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Please also see the separate page for information on Letters of Credit
Baltic Exchange Dry Index (Courtesy Bloomberg.com)
Hamburg Shipbrokers’ Association (VHSS) ConTex
Daily Bunker Prices / Oceanconnect.com
USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service, Ocean Rate Bulletin (ORB)
US Customs & Border Protection, US Ports of Entry
U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, North American Transborder Freight Data
U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, Top U.S. Trade Partners
U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Trade in Goods (Imports, Exports and Balance) by Country
Hamburg Shipbrokers’ Association (VHSS) Ship Evaluation Standards
| International Trade and Transportation |
International trade and international transportation are inseparable. It is possible to purchase a commodity from a company, a financial institution, through an exchange or spot market at favorable terms. However, if the item is not delivered in an efficient, cost effective, safe, regulatory approved, and within a specified time frame then the original purchase or trade advantage will be lost. This is an issue of supply chain / logistics / traffic management although it is sometimes also referred to as trade execution (however this term also has another entirely different meaning in debt, equity, currency and futures markets). The failure to have proper trade execution can result in the cargo being delayed, the charter ship not being allowed to enter the port, excessive demurrage or storage fees are incurred, or the cargo is not delievered at all (transaction fails).
One of the most important issues facing the trade and shipping community today is that of security. There is the fear that a hijacked maritime tanker could be used as a explosive-laden bomb once inside a port or to block important shipping arteries such as the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal or the Straits of Malacca. Presently, incoming oil or LNG tankers to a U.S. port must be met 200 miles off the coast and escorted in. The U.S. has begun inspecting cargo still in foreign ports prior to shipment to the U.S. and is trying to develop a coumpter / fax notification system that an incoming container ship would use to correctly identify itself and indicate the contents of its shipmet (Advanced Electronic Presentation of Cargo Information). Additionally, the United States has mandated that most nations must install computer tracking systems, communications networks, surveillance cameras and security patrols within ports to safeguard ships and cargo headed for the United States or no cargo will be accepted outbound from that port.
In the United States, the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) went into effect July 1, 2004, and is designed to to protect ports and vessels from terrorism by requiring ports and ships in excess of 500 tons to have an in-place security / anti-terrorism plan. This program is in addition to the U.S. Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002. Some of the measures of both acts are implemented and enforced by the United States Coast Guard under Operation Port Shield (June 15, 2004 to July 1, 2005). MTSA / ISPS guidelines require that any commercial ship that wishes to enter U.S. territorial waters and port facilities must provide information on the vessel history, list of ports previously visited, previous cargoes transported, and documentation of the crew at a minimum of 96 hours prior to arrival in U.S. waters. This information is reviewed by the Coast Guard, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs.
Additional government programs include the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), the Container Security Initiative and the Bioterrorism Act.
In the United States, implementation of the Advanced Air Cargo Manifest (ACM) was also completed in 2004.
| International Shipping |
Freight transporation of general cargo, perishable cargo and express cargo is either by truck, rail road, marine merchant vessel or air transport (both dedicated commercial freight airline and commercial passenger airlines). Approximately 95% of all goods imported into the United States or moved all over the world is brought in by maritime container and bulk carrier ships. The greatest ownership concentration (20%) of maritime merchant fleet tonnage is controlled by Greek companies. The largest ship broker in the world is a company by the name of Clarksons.
A Shipper, also sometimes known as a Consigner, arranges for the shipment of goods (in either bulk or container) to a specific destination at a pre-arranged price. The shipper may also be a large enough operation that they own the containers and / or the container ship.
In cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), technical specifications were established under the International Organization for Standardization / ISO guidelines for bulk carrier construction (ISO 15401:2000) quality of hull structure.
Directory of new construction, repair and maintenance, conversion and upgrade shipyards:
Large, ocean-going cargo carrying ships have been criticized for the amount of greenhouse gases released by the type on engines and fuel utilized to propel the vessels. A U.N. study concluded that a 10% reduction in the cruising speed in ships could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 23%. The trade off would be that schedules would increased, which might require placing more ships in service to cover the unavailability of ships, hence more carbon being released. The amount of airborne contaminants has been blamed for an increase in cardiopulmonary cases occurring along marine trade routes in both Asia and Europe. The 2 largest ports in the United States, Los Angeles and Long Beach, have now prohibited vessels from entering the port unless the ship burns a cleaner fuel in an auxilliary engine (the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering a low sulfur zone for the coastal United States.)
