A generic term for documents proving the shipment of cargo. In international trade, trade in goods is accomplished by buying and selling the originals of the shipping documents. They have an important meaning as collateral, but they are also used when going through the procedure of customs clearance for import and export. Important shipping documents include the bill of lading (B/L), invoice, packing list, and marine insurance-policy; auxiliary documents include the certificate of origin, consular invoice, inspection certificate, etc.

Securities are issued by shipping companies in accordance with maritime transportation contracts between shippers and shipping companies. In other words, the securities certify that the ship owners have received cargo to be loaded, requested for transportation by the shippers. In addition, they are to promise to deliver the cargo to the consignee or its designated person under certain conditions at the port of destination.

The cargo receipt issued when transporting cargo by air is a bill of lading (B/L) in maritime transportation, which is also called an air waybill or air cargo receipt.
* Not securities but a simple cargo receipt

A guarantee for the delivery of imported cargo by submitting a guarantee jointly guaranteed by the importer and the issuing bank, instead of the original bill of lading, to the shipping company prior to the submission of transportation documents
* In case that shipping documents arrive later than import cargo when importing it from countries with short ship operation days, the L/G (Letter of Guarantee) is being used to reduce costs, such as storage fees, etc., or when urgent receipt of the cargo is required due to the period of delivery, etc.

C/I (Commercial Invoice) is a detailed specification of major matters of items to be traded, such as characteristics, specifications, etc., by the seller for the buyer. In addition, it not only serves as a billing statement for exporters and a purchase statement for importers, but it is also used as the proof of the taxable amount when filing an import declaration.

The P/L (Packing List) is a detailed statement issued by a seller to a buyer for the convenience of packing, transportation, and customs clearance by describing the packing of cargo, specification and net weight of each packing unit, the gross weight, shipping mark, the serial number of the package, etc., serving to supplement the invoice.

When covering an insurance in preparation for damage to cargo and other property due to various risks that may occur in transportation, the I/P(Insurance Policy) is a security prepared and signed or sealed by insurance companies and then delivered to the insured in order to prove the establishment of an insurance contract and its contents, thereby serving as evidence to confirm the contract.
A contract is not a security but a mere document as the evidence of the contract; it is usually transferred by endorsement or delivery.

The C/O (Certificate of Origin), a document accompanying a documentary bill, serves as a certificate of nationality proving the country of origin of exported goods and is also a document required for customs clearance procedures. And, it is sometimes used to determine the authorization of products from hostile nations. In addition, if customs duties are imposed on imported goods, it is an objective document used based on bound tariff rates or national tariff.

The I/C (Inspection Certificate) is a certificate issued after inspecting the quality, packaging, materials, etc. of exported products by inspection agencies designated by importers or specialized inspection agencies to prove the integrity of those products.
* It is prepared by exporters if there is no indication of such inspection agencies.

The Surrender B/L is a bill of lading issued to allow cargo to be accepted at their destination with a copy transmitted by fax without presenting the original bill of lading. In addition, it is also a receipt of goods that allows the consignee of the B/L to exercise its rights by putting a Surrender stamp on the B/L.
*It is a term used with Surrender, Surrendered, and Telex release.

The Switch B/L is a B/L mainly used in intermediate trade (triangular trade and tripartite trade) and issued by intermediaries replacing shippers (original exporters) at a third place based on the B/L issued by shippers and forwarders belonging to the actual export destination so that the original exporters are not exposed.

Generally, the Forwarding Company (Forwarder) does not have the transportation methods directly and arranges or performs various tasks such as the collection, warehousing, shipping, transportation, insurance, storage, delivery, etc. of customers' cargo consigned for transportation until they are acquired and then delivered to the consignee. In addition, it issues multi-modal transport bills as the subject of transportation contracts by itself while assuming responsibility for transportation throughout all the transportation segments under the multi-modal transportation system.

The Shipping Company means a carrier that has its own vessel or provides a transportation service through cooperation with other affiliated shipping companies.
In other words, it means the carrier charging freight as remuneration for a transportation service provided by its vessel.

The FCL (Full Container Load) Cargo means the quantity of cargo that is enough to fill one container.

The LCL (Less than Container Load) Cargo means a small quantity of cargo that are not enough to fill one container, which is a concept opposite to the above-mentioned FCL. Therefore, cargo from several exporters is loaded together in a container.

