drayage
Drayage is the transport of goods over a short distance in the shipping and logistics industries.
Double Blind Shipment
A double blind shipment is an LTL freight shipment where both the pickup location and delivery location are falsified to the consignee and shipper, respectively.
Disbursement Service Fee
A disbursement fee is charged for clients who do not pay their duties directly to Customs.
Devanning
Process in which a landed container is unsealed (usually in the presence of customs) and all its contents are taken out. Also called stripping or un-stuffing of container.
Detention
Detention occurs when the consignee holds onto the carrier's container outside of the port, terminal, or depot beyond the free time that is allotted.
Demurrage
Demurrage is applied after the free time has expired, and ends the day when the container has been picked up and out gated from the terminal.
Delivery Order
A delivery order (abbreviated D/O) is a document from a consignee, or an owner or his agent of freight carrier which orders the release of the transportation of cargo to another party.
Delivery Labor Fee
A trucker may charge a delivery labor fee if they have to help unload cargo at the warehouse (or other destination).
Deconsolidation
Deconsolidation is the process of breaking down a single shipment of cargo into several smaller shipments and processing those shipments for final inland delivery directly from the port of entry to a store or distribution center.
Declared Value Coverage
Declared value coverage is a form of cargo damage/loss coverage that raises the carrier’s financial liability so that it matches the declared value of the cargo.
Customs Exam Fee
A customs exam fee is the fee incurred by the importer if a shipment has to go through a customs exam.
Customs Exam
Your shipment may be chosen for a customs exam when being imported into the U.S..
Countervailing Duties
An import tax imposed on certain goods in order to prevent dumping or counter export subsidies.
Contract of Carriage
A contract of carriage is a contract between a carrier of goods or passengers and the consignor, consignee or passenger.
Continuous Customs Bond
The continuous import bond is a type of customs bond—a bond that guarantees the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) that the importer will make good on its payment.
Container Yard (CY)
Container yard (CY) Port facility at which containers are accepted for loading onboard ships, and off-loaded containers are delivered to the consignees.
Container
An intermodal container is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship to rail to truck – without unloading and ...
Consolidation
Consolidation involves combining LCL shipments into a truck or container.
Consignee
In a contract of carriage, the consignee is the entity who is financially responsible (the buyer) for the receipt of a shipment. Generally, but not always, the consignee is the same as the receiver.
Commercial Invoice
The commercial invoice is a legal document between the supplier and the customer that clearly describes' the sold goods, and the amount due on the customer.
Commerce Control List (CCL)
A key in determining whether an export license is needed from the Department of Commerce is knowing whether the item you intend to export has a specific Export Control Classification Number (ECCN).
Co-Loader
Co-loading is a common procedure in import-export trade especially for less container load – LCL transactions. Under LCL shipments, some of the freight forwarder co-load cargo to another freight forwarder final destination. The carrier who co-loads ...
Clean Truck Fee
A clean truck fee is assessed by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as part of the Clear Air Action Plan in an effort to reduce air pollution.
Chinese New Year (CNY)
Chinese New Year is the biggest Chinese celebration of the year, during which factories are closed and operations are stopped.
Chassis Split
A chassis split may occur when the truck chassis is not located in the same place as the sea freight shipping container.
Chassis Pool
A chassis pool consists of a group of third-party owned chassis domiciled at a facility and available to shipping lines and truckers for short-term rental.
Chassis
A chassis is a special trailer or undercarriage used to transport ocean containers over the road.
Cartage
Charge for transporting goods for short distances, such as within a commercial area or town. Also called drayage or haulage.
Carrier
Carrier is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport.
Cargo Ready Date (CRD)
The term cargo readiness is linked to international trade and to a specific date when the shipper (also known as vendor, manufacturer, seller or exporter) has the cargo ready for handover to a transportation provider.
CY (Container Yard) Cutoff
The term container yard means containers packed by shipper off Carrier's premises and delivered by shipper to Carrier's CY and accepted by consignee at Carrier's CY and unpacked by consignee off Carrier's premises, all at the risk and expense of ...
CTPAT
The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is a voluntary supply-chain security program led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) focused on improving the security of private companies' supply chains with respect to terrorism. ...
CFS (Container Freight Station) Cut-off
A CFS cut-off is the date by which an LCL (Less than Container Load) shipment needs to be checked in to a CFS (Container Freight Station) to meet its scheduled sailing.
CFS (Container Freight Station)
CFS stands for ‘Container Freight Station’; a station or warehouse where a number goods or products are stored to be shipped together in one or more containers.
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