No. 6 Fuel Oil or residual fuel, or outside the United States, known just as fuel oil, is a heavy fuel also referred to commercially as bunker fuel / bunker C, and is left over from the distillation of crude petroleum after the lighter fractions (gasoline, kerosene, and distillate oils) have been removed and is usually blended with distillate / residual oil to make it suitable, with fuel preheating, for very large compression ignition engines in ocean-going ships (including container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, and cruise ships) as it is inexpensive (selling at a large discount to marine gas oil) but is also highly pollutant (emissions include higher concentrations of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide; heavy metals such as lead and vanadium; benzene and naphthalene are also found in bunker fuel). Bunker fuel needs to be settled and filtered when delivered to a ship before it can be utilized.
The Carrier is the physical transporter of cargo, such as a marine vessel owners who contract with the shipper to move containers or a bulk cargo from one port to another.
Consolidators are companies that will "consolidate" several small shipments from various companies, but all with a common destination, into a single container.
Container ships, which primarily transport manufactured goods in metal containers, are presently designed to carry between 5,000 to 6,000 20-foot standard containers. The longest container ships in the world are the PS-class vessel in the A.P. Moller - Maersk Line (Eugen Maersk, Emma Maersk, Estelle Maersk, Evelyn Maersk, Edith Maersk, Elly Maersk, Elenora Maersk and Ebba Maersk; the ship were built at the Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark), which are 1,302 feet / 397 meters in length, 184 feet / 56 meters in width, and can carry up to 11,000 loaded containers (TEU / twenty-foot equivalent units; the carrying capacity of containers is actually larger, closer to 13,500 but would not be feasible due to the weight). A PS-class vessel sails approximately 170,000 nautical miles every year, which is equal to a distance of 7.5 times around the world. The 14-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex96C diesel engine that powers the PS-class vessel is currently the largest reciprocating engine in the world. The Maersk P-class vessels are capable of moving as fast as 26 knots per hour, which has resulted in "All Water" routes from Asia to the east coast of the United States that bypass the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal.
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One of the most beneficial developments for international commerce was the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standarization of containers for intermodal transport. This allows a single container to be loaded onto a truck or rail road flat car, hauled to a shipping port where it is loaded onto a marine vessel, shipped to a different port, offloaded onto a truck or rail road flat car and then deliverd to its final destination. Most intermodal containers are either 20, 40, 45, 48 or 53 feet in length, 8 feet in width, and 8 foot six inches in height (extra height high cube containers are 9 foot six inches in height), and they are manufactured from aluminum, stainless steel / corrosion-resistant steel. (There is a difference between the nominal dimensions of the container and the actual usable interior area). Containers are loaded onto Cellular Vessels, which are the specialized container ships that have the interior support that allow the containers to stack up one on top of another.
The size dimensions and specifications of containers are standardized under International Organization for Standardization / ISO guidelines, all freight containers are covered under ISO 668:1995 (dimensions), ISO 6346:1995 (coding, identification and marking), and several other standards. Every container has its own unique identification number that it is assigned to the container once it goes into service with a carrier. This identification number is also known as the BIC code for the Bureau International des Containers et du Transport Intermodal (BIC), which assigns every container owner an alphanumeric code. This BIC identificaion number is used to track the container's movement around the world. With the ISO standardization of roll-on / roll-off, lift-on / lift-off, stackable containers (dry and refrigerated), these items took on the features of a commodity and the finance of containers became structured, asset backed securitizations of the available pool of containers. The maintenance of containers is expected to be compliant with the CSC (Convention for Safe Containers). The BIC code has 4 parts:
BIC-Codes Register
General Purpose Standard Container
The standard, general purpose, unventilated 20 foot dry shipping container (ISO 668:1995) has an openings at one or both ends, and measures (external) 20 ft. / 6.096 m (length) x 8 ft. 6 in. / 2.591 m (height) x 8 ft. / 2.438 m (width).
Refrigerated Container (Reefer)
Reefers are refrigerated containers, with a self-contained refrigeration compressor attached to each individual container along with a fresh air exchange, specifically designed to transport perishable agricultural and temperature sensitive commodities. The floor is known as a T-Floor due to the rails underneath the container that provide support and an air duct that allows air to circulate. These containers are usually constructed from aluminum and have an internal insulation layer. The more recent refrigeration compressor units are specifically non-CFC (Chlorofluorocarbons) units due to fire hazard and environmental regulations.
