A2Z Freight Directory

The A2Z Freight Directory

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Freight
There are many companies which transport all types of cargo, ranging from mail to full loads. These companies for instance Parcel force or TNT which deliver fast and most times same day delivery services. A good example of road freight is supermarket stock, as these require deliveries every day to keep the shelves stacked with goods for sale. Retailers of all kinds rely upon delivery vehicles, be they full size 13.6 metre trailers or smaller delivery/courier vans.Freight is a term used to classify the transportation of cargo and is typically a commercial process. Items are usually prearranged into various shipment categories before they are transported. How large the shipment is, both in terms of item size and quantity. How long the item will be in transit. Shipments are typically categorised as Courier, groupage, part loads or full loads.Furniture, art, or similar items are usually classified as Personal effects. Very small business or personal items like envelopes are considered "Courier" or "express" shipments. These shipments are rarely over a few kilos, and almost always travel in the carrier's own packaging. Service levels are variable, depending on the shipper's choice. Express shipments almost always travel some distance by air. Larger items like small boxes are considered "parcel" shipments. These shipments are rarely over 50 Kilos, with no single piece of the shipment weighing more than about 40 Kilos. Parcel shipments are always boxed, sometimes in the shipper's packaging and sometimes in carrier-provided packaging. Service levels are again variable. Parcel shipments rarely travel by air, and typically move via road. Parcels represent the majority of business-to-consumer shipments.Beyond Personal effects, express, and Courier shipments, movements are known as "freight shipments."
Freight Forwarder
A freight forwarder is a third party logistics provider. As a third party provider a forwarder dispatches shipments via direct hauliers and books or otherwise arranges space for those shipments. Freight forwarders typically arrange cargo movement to an international destination. Also referred to as international freight forwarders, they have the expertise that allows them to prepare and process the documentation and perform related activities pertaining to international shipments. Some of the typical information reviewed by a freight forwarder is the commercial invoice, shipper's export declaration, bill of lading and other documents required by the carrier or country of export, import, or transhipment. A freight forwarder involved with international Shipments, or even UK Movements or freight forwarders that handle road freight will join Transport Associations such as The RHA or BIFA. Shipping is the physical process of transporting goods and cargo. Virtually every product ever made, bought, or sold has been affected by shipping. Despite the many variables in shipped products and locations, there are only three basic types of shipments: land, air, and sea.Land or "Road" shipping can be either by train or by trailer. Road Freight is easily the most popular form of shipping. Even in Air and Sea shipments, Road transportation is still required to take the product from its origin to its destination. Road Freight transportation is typically more affordable than air freight. Many trailers will take freight directly from the shipper to its destination in what is known as a door to door shipment. Vans and trailers of all sizes make deliveries everyday in this way throught-out Eastern and Western Europe and beyond. Much shipping is done aboard actual ships. Road Freight shipping can be cheaper and less restrictive to size, quantity, weight, and type of freight than by air transport. Air transport is usually reserved for products which must be sent within a shorter time frame. Some carriers offer Road freight that operates on an exact timeline as air freight does. This is a recent development becoming mainstream among major carriers since the late 1990s. Shipping can more generally refer to the transport of freight ("shipments"), independent of the mode of transport.
Payment Terms
The most common payment terms used in shipping goods internationally are:Freight on Board OR Free On Board (FOB): freight on board means that the exporter delivers the goods to the specified location. i.e., FOB Prague (the exporter delivers the goods to Prague). This means the exporter is bound to deliver the goods in Prague at his cost and expenses. In the case, the freight and other expenses for outbound traffic is payable by the importer. Cost and Freight (C&F,CFR, CNF): (With insurance payable by the importer). The exporter pays the freight shipping/air freight costs to the specified location. Example, C&F Prague (the exporter pays the freight/air freight costs to Prague). Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF): Insurance, and Freight are all paid by the exporter to the specified location. i.e. CIF Prague (the exporter pays the Freight/air freight costs to Prague including the insurance). Please see below a full list of Freight terms:
