Lexicon

A

• DNA : European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways.
• ADR : European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road.
• Charterer : Natural or legal person who rents a ship or an aircraft for a specific operation or period.
• Authorized agent : Company having received approval from the State to be able to secure an air shipment.
• Airport handling agent : Ensures the reception of the goods and their transport on board the aircraft.
• Shipowner : Person who operates a vessel.
• Mooring : Set of techniques used to stabilize the cargo/container on board ships so as to avoid any movement during maritime transport.

B

• BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) : Surcharge applied by the shipowner according to variations in the price of fuel oil.
• Bill of Lading (B/L) : The bill of lading or Bill of Lading (B/L) in English is the contract for the maritime carriage of goods. Issued by the carrier to the shipper, it details the mode and route of a cargo from its origin to its final destination.
• Booking : Action of reserving space on the ship or plane.

C

• CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor) : Surcharge applied by the shipowner according to exchange rate variations.
• Rider : Also called a straddle carrier, it is a port handling machine used to move containers on terminals and to place containers on top of each other (stacking).
• CDU : Union Customs Code, determines the rules and procedures applicable to goods entering or leaving the customs territory of the European Union.
• CMR : International land transport documents.
• Customs broker : Professional carrying out, on behalf of the sender or recipient of the goods, the operations to bring them into compliance with the customs regulations of the country in which they will be in transit or at their destination. Since the implementation of the CDU (Union Customs Code), the term customs broker has been replaced by RDE: Registered Customs Representative.
• Transport broker : Intermediary who is responsible for organizing in his own name but on behalf of a shipper, a transport of goods (shipping, reception and storage) for a price agreed with the latter. The commission agent freely chooses the carriers or other intermediaries he will call upon to accomplish his mission and deals with them in his own name. The commission agent is bound by an obligation of results.
• Groupage container : A shipment in which the freight forwarder or NVOCC consolidates several individual shipments to form a container. The goods are unconsolidated upon arrival and delivered to the consignees.
• Conventional : Goods transported outside a container due to their size or volume.
• Broker : Intermediary responsible for representing the vessel to the authorities.
• CIP : Carriage and Insurance Paid to
• CPT : Carriage Paid to
• Cross-Trade : Transport of goods involving three parties for a single flow: the seller, the buyer and an intermediary (who may be the seller's supplier).

D

• DGAC : General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
• DAP : Delivered at Place
• DAT : Delivered At Terminal
• DDP : Delivered Duty Paid
• DPU : Delivered at Place Unloaded

E

• Potting/Unpotting: Operation of loading/unloading goods inside a container.
• Bonded warehouse : Space which allows the storage of goods awaiting customs clearance.
• EORI : Economic Operator Registration and Identification. The EORI number is a unique community identification number facilitating operators in their import and export procedures.
• EVP : Twenty Foot Equivalent.
• EXW: Ex Works (factory new).

F

• FCL (Full Container Load) : Full container
• FAA : Federal Aviation Administration
• FCA: Free Carrier
• FAK (Freight All Kinds): General Cargo Goods
• FAS: Free Along Side
• FOB: Free on Board

G

• White Gloves: Service for handling fragile or high-value goods (works of art, luxury products, high value-added technological equipment, etc.) with particular attention to the smallest details, including unpacking the goods, installation and packaging management. It also offers processing that complies with security and confidentiality measures.
• Stacking: Action of stacking goods on top of each other.
• Custom Grouping / Consolidation: Several suppliers come together to fill the container with goods for a single recipient.
• GRI (General Rate Increase): Surcharge applied to sea freight rates

H

• HAWB (House Air Waybill): Transport document issued for each shipment by the broker.
• HAZMAT: Hazardous Materials

I

• IMCO: Designation of dangerous goods in maritime transport.
• ISPS: International Ship and Ports facility Security code. Surcharge for port security related charges.
• ISO: International Organization for Standardization

L

• LCL (Less than Container Load): Goods that will be grouped with other lots in a container.
• Letter of credit: Payment commitment made by a bank in the name of the beneficiary, usually the seller of the goods, against delivery of documents specified in the credit.
• Live animals: The transport of live animals, also called “Live animals”.
• LTA (Air Way Bill): International Civil Aviation Organization. Air Waybill materializing the transport contract between the airline (or the authorized agent) and the freight forwarder.

M

• MAFI: The MAFI is a trailer used for loading oversized (heavy and/or bulky) packages onto ro-ro ships. There are several sizes of MAFI.
• MAWB (Master Air Way Bill): Mother LTA. All HAWBs are grouped on a MAWB which includes all packages, gross weight and volume.

N

• NVOCC or Consolidator: Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier. Term designating a company purchasing maritime transport capacity which it then offers to its customers under its own responsibility.
• Customs nomenclature / HS Code: Customs classification of goods

O

• OEA (Authorized Economic Operator): Operator benefiting from an approval granted by the customs administration. The certification which is a guarantee of reliability of the service provider allows among other things simplified access to simplified customs procedures, advance declarations, etc.
• Preferred Origin: Used to apply a reduced or zero rate of customs duty. Bilateral free trade agreements established between the EU and a number of third countries allow the granting of tariff advantages (reduction or exemption of customs duties) to goods traded between the contracting parties. In order to benefit from the advantages conferred by preferential origin, exported goods must comply with the conditions defined by the free trade agreement established with the country concerned.

P

• Taxable weight: Unit of measurement used by airlines to determine the price of freight. It allows for charging for transport based on the weight but also the volume of the goods.
• POL (port of loading): loading port
• POD (port of discharge): port of unloading
• PSS (Peak Season Surcharge): surcharge applied by the shipping company during periods of high demand.

R

• Reefer Container: A reefer container is a temperature-controlled refrigerated container equipped with a refrigeration and heating device allowing transport at positive or negative temperatures.
• RO-RO (Roll-on, Roll-off): Loading and unloading technique by ramp on ships dedicated to the transport of vehicles (roll-on/roll-off loading).
• Breaking of Load: An offloading is the time lapse (stoppage) caused by the unloading and loading of goods from one mode of transport to another.

S

• SOLAS (SOLAS convention): Safety Of Life at Sea, defines the standards for controlling the weight of goods in containers.
• Sycoscan: X-ray of containers using an X-ray scanner. The Sycoscan allows the contents of containers to be viewed by X-ray without the containers being unloaded or opened.

T

• Freight rate: Price of sea or air transport.
• Telex Release Bill of Lading: The Telex Release allows cargo to be released at a port even if the shipper has delivered the original bill of lading at the port of destination.
• Forwarding agent : Specialized intermediary who carries out transport operations in accordance with the instructions received from his client.

U

• UP (Paying Unit)When calculating the price of freight, a unit of taxation which is understood either per tonne or per cubic metre to the advantage of the ship.

V

• VGM (Verified Gross Mass): Gross mass of containers before loading onto ships.
• Bulk: goods that are not packaged. For transport by sea, bulk is transported in the hold of ships or in facilities provided for this purpose.
• Bulk Liquid: hydrocarbons (petroleum products and derivatives), GLN (liquefied natural gas), chemical products, food liquids (wines, oils, etc.).
• Solid Bulk: cereals, sugar, flour, coal, minerals, sand, cement…