Tank Container
Tank containers are designed to transport bulk liquids and gasses.
Open Top Container
Open Top containers are designed to allow for quicker loading directly into the container from the top rather than through the doors. These containers are usually constructed from steel and have a canvas or PVC tarpaulin that secures down over the top for a complete seal.
Flat Rack Container
Flat Rack containers have a completely open design that allows for the direct loading of bulky machinery or long lengths of pipe from the side of the container, or will allow for the shipment of "awkward cargo" (material or item that will not fir within the datandard dimensions of a general container.
Specialized Container
Specialized containers are adaptive designs for specific items or industries, for instance lengths of interior bars on which items can be hung such as finished garments.
| The Institute of International Container Lessors - Annual Leased Container Fleet Survey (as of January 1, 2009) | ||
| Container size | Number of units | Total TEU |
| 20 Foot Standard | 3,093,918 | 3,093,918 |
| 40 Foot Standard | 1,094,406 | 2,185,812 |
| 40 Foot High Cube | 2,172,058 | 4,344,116 |
| Specials | 616,781 | 1,075,807 |
| Total | 6,977,163 | 10,699,653 |
| (TEU: Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) | ||
| Source: www.iicl.org/PDF%20Docs/2009%20IICL%20Fleet%20Survey.pdf | ||
Bulk carriers primarily transport raw materials in below deck hatches.
Some commodities, grains (dry bulk), liquids, minerals (iron ore, coal), lumber and logs, steel products (coils, plates and rods), scrap steel, cement, fertilizers, unpackaged, sacked, bottled or bundled cargo are not conducive to being shipped in containers due to the volume of the shipment and are loaded directly into a specialized hold of the ship. According to the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO), most of the dry cargo fleet (64.7%) consist of Handysize / Handymax, Panamax (24.1%), and Capesize (capable of crossing all major oceans from port to port).
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Tankers primarily transport crude oil, chemicals and petroleum products.
Crude oil is, preferably, carried by one of the very large crude carriers (VLCC) super tankers or a Suez Max tanker. In addition, after several high-profile tanker accidents and crude oil spills, many national governments mandated that crude oil has to be shipped in a double-hulled tanker that is less susceptible to splliage in an accident. Unfortunately, there is a backlog of construction to complete double-hulled VLCCs (construction time is approximately 3 years from order to delivery). The crude oil shipping industry is also affected by security issues with regard to the bombing or hijacking of a tanker. The largest crude oil tanker fleet is owned by Frontline (Oslo, Norway).
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Please also see the Natural Gas Market page.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers are a growing area of the international shipping industry due to the global demand for cleaner-burning fuel. These are specialized ships (no alternative usage) and require a high degree of safety operations during loading and discharging. The shipping pattern is from large LNG refineries in the Middle East, Caribbean and western Australia to delivery in Japan, western Europe and the United States.
The liquefication plant super cools the natural gas to minus 260°F (minus 162°C), which results in the gas condensing to a liquid state. The Gas / Liquid ratio is approximately 610: this means that the volume reduction of gas as it is cooled is 600 times (thus a single tanker carrying LNG is equal to 600 tankers carrying natural gas at atmospheric pressure and temperature). The LNG is transferred to the LNG carrier's specially insulated storage tanks. However, the insulation system is not entirely capable of maintining a constant temperature and a relatively small amount of LNG vaporizes or "boils off" (at approximately minus 160°F / minus 107°C) during transit. This boil-off helps to auto-refrigerate the remaining LNG, thus keeping it in its liquid state. Boil-off is also used to supplement bunker oil as fuel for the carriers.
There are 2 types of LNG Carriers: spherical-type and and bulk carrier. The spherical-type may have 4 to 5 independent tanks within the hull of the ship (the top of each sphere extends above the deck).
The largest LNG tanker in the world is the Duhail, a Q-Flex, membrane type tanker operated by Qatargas and is capable of transporting 210,000 cubic meters.
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Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carriers include the VLGC (Very Large Gas Carrier) ship class, which includes vessels with a category of up to 83,000 cubic meters and primarily carry liquefied propane and/or butane.
Ocean going car carrier vessels were developed in Japan in order to accommodate the country's automobile export trade. The first generation of car carriers could accommodate approximately 1,200 automobiles. Today's generation of car carriers can accommodate approximately 6,400 standard passenger cars or several types of vehicles, from passenger cars to trucks to construction machinery.
