- AWB
- Air Waybill — A document of carriage issued by an airline or its agent that serves as a receipt for shipper goods, a contract of carriage, and a freight bill.
- Bill of Lading (BL)
- A document issued by a carrier to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. Acts as a receipt, contract of carriage, and document of title.
- BAF
- Bunker Adjustment Factor — A surcharge added to ocean freight rates to compensate for fluctuations in fuel costs.
- Breakbulk
- General cargo loaded individually (not in containers) — used for oversized or irregularly-shaped items.
- CFS
- Container Freight Station — A facility where LCL cargo is consolidated for export or deconsolidated for import.
- CBM
- Cubic Meter — A unit of volume used in freight calculations. 1 CBM = 1m × 1m × 1m. Air freight uses 1 CBM = 167 kg volumetric weight.
- CIF
- Cost, Insurance, Freight — An Incoterm where the seller pays for cost, insurance, and freight to the named destination port.
- Commercial Invoice
- A bill for the goods sold, used in international trade for customs clearance and determining duty/tax.
- Consignee
- The party named as the receiver of goods on a bill of lading or other transport document.
- Consolidation
- Combining multiple smaller shipments from different shippers into one full container or air ULD.
- Container
- A standardized steel box used for intermodal transport — common sizes are 20', 40', and 40' high-cube.
- Customs Bond
- A financial guarantee that import duties and taxes will be paid to customs authorities.
- Demurrage
- Charges levied by a carrier for failure to load or unload a ship/container within the agreed time.
- Detention
- Charges incurred when a container is held beyond the agreed free time outside the terminal.
- DDP
- Delivered Duty Paid — An Incoterm where the seller delivers goods to the buyer, cleared of all duties at destination.
- EXW
- Ex Works — An Incoterm where the seller makes goods available at their premises; the buyer handles all transport.
- ETA
- Estimated Time of Arrival.
- ETD
- Estimated Time of Departure.
- FCL
- Full Container Load — A shipment that occupies a full container, used by a single shipper.
- FOB
- Free On Board — An Incoterm where the seller delivers goods on board the vessel at the named port of shipment.
- Forwarder
- A company that organizes shipments for individuals or corporations to get goods from manufacturer to market.
- FCA
- Free Carrier — An Incoterm where the seller delivers goods to a carrier nominated by the buyer at a named place.
- FIATA
- International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations — global trade body for freight forwarders.
- Gross Weight
- Total weight of the cargo including packaging.
- HAWB
- House Air Waybill — A bill issued by a freight forwarder to its customer, used in air consolidations.
- Hazmat / DG
- Hazardous Materials / Dangerous Goods — cargo that poses risks during transport, regulated by IATA, IMO, ADR.
- HBL
- House Bill of Lading — Issued by the freight forwarder to the actual shipper.
- HS Code
- Harmonized System Code — A standardized numerical method of classifying traded products.
- IATA
- International Air Transport Association — global trade body governing air transport standards.
- Incoterms
- International Commercial Terms — standardized trade terms published by ICC defining responsibilities of buyers and sellers.
- Intermodal
- Movement of cargo using two or more modes of transport (e.g., truck + rail + ship).
- Inland Haulage
- Trucking or rail movement between port and inland location.
- Just-in-Time (JIT)
- An inventory strategy where materials arrive exactly when needed for production — minimizes holding costs.
- Kilogram (kg)
- Standard unit of weight used in freight charging.
- Letter of Credit (L/C)
- A bank-issued document guaranteeing payment to a seller upon meeting specified conditions.
- LCL
- Less than Container Load — A shipment too small to fill a full container; consolidated with other shipments.
- Lift-on/Lift-off (LO/LO)
- Containerized cargo loading method using cranes.
- Manifest
- A document listing the cargo carried by a vessel, aircraft, or truck.
- MBL
- Master Bill of Lading — Issued by the actual ocean carrier to the freight forwarder (NVOCC).
- Multimodal Transport
- Movement of cargo using a single contract but multiple transport modes.
- NVOCC
- Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier — Issues bills of lading without owning vessels; sub-contracts space from actual carriers.
- On-Carriage
- Inland transport after the cargo arrives at the destination port.
- Open Top Container
- Container without a solid roof — used for tall or top-loaded cargo.
- Origin
- The place where a shipment begins its journey.
- Pallet
- A flat platform on which goods are stacked, allowing forklift handling. Standard sizes vary by region.
- Phytosanitary Certificate
- An official document certifying that plants or plant products are free from pests and disease.
- Pickup
- Collection of cargo from the shipper's premises by the freight forwarder.
- Pre-Carriage
- Inland transport from shipper to the port of loading.
- Quotation
- A formal offer of freight rates and services from the forwarder to the shipper.
- Reefer
- Refrigerated container or vehicle — maintains a controlled temperature for sensitive cargo.
- Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO)
- Cargo loading method for vehicles that drive on/off the vessel — used for cars, trucks, trailers.
- Shipper
- The party sending the cargo — often the exporter or seller.
- Shipping Line
- An ocean carrier that operates vessels and offers container shipping services.
- SOC
- Shipper Owned Container — A container owned by the shipper, not the shipping line.
- Stuffing
- The process of loading cargo into a container.
- Surcharge
- An additional fee added to base freight rates (e.g., BAF, CAF, peak season).
- TEU
- Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit — A unit of capacity equal to one 20' container. A 40' container = 2 TEU.
- THC
- Terminal Handling Charges — Fees charged by the port/terminal for handling containers.
- Through Bill of Lading
- A single B/L covering multiple modes of transport from origin to destination.
- Transit Time
- The time it takes for cargo to move from origin to destination.
- Transshipment
- Transfer of cargo from one vessel/vehicle to another en route to the final destination.
- ULD
- Unit Load Device — A pallet or container used in air cargo to consolidate shipments.
- Vessel
- A ship used to transport cargo by sea.
- Volumetric Weight
- A pricing technique that uses cargo volume to calculate billable weight when volume exceeds gross weight.
- Warehouse Receipt
- A document issued by a warehouse acknowledging receipt of stored goods.
- WeBOC
- Web-Based One Customs — Pakistan Customs' electronic customs clearance system.
- Xerography
- (In logistics context) refers to scanned/photocopied documentation accepted for some declarations.
- Yard
- An outdoor area where containers are stored, stacked, or transferred between modes.
- Zone
- A defined geographic area used for freight rating and customs purposes.