EXW - Ex Works Named place - Any mode of transportThe seller must place the goods at the disposal of the buyer at the seller's premises or another named place not cleared for export and not loaded on any collecting vehicle.FCA - Free CarrierNamed place - Any mode of transportThe seller must deliver the goods, cleared for export, to the carrier nominated by the buyer at the named place.FAS - Free Alongside ShipNamed port of shipment - Maritime and inland waterway transport onlyThe seller must place the goods, cleared for export, alongside the vessel at the named port of shipment.FOB - Free on BoardNamed port of shipment - Maritime and inland waterway transport onlyThe seller delivers the goods, cleared for export, when they pass the ship's rail at the named port of shipment.CFR - Cost and Freight Named port of destination - Maritime and inland waterway transport onlyThe seller delivers the goods when they pass the ship's rail in the port of shipment and must pay the costs and freight necessary to bring the goods to the named port of destination. The buyer bears all additional costs and risks after the goods have been delivered (over the ship's rail at the port of shipment).CIF - Cost Insurance and Freight Named port of destination - Maritime and inland waterway transport onlyThe obligations are the same as under CFR with the addition that the seller must procure insurance against the buyer's risk of loss of, or damage to the goods during carriage.CPT - Carriage Paid To Named place of destination - Any mode of transportThe seller delivers the goods to the nominated carrier and must also pay the cost of carriage necessary to bring the goods to the named destination. The buyer bears all additional costs and risks after the goods have been delivered to the nominated carrier.CIP - Carriage and Insurance Paid To Named place of destination - Any mode of transportThe obligations are the same as under CPT with the addition that the seller must procure insurance against the buyer's risk of loss of, or damage to the goods during carriage.DAF - Delivered at Frontier Named place - Any mode of transportThe seller must place the goods at the disposal of the buyer on the arriving means of transport not unloaded, cleared for export but not cleared for import, at the named point and place at the frontier.DES - Delivered Ex ShipNamed port of destination - Maritime and inland waterway transport onlyThe seller delivers when the goods are placed at the disposal of the buyer on board the ship, not cleared for import, at the named port of destination.DEQ - Delivered Ex Quay Named port of destination - Maritime and inland waterway transport onlyThe seller delivers when the goods are placed at the disposal of the buyer, not cleared for import, on the quay at the named port of destination.DDU - Delivered Duty Unpaid Named place of destination - Any mode of transportThe seller must deliver the goods to the buyer, not cleared for import, and not unloaded at the named place of destination.DDP - Delivered Duty Paid Named place of destination - Any mode of transportThe seller must deliver the goods to the buyer, cleared for import, and not unloaded at the named place of destination.
TransportTransport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. The term is derived from the Latin trans ("across") and portare ("to carry"). Industries which have the business of providing transport equipment, transport services or transport are important in most national economies, and are referred to as transport industries.The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations. Infrastructure consists of the fixed installations necessary for transport, and may be roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and or terminals such as airports, railway stations, bus stations and seaports. Vehicles travelling on the network include automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, people and aircraft. Operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose including the financing, legalities and policies.
Groupage ShipmentsGroupage cargo is the first category of a freight shipment, and represents the majority of "freight" shipments and the majority of business-to-business shipments. Groupage shipments are also often referred to as "LCL" and the carriers involved are referred to as "Forwarders". Groupage shipments range from 10 kilos (kgs) to about 10,000 kgs, The average single piece of LCL freight is 500 kgs and the size of a standard pallet. Long items of freight maybe subject to a surcharge. The shipments are usually palletised, shrink-wrapped and packaged for a mixed freight atmosphere. Unlike express or parcel, LCL shippers must provide their own packaging, as groupage carriers or Freight Forwarders do not provide any packaging supplies or assistance. However, crating or palletising may be required for groupage shipments in circumstances that require this criteria."Air cargo" or "air freight" shipments are very similar to Groupage shipments in terms of size and packaging requirements. However, air freight shipments typically need to move at a much faster pace. Air shipments may be booked directly with the carriers or through brokers. While shipments move faster than standard groupage, "air" shipments don't always actually move by air.
Full Trailer Loads Shipments larger in size than about 18,000 kgs are typically classified as a "Full Trailer Load" (FTL), given that it is more efficient and economical for a large shipment to have exclusive use of one trailer rather than share space on a smaller groupage trailer. A Full load is limited to the space available in the trailer; normally 13.6 metres long and about 2.42 metres wide , heights vary from between 2.42 and 2.90 metres. While express, parcel, and groupage shipments are always loaded with other groupage shipments on a single piece of equipment and are typically reloaded across multiple pieces of equipment during their transport, FTL shipments usually travel as the only shipment on a trailer and FTL shipments usually deliver on exactly the same trailer as they are Collected on, typically referred to as “Collection on wheels” or “Trailer” (COW) or (COT)Often LCL shipper’s realize savings by utilising a freight forwarder instead of contracting directly with a haulage or transport company. Freight Forwarders can search the marketplace and obtain lower rates than smaller shippers can directly. Freight Forwarders optimize their service and costs by requesting rates from several carriers or other Forwarders who specialise in a certain market. i.e. Western Europe. When obtaining rates from different suppliers, shippers may find quite a difference in rates offered.