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| Rail Line Freight Carriers |
RailConnect Weekly Index of Short-Line Traffic
Railroads transport (long- and short-distance) Agricultural Products (Beans, Corn, Rapeseed, Soybeans, Vegetable Oil, Wheat), Automobiles, Cement, Chemicals, Clay, Coal, Fuel Oil, Livestock, Lumber, Metals (Copper, Iron), Newsprint, Petroleum Products, Printing Paper, Railway Equipment, Steel and Steel Products, Wood (uncut), Woodchip, Woodpulp.
Railroad rolling stock includes locomotives, covered hoppers, gondolas, boxcars, open hoppers, flatcars, refrigerated boxcars (reefer cars, integral box, insulated box), automobile cars, tank cars, general purpose boxcars.
In a diesel-electric locomotive, an onboard diesel engine generates the power to the onboard electric motors, which in turn provide power to the the locomotive's wheels. Thus, there are concerns about carbon emissions related to the usage of diesel fuel. Secondly, when diesel fuel prices increase the expense directly affects the net income of the respective rail line operator. The new hybrid propulsion systems combine an engine generator, motor, and storage batteries, and regenerative braking.
A refrigerated boxcar / integral box is used for transporting temperature sensitive freight, and has a built-in generator/refrigeration system capable of maintaining pre-set temperatures. An insulated box is also used for transporting temperature sensitive freight, and to which an independent generator system may be attached in order to offer pre-set temperature controlled services.
A bogie is the chassis or framework carrying the wheels, attached in a fixed or swivel position to the underside of the rail vehicle (locomotive or cargo wagon).
Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two parallel rails that make up a single railway line. Standard gauge equals 4 ft. 8 1/2 in. / 1,435 mm. Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges are known as narrow gauge.
Search For A Locomotive & Rolling Stock Manufacturers
Railroad equipment leasing companies include Pioneer Railroad Equipment Co., Ltd. (PREL); Angel Trains (UK).
In the United States and Canada, Class I Railroads are rail lines that own intercontinental systems and had a 2008 operating revenue in excess of $401.4 million include: BNSF Railway (BNSF), Canadian National Railway (CN), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), CSX Transportation (CSXT), Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS), Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and Union Pacific Railroad. Class 1 lines haul large shipments, and they develop their schedules and rate structures around the requirements of primary customers (wholesale service), who may send or receive freight in 100-car batches.
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Class II (Regional) / Class III (Shortline), as defined by the Association of American Railroads (AAR), are line-haul railroads operating at least 350 miles of road and/or earning revenue between $40 million and the Class I revenue threshold. Local railroads are line-haul railroads below the Regional criteria. Switching & Terminal railroads (agents) are railroads that are either jointly owned by two railroads for the purpose of transferring cars between railroads or operate solely within a facility or group of facilities. The railroads will usually have rail interchanges and connections with a Class I or other regional and shortline railroads (once there, the rail cars are turned over to the other railroad). The shortline systems provide service at a retail pricing schedule to clients that may ship or receive freight in single carloads or in unit trains: several to several dozen carlods hauling identical loads (grains, ore, sand, rock, plastic, pipe, lumber / wood chips, salt used for highway snow and ice removal, etc.). Some of these operators will also provide railcar storage facilities to other large and small railrods.
There is also a precise revenue-based definition of categories of U.S. railroads found in the regulations of the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The STB's accounting regulations group rail carriers into three classes for purposes of accounting and reporting (49 CFR Part 1201 Subpart A).
Search For A Class I / Class II / Class III / Shortline / Regional Line / Swiching Agent
In the United States, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) indicates that there is 140,000 miles of railroad track in the continental United States. Each railroad has the primary responsibility to ensure its own track meets or exceeds the standards prescribed in the FRA track safety regulations and to perform regular and routine track inspections. A railroad is subject to FRA enforcement actions, or possibly liable for civil penalties, if it fails to construct and/or maintain track to the appropriate standard, or if it operates trains in excess of the designated track speed.
