This page explains all the key terms used in shipping and freight forwarding. These terms are divided into several categories

This page explains all the key terms used in shipping and freight forwarding. These terms are divided into several categories:

• General Terms
• Cargo
• Land Transportation
• Maritime Transportation
• Air Transportation

 

General Terms:

• Import – The bringing of goods, services, works, intellectual property, and similar items into the customs territory of a country from abroad without the obligation to re-export them.
• Export – The shipment of goods, services, or intellectual property from a country’s customs territory to a foreign destination without the obligation to bring them back.
• Re-export – A commercial operation that allows foreign goods previously imported into the customs territory of Georgia to be exported outside of Georgia’s customs territory.
• Logistics – A commercial activity that involves the delivery of cargo to customers.
• Freight Forwarding Activity – Assisting importers and exporters in organizing the transportation of their cargo.
• Freight Forwarding Company – An organization that facilitates the reception of cargo from manufacturers and ensures its delivery to the final destination on behalf of individuals or companies.
• Carrier – A physical or legal entity that, under a contract, undertakes the transportation of cargo via land, rail, sea, air, or a combination of transport modes.
• Shipper – Any legal or physical person (exporter) acting as the seller.
• Transport Vehicle – A motor vehicle, aircraft, ship, or railway transport, as well as pipelines, power lines, containers, trailers, semi-trailers, or any other means used for transporting passengers and/or cargo.
• Transit – The movement of goods and/or vehicles between foreign countries or within a foreign territory through the customs territory of Georgia.
• Consignment – Cargo that is accompanied by shipping documents during transportation; the delivery of goods by the exporter (consignor) to an agent (consignee) for the purpose of selling the goods according to an agreement.
• Consignee – A person or company (as indicated in the shipping documents) to whom the goods are being shipped. The owner of the goods.
• Free Zone – A part of a country’s customs territory where foreign goods are imported without being considered as imported for customs purposes, meaning that no import duties are applied. Also, no import duties are charged when goods are re-exported from the zone to a foreign country.
• Destination – The place where the carrier or freight forwarder delivers the cargo or container to the consignee or their agent. This can also be referred to as the “final destination.”
• Additional Charges – A fee added to the cost of goods or services. These charges are usually added to the original cost, covering items not initially accounted for.
• Cargo Consolidation – The process of combining cargo from multiple shippers or consignees into one shipment and preparing it for transportation, whether by sea, air, or land.
• Consolidator – A person or company that provides cargo consolidation services, gathering cargo from suppliers.
• Multimodal Transport – The use of two or more modes of transportation to move goods, including air, sea, land, or rail transport.
• Seal – A small piece of lead or other plastic material, stamped with a special seal, attached to closed doors, wrapped cargo, etc., to indicate that the cargo or door has not been tampered with.
• Bonded Warehouse – A customs warehouse, a designated area under the control of the customs department for storing cargo. Goods in this area are exempt from customs duties and taxes until they are removed from the warehouse.
• Demurrage – A penalty for exceeding the allotted free time (usually 72 hours) designated for picking up arriving cargo from the carrier or freight forwarding company's warehouse.
• Force Majeure – A situation or event that is unavoidable; an irresistible force, event (such as war, strike, riot, or crime) that frees parties from their contractual obligations and responsibilities. The conditions for force majeure may be defined in a contract, depending on the parties’ interests.
• ETD (Estimated Time of Departure) – The anticipated time when the transport will depart.
• ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) – The anticipated time when the transport will arrive.
• En Route – On the way, in transit.
• Door-to-Door – The transportation of cargo from the consignor’s (shipper's) premises to the consignee's (receiver's) premises.

Cargo

• Cargo – Any type of goods that will be transferred using the appropriate means of transportation.
• General Cargo – Regular cargo that is transported by road, sea, or air and is not considered any special type of cargo, such as oil, food products, etc.
• Dry Cargo – Any type of goods that do not require temperature-controlled transportation.
• Dangerous Cargo – Cargo that can pose a risk to the transport vehicle or the people onboard. Dangerous cargo is also known as restricted items, hazardous materials, or dangerous goods. Household items may also be considered dangerous cargo for air transport.
• Perishable Cargo – Goods that lose the majority of their value if the transportation is delayed for an unexpected period.
• Non-standard Cargo – Cargo whose dimensions exceed the allowable size of the transport vehicle.
• Pallet – A movable wooden or plastic platform on which cargo is placed and transported.
• Net Weight – The weight of the goods without the tare and packaging.
• Gross Weight – The weight of the goods including the tare and packaging.
• Cubic Meter (Cbm) – A unit of volume measurement, expressed in cubic meters.
• Goods – Cargo that is being transported. In the case of hazardous or dangerous cargo, the exact description of the goods is essential.

 

Land transportation - refers to the movement of goods via road vehicles.

LTL – Less Trailer Load – This term indicates that the cargo in a single transport vehicle is of small volume and does not require the use of the entire truck.

FTL – Full Trailer Load – This term means that regardless of how full the truck is, the cargo belongs to a single entity, and payment is made for the entire vehicle.

CMR Bill of Lading – The CMR bill of lading is a contractual agreement between the shipper, the road carrier, and the consignee that provides standard terms for international road transport operations, especially regarding necessary documents and the carrier's responsibilities. This simplifies road transportation and international trade. The use of a CMR bill of lading implies that at least one of the countries involved in the international transport operation (the origin country or the destination country) is a party to the CMR Convention.