The FRA’s track safety standards establish nine specific classes of track (Class 1 to Class 9), plus a category known as Excepted Track. The difference between each Class of Track is based on progressively more exacting standards for track structure, geometry, and inspection frequency. Furthermore, each Class of Track has a corresponding maximum allowable operating speed for both freight and passenger trains. The higher the Class of Track, the greater the allowable track speed and the more stringent track safety standards apply.
| Class of Track | Maximum Allowable Speed for Freight Trains | Maximum Allowable Speed for Passenger Trains |
| Excepted Track | 10 mph | N/A |
| Class 1 | 10 mph | 15 mph |
| Class 2 | 25 mph | 30 mph |
| Class 3 | 40 mph | 60 mph |
| Class 4 | 60 mph | 80 mph |
| Class 5 | 80 mph | 90 mph |
| Class 6 | N/A | 110 mph |
| Class 7 | N/A | 125 mph |
| Class 8 | N/A | 150 mph |
| Class 9 | N/A | 200 mph |
In the United States, the Federal Railroad Administration oversees our nation’s railroads, funds the rehabilitation of rail lines, and carries out the Federal railroad safety laws and regulations.
In the United States, the railroad industry is regulated by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) within the U.S. Department of Transportation under the terms of the the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995. The STB is an economic regulatory agency that Congress charged with the fundamental missions of resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers. The STB is decisionally independent, although it is administratively affiliated with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The agency has jurisdiction over railroad rate and service issues and rail restructuring transactions (mergers, line sales, line construction, and line abandonments).
The the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 also created the Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC), which consists of senior officials representing large and small shippers, and large and small railroads. The RSTAC provides advice on regulatory, policy and legislative matters, as appropriate, to the STB Chairman, the Secretary of Transportation, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Similarly, the National Grain Car Council is made up of a balanced representation of executives knowledgeable in the transportation of grain, including members from the Class I railroads (the Nation's largest) representing marketing and management; representatives from the Class II and Class III railroads; members representing grain shippers and receivers; and members representing private rail car owners and rail car manufacturers.
Within Europe, one of the biggest problems is interoperability: the ability of a train from one nation operating on the tracks of another nation (not just rail guage but also information systems). The European Railway Agency has the oversight for the trans-European conventional rail system, which is designed to resolve interoperability issue for the lines within the Trans-European transport Network (TEN); not only freight services but also passenger services and mixed traffic (passenger and freight). There have been some legislative initiatives for the technical interoperability, the unified European railway supervisory system ERTMS/ETCS, and the European traction unit driver license.
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Marco Polo is the European Union's program for projects which shift freight transport from the road to rail (and sea and inland waterways) in order to reduce the number of trucks on the road.
Non-U.S. Freight Rail Operators
| Truck Freight Carriers / Motor Carriers |
Every type of commodity or product is transported by truck. Participants in the industry include carriers, owner operators, shippers and brokers, rail-to-truck and truck-to-rail bulk transloading facilities.
Haul rates can either be contractual or spot, one-way or round trip. A backhaul is when a truck returns with a freight load rather than return empty. In the United States it has become an industry practice to add a fuel surcharge to the truckload rate.
| Air Cargo |
Cargo shipments by air comprise a significant percent of the total value of international cargo shipments, surpassed only by maritime shipping. The air cargo system network is responsible for the movement of freight, express packages, and mail carried aboard passenger and all-cargo aircraft. The system is a large, complex distribution network linking manufacturers and shippers to freight forwarders to airport sorting and cargo handling facilities where shipments are loaded and unloaded from aircraft. Annual capacity / shipping volume is measured in terms of revenue ton miles (RTMs) of cargo.
The IATA forecasts that air cargo trade volume will decline by 5.0% in 2009 after a 1.5% decline in 2008 (the contraction within the air cargo industry began in June 2008).
Shanghai, China's, Pudong International Airport is the fastest growing cargo shipment airport.
Cargo Airlines
| Trade Finance |
The largest banks in Europe that finance ship construction and operation are Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, HSH Nordbank AG, Nordea Bank, Deutsche Schiffsbank, DVB Bank and Commerzbank AG. HSH Nordbank AG has the largest exposure as a percentage of its loan portfolio and reported a EUR2.8 billion preliminary loss for 2008 (the bank also terminated 2 executive managers in November 2009). The bank is also under investigation by the European Union regarding 13 billion euros ($20 billion) of state aid from the City of Hamburg and and the State of Schleswig-Holstein (who together control approximately 86% of the bank).
A revised version of the Hamburg Ship Evaluation Standards was introduced by the Hamburg Shipbrokers’ Association (VHSS) in February 2009 because the market for ships had become illiquid by the end of 2008 and only several sales were completed (several of those sales being distressed sales). The revised valuation is calculated by determining historic earnings and operating costs, and then projected forward over the 20- or 25-year life span of a vessel, with a residual value add back. However, critics of the methodology indicate that it is mark-to-model (potential future earnings), not mark-to-market (sales comparison) and does not truly indicate what would be paid and financed in the present market. www.vhss.de/LTAV_english.pdf
A Bill of Exchange is usually a a written order from one party (the Drawer) to a second party, which is usually a bank (the Drawee) to pay a specified sum on demand or on a specified date to the Drawer or to a third party designated by the Drawer. A Bill of Exchange can be sold for a discount to a financial institution to obtain cash
| a.w.b | Air way bill |
| B/L | Bill of Lading |
| c.a.d. (c/d) | Cash against documents |
| C.O.D. | Cash on delivery |
| c.o.s. | Cash on shipment |
| f.o.b. | free on board |
| f.o.r. | free on rail |
| ppd. | Prepaid |
Bill of Lading: A transportation document that is the contract of carriage between the shipper and
carrier; it provides a receipt for the goods tendered to the carrier and, in some cases, shows certificate
of title.
Broker: An intermediary between the shipper and the carrier. The broker arranges transportation for shippers and represents carriers.
Cabotage: Federal law that requires domestic shipments to move on national flag ships.
Carrier, Common: A public or privately owned firm or corporation that transports the goods of others over land, sea, or through the air, for a stated freight rate. By government regulation, a common carrier is required to carry all goods offered if accommodations are available and the established rate is paid.
Cellular Vessel: A vessel specifically designed for the carriage of containers.
Collapsible Container: The main parts are hinged or removable to reduce the containers' volume for transporting in an empty condition.
Consignee: The receiver of a freight shipment, usually the buyer.
Consignor: The sender of a freight shipment, usually the seller.
Container Pool: An agreement between transport carriers and/or container leasing companies which permits the exchange of containers.
D/P - DOCUMENTS AGAINST PAYMENT: A foreign bank collection in which documents transferring title to the goods are not given to the buyer by the bank until the buyer has paid for the goods.
D/A - DOCUMENTS AGAINST ACCEPTANCE: A foreign bank collection in which documents transferring title to the goods are not given to the buyer by the bank until the buyer has accepted a time draft.
Deadweight Cargo: Cargo that weighs more than one ton for every 70 cubic feet of space occupied.
Demurrage: A storage charge to shippers which accrues after a container is discharged from a vessel beyond free time. Excess time taken for loading or unloading of a vessel not caused by the vessel operator, but due to the acts of a charterer or shipper.
Devanning: The discharging of cargo from a container.
Direct Consignment: (Straight Consignment) Bill of Lading is not negotiable. Only the name consignee or his legally appointed agent may take delivery of the shipment.
Drayage Charge: The fee charged for local cartage by the trucker.
Dry-Bulk Container: A container constructed to carry grain, powder, and other free-flowing solids in bulk.
Dunnage: Material used in stowing cargo within a container to prevent movement of goods.
Ex Mill: The seller is obligated to load on a specified transport at the mill the specified quantity of goods at the specified price. The buyer must accept the goods and make all arrangements for transportation.
Flat Rack Container: A container with no sides and frame members at the front and rear of the container. Container can be loaded from the sides and top.
FOB: Free on Board. A term of sale that defines who is to incur transportation charges for the shipment, who is to control the movement of the shipment, or where title to the goods passes to the buyer.
Forwarder, Freight forwarder, Foreign freight forwarder: An independent business that dispatches shipments for exporters for a fee. The firm may ship by land, air, or sea, or it may specialize. Usually it handles all the services connected with an export shipment; preparation of documents, booking cargo space, warehouse, pier delivery and export clearance. The firm may also handle banking and insurance services on behalf of a client. The U.S. forwarder is licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission for ocean shipments. Freight Forwarder: A person or firm that acts as agent on behalf of the shipper.
Gross Weight: The combined weight of a container, its payload and any other loose internal fittings ready for shipment. Generally 80,000 pounds.
Half-Height Container: An open-top container fitted with or without soft or hard cover, ranging between 4' and 4'3" in height.
Hard-Top Container: A closed container fitted with a roof that can be opened or lifted off.
Inland Carrier: A transportation line that hauls export or import traffic between ports and inland points.