TIR Carnet – An active convention that regulates international road transport between member countries from both a customs and technical procedural perspective. Specifically, the provisions of the convention facilitate and simplify customs procedures in countries that are signatories to the convention when transporting goods by road. This includes the inspection of goods, verification of documents, and the guarantee for the payment of customs duties.

Certificate of Origin – A certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country that unequivocally confirms the country of origin of the goods. There are four types of certificates:

1. Non-preferential (ordinary) certificate of origin.
2. Preferential certificate of origin.
3. Preferential certificate of origin CT-1.
4. Preferential certificate of origin EUR-1.

Export Declaration X1 – Authorization for the export of goods.

T1 – A guarantee document for international shipments.

TIR / C – A guarantee document for international road transport under the TIR system.

Packing List – A detailed document issued by the supplier of goods that lists the contents of the shipment, including weight, dimensions, classification, etc.

Manifest – This type of manifest is prepared for freight vehicles after the cargo has been loaded for transportation. The manifest is prepared for both domestic and international shipments. It is handed over to the driver or the person accompanying the vehicle.

Packing Sheet – A document issued by the supplier detailing the packaging of the goods, including weight, size, classification, etc.

 

Maritime Transport – The transportation of goods by sea.

Container – A large, standardized storage unit made of iron material, used for loading goods and transporting them via trucks, freight trains, or ships.

LCL (Less Container Load) – A term indicating that the cargo in a transport vehicle is of a small volume and does not require the use of an entire container.

FCL (Full Container Load) – A term indicating that all the goods in the container are listed under one bill of lading and belong to a single party, regardless of how full the container is. Payment is made for the entire container.

Bill of Lading (B/L) – A legal document issued between the shipper and the carrier, stating the type, quantity, and destination of the goods being transported. The bill of lading also serves as proof of the receipt of goods when the carrier delivers the goods to the pre-designated destination. This document must accompany the shipped cargo, regardless of the type of transportation used, and it must be signed by authorized parties on behalf of the carrier, shipper, and consignee.

Outer Bill of Lading – A document issued by the carrier to the shipping company as proof of receipt of goods. The outer bill of lading includes details about the cargo: the number of bills of lading issued for the cargo being shipped, a description of the freight on each bill of lading, as well as the shipping terms. The document also contains the shipper’s name and address, and the consignee’s name and address, indicating who owns the cargo.

Internal Bill of Lading – A document issued by the shipper’s forwarding company, serving as proof of receipt for the goods being shipped. This document is issued in the name of the goods supplier after the cargo has been received, replacing the power of attorney and the outer bill of lading. The internal bill of lading includes the shipper’s name and address, the forwarding company, and the consignee receiving the cargo from the forwarding company. It also includes specific details about the goods being transported and the shipping costs.

Cargo Manifest – This is a document that includes all the details about the cargo, which are specified in the bill of lading for goods loaded onto a ship at a particular port and destined for a specific destination. Thus, the number of cargo manifests corresponds exactly to the number of transport routes for the shipment. The cargo manifest includes only the details of the cargo (type, size, type, quantity, shipper, destination, etc.) and is used for customs clearance. This manifest is handed over to the port authority before the ship enters the port.

Marine Insurance – This is insurance that covers the risk of cargo loss or damage at sea. Marine insurance compensates the owner of goods in case of damage or loss of cargo due to reasons such as fire, shipwreck, piracy, and others, but excludes losses that may be lawfully recovered.

Compensation Letter – A guarantee from the shipper or consignee to the carrier or forwarder for covering the costs and/or losses, ensuring that appropriate actions are taken by the carrier or forwarder. It is a common practice for carriers and forwarders to request a compensation letter from the consignee to carry out the transportation of cargo without a bill of lading that was delayed or lost.

Terminal Fee – A charge in the port for the loading or unloading of containers from a ship or their placement on the ship.

Demurrage – A penalty fee imposed for exceeding the allowed free time (usually 72 hours) designated for the pickup of arrived cargo from the warehouse of the carrier or forwarding company.

Bulk Carrier – A cargo ship designed to carry bulk (unpackaged) cargo such as ores, concentrates, coal, grains, fertilizers, bauxite, cement, sugar, etc.

Arrival Notification – A type of notification sent by the carrier or forwarding company to the consignee to inform them that the cargo is on its way and being transported to its final destination. The message contains relevant information such as the bill of lading number, container number, total amount payable by the consignee, etc. This notification is sent to the consignee before the ship's arrival and is done free of charge by the carrier or forwarder to ensure proper delivery, although they are not obliged to do so. The responsibility for overseeing the shipment still lies with the consignee.

Maximum Load – The maximum weight or volume of cargo that can be loaded into a container.

Unloading – The process of removing cargo from a container.

CFS (Container Freight Station) – A carrier's facility where consolidation or unloading of cargo takes place.

FEU (Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit) – Refers to a 40-foot container. It is commonly used to describe cargo capacity or a standard measurement for containers.

Freight – Cargo being transported by truck, rail, ship, or aircraft. Freight also refers to the charge or cost for transporting goods by sea.

Air Freight – The transportation of cargo by airplane.

Air Waybill (AWB) – A document accompanying cargo transported by an international carrier, containing information about the shipment and allowing tracking of the shipment. The air waybill has multiple copies so that all parties involved in the shipment can document it.

Master Air Waybill (MAWB) – A type of air waybill issued by the international carrier or their agent, where the details of the actual shipper and cargo owner are replaced by the freight forwarder's details.

House Air Waybill (HAWB) – A type of air waybill issued by the freight forwarder, showing the actual shipper’s and consignee’s details.

For further details, call: 597 18 18 97; 032 2 18 18 57.