LASH: Lighter-Aboard-Ship vessels. Vessels equipped with an overhead crane capable of lifting LASH barges and stowing them into cellular slots in athwartship position.
Multiple Consignee Container: A container loaded with cargo for two or more consignees. Cargo may be assigned to a breakbulk point for distribution to the final consignee or it may be delivered to each consignee via the stop-off service provided by carriers.
Pier-to-House: A shipment that is loaded into a container at the pier or terminal then exported directly to the consignee's designated area for unloading.
Pier-to-Pier: Containers loaded at port of loading and discharged at port of destination.
Place of Acceptance: Location where carrier actually accepts cargo from shipper or his agent.
Place of Delivery: Place where cargo leaves the care and custody of the carrier.
Place of Receipt: Location where cargo enters the care and custody of the carrier.
Roll-On/Roll-Off (Ro/Ro): A method of ocean cargo service using a vessel with ramps which allows wheeled vehicles to be loaded and discharged without cranes.
SED: Shipper's Export Declaration. U.S. Department of Commerce document used for compiling U.S. export control laws. It is completed by a shipper and shows the value, weight, consignee, destination, etc. of export shipments as well as Schedule B identification number.
Shipper: Term used to describe exporter. Mostly manufacturing companies.
UCP : Uniform Customs and Practice of Documentary Credit (I.C.C.).
Ullage: The space not filled with liquid in a drum or tank.
Vanning: A term for stowing cargo in a container.
Waybill (WB): A document prepared by a transportation line at the point of origin of a shipment, showing the point of origin, destination, route, consignor, consignee, description of shipment, and amount charged for the transportation service, and forwarded with the shipment, or directly by mail, to the agent at the transfer point or waybill destination.
Developed by the International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms are 13 internationally approved definitions that are used in international trade to indicate the responsibilities of Shippers, Sellers, Buyers and Consignees.
| Marine Flag States & Marine Ports |
In the United States, arriving vessls may submit a standardized electronic manifest (rather than a bulk paper manifest) to the Automated Manifest System, which expedites the clearance of cargo and the release of containers.
Please Note: The International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires that the Port Administrator be in accordance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code (2004), which is an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention (1974/1988) on minimum security arrangements for ships, ports and government agencies. www.imo.org/Newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=897
Within the the port is the terminal where the ships are secured to a pier / quay / berth and the containers / shipment is unloaded. For instance, in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, there is the container terminals Europa Terminal (1990), the Noordzee Terminal (1997), the Deurganck Terminal (2005) all of which are operated by PSA HNN, a port operator (there are other terminals at the port in addition to these). Similarly, at Rotterdam is the Interforest Terminal Rotterdam, which is operated by SCA Transforest, and is specifically designed for the loading / off-loading of forest products.
| International Trade and Transport Agreements |
GATT is the international and multilateral agreement between nations that governs international commerce.
The Hague-Visby Rules were adopted in 1968 and they were a revision of the International Convention on Carriage of Goods by Sea (1924), which are a set of rules that govern liability for loss or damage to goods carried by sea under a bill of lading.
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement, 1993) was one of the most ambitious trade agreements ever negotiated betwen nations. Merchandise trade, services and direct investment grew substantially between the United States, Mexico and Canada, and helped to establish environmental and labor conditions guidelines.
FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas, 1994) includes 34 nations located in North and South America. The program has become more conducive to bilateral arrangements between members rather than a pan-membership solution.
Includes the United states, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Micaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air. Article 1 of the Convention refers to "all international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward" and indicates in Chapter 3 the liabilities of the Carrier. The Warsaw Convention was amended by the Hague Protocol (Protocol to Amend the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air); Articles I through XVII amend the Warsaw Convention.
It was further amended by the Convention Suppelementary to the Warsaw Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air Performed by a Person other than the Contracting Carrier (Guadalajara, Mexico, September 18, 1961); and modified once again by the Guatemala City Protocol (Protocol to Amend the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, Signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929, as Amended By The Protocol Done At The Hague on 28 September 1955; Guatamela City, March 8, 1971).
Was superseded by the Montreal Convention (Additional Protocols 1 through 4, Montreal, September 25, 1975), which regulates liability issues relating to air freight.
Mercado Común del Sur is a South American common market / customs union consisting of Brazil, Argentina, Uruaguay and Paraguay.
Export Administration Act: allows U.S. manufacturers and industry associations to petition the Bureau of Industry & Security (U.S. Commerce Department) to either curtail or prohibit continued export of specific commodities or items if the price for these goods have risen substantially or a shortgage has developed.
Boards and inspects foreign ships operating at Paris MOU ports to determine their condition and
compliance with international safety, security and environmental standards. If a ship is found
to be out of compliance it is listed and banned from further commerce until brought into
compliance. The organization consists of 20 maritime Administrations.
www.parismou.org/
Inspects ships within the Asia-Pacific ports region for compliance with international safety, security and environmental
standards.
www.tokyo-mou.org/
| Regional Trade Organizations |
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea,
Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand,
United States, Vietnam.
www.apec.org/
Brunei Darussalam, Burma (Myanmar),Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.
www.aseansec.org/
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua.
www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/CAFTA/Section_Index.html
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and
Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
www.caricom.org/
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.
www.ftaa-alca.org/
Canada, Mexico, United States.
www.nafta-sec-alena.org/
| International Trade & Transport Information Resources |
Airforwarders Association (AfA) www.airforwarders.org/
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) www.transportation.org/
AASHTO Freight Transportation Network freight.transportation.org/
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) www.eagle.org/
American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association www.aslrra.org/
American Trucking Associations www.truckline.com/
Association des Utilisateurs de Transport de Fret (AUTF) www.autf.fr/
Association of American Railroads www.aar.org/
Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA / United Nations) www.asycuda.org/
Bahamas Maritime Authority www.bahamasmaritime.com/
Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) www.bimco.org/
Belgian Shippers' Council / Belgische Multimodale Verladers Organisatie www.otmbe.org/
Bureau International des Containers et du Transport Intermodal www.bic-code.org/
Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA) www.ciffa.com/
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) www.cites.org/
Cool Chain Association (CCA) www.coolchain.org/
Det Norske Veritas (DNV) www.dnv.com/
European Commission Directorate General for Transport ec.europa.eu/transport/index_en.htm
European Commission Directorate General for Transport, Maro Polo Program ec.europa.eu/transport/marcopolo/home/home_en.htm
European Community Shipowners' Associations www.ecsa.be/
European Shippers' Council (ESC) www.europeanshippers.com/
EVO (Netherlands) www.evo.nl/
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) www.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Freight Transport Association www.fta.co.uk/
Germany - River Water Levels www.pegelstaende.de/
Hong Kong Shipowners Association www.hksoa.org/
Institute of International Container Lessors (IICL) www.iicl.org/
Intermodal Association of North America www.intermodal.org/
International Air Cargo Association www.tiaca.org/
International Association of Classification Societies www.iacs.org.uk/
International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO) www.intercargo.org/
International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) www.intertanko.com/
International Association of Ports and Harbours www.iaphworldports.org/
International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) www.ibia.net/
International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF) www.marisec.org/
International Maritime organization (IMO / United Nations) www.imo.org/
International Parcel Tankers Association (IPTA) www.ipta.org.uk/
International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) www.iris-rail.org/
International Road Transport Union (IRU) www.iru.org/
Koninklijke Belgische Redersvereniging VZW (KBRV; Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association) www.brv.be/
Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) www.liscr.com/
Live Ships Map www.marinetraffic.com/ais/
Lloyd's Loading List www.lloydsll.com/
Malta Maritime Authority www.mma.gov.mt/ship_registration_ship_registry.htm
National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) www.ncbfaa.org/
Panama Maritime Authority / Autorídad Maritima de Panamá (SEGUMAR) www.segumar.com/
Road Haulage Association www.rha.net/
Rotterdam Convention www.pic.int/
Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd (SIGTTO) sigtto.re-invent.net/
Suez Canal Authority www.suezcanal.gov.eg/
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) www.unctad.org/
U.S. Customs & Border Protection www.customs.ustreas.gov/
C-TPAT: Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/ctpat/
U.S. Federal Maritime Commission www.fmc.gov/
U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, Final Rules www.fmc.gov/reading/FinalRules.asp
U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (USDOT) www.fra.dot.gov/
U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation www.marad.dot.gov/
U.S. Surface Transportation Board www.stb.dot.gov/
U.S. Transportation Security Administration / U.S. Department of Homeland Security www.tsa.gov/
World Customs Oragnization / Organisation Mondiale des Douanes www.wcoomd.org/
World Trade Organization (WTO) www.wto.org/
World Trade Point Federation (WTPF / United Nations) www.tradepoint.org/