The CO-Loading is a method of transporting cargo in a quick and economical way by requesting joint consolidation to other forwarders who have the LCL cargo of the same destination if the LCL cargo directly collected by a forwarder cannot be regarded as FCL one.

The CONSOL (Consolidation) is the process of bringing together LCL cargo that cannot fully fill one container, which is the shipping unit of a container ship, to make one full container.

The CY (Container Yard) means a place where containers are received, delivered, and stored.
· On-Dock CY: It is referred to as a general CY.
· Off-Dock CY : ODCY (Off Dock Container Yard), which is a container yard off the dock.
· Off-Dock CY : ICD (Inland Container Depot), which is a container yard located inland (e.g., Yangsan ICD)

The CFS (Container Freight Station) is one of container transportation facilities where export cargo is collected or distributed to containers for loading.

The CFS Charge refers to the cost required for loading or sorting of cargo performed at the CFS in the place of the shipment and destination when transporting LCL cargo. (e.g., unloading fee, inspection fee, trimming charge, storage fee, etc.)

The C/W (Chargeable Weight) refers to the weight which is a criterion for freight calculation. In general, the heavier of the actual weight (net weight) and volume weight (6,000 cm3 = 1 kg) of cargo is calculated as the chargeable weight.
C/W is calculated as volume (CBM) x 167 to calculate the air freight charge.

The R/T (Revenue Ton) is also called Freight Ton, which is the basis for freight calculation, whether by volume, entire quantity, or price. It often refers to the tonnage of either volume or weight, which can yield a higher freight. Basically, 1000 KGS is 1 CBM in other regions, except the Americas.

The CBM (Cubic Meter) is a unit that converts a volume where each of the width, length, and height is 1 meter, and is the result of multiplying their values converted into meters. Therefore, 1CBM is a regular hexahedron with a width, length, and height of 1M each.

The D/O (Delivery Order) refers to a document instructing the delivery of cargo to D/O holders by shipping companies or forwarders to cargo custodians CY, CFS, or bonded warehouses. In order for importers to receive the D/O from shipping companies, it is necessary to present the original bill of lading to shipping companies or forwarders and to settle various expenses such as freight, etc.
* In the case of a Surrender B/L, the confirmation of the actual shipper is absolutely necessary.

DOC Fee (Documentation Fee) is the issuance fee of B/L required for the issuance of bill of lading when exporting cargo and is a fee collected by shipping companies to issue the D/O when importing the cargo to compensate for the general management expenses of shipping companies or forwarders.

The THC (Terminal Handling Charge) means the cost incurred by the movement of cargo from CY to the side of the ship at the time of export or from the side of the ship to the CY gate at the time of import.
- OTH : Terminal Handling Charge at Origin
- DTH : Terminal Handling Charge at Destination

The W/F or WFG (Wharfage) refers to a charge collected for all cargo passing through the wharf in accordance with the [Regulations on the Usage Fee of Port Facilities such as Trade Ports, Etc.], which is a sub-statute of the Harbor Act regulated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) refers to a fee charged to compensate for losses due to fluctuations in the price of bunker oil, the main raw material of ships.
* It is the same concept as FAF.

The FAF(Fuel Adjustment Factor) refers to a fee charged to compensate for losses due to fluctuations in the price of bunker oil, the main raw material of ships.
* It is the same concept as BAF.

The EBS (Emergency Bunker Surcharge) refers to a surcharge additionally charged by shipping companies to compensate for operating costs when oil prices soar higher than usual due to war, conflict, or collusion of oil-producing countries, etc.

The FSC (Fuel Surcharge) means the transportation cost that airlines additionally charge for each cargo due to the increase in the transportation cost for a unit section due to the rapid increase in international oil prices.
The regulations applied to each airline are slightly different and are designated by IATA area.

The CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor) refers to a surcharge introduced to compensate for losses due to the depreciation of the base currency indicated in freight.
* A charge to compensate for the losses of shipping companies

The SSC (Security Surcharge) refers to a fee charged for the safety inspection of aircrafts and their navigation in dangerous areas.

The AMS (Automatic Manifest System) refers to a system to report cargo entering the United States to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through electronic documents in advance.
* The system was introduced for helping to go through customs clearance procedures quickly, but recently, the function of inspecting cargo in advance has been further strengthened to prevent terrorism.

Automatic Manifest System Charge

The PSS (Peak season surcharge) refers to a surcharge for an increase in cost due to an imbalance in the supply and demand of containers by an increase in the volume of cargo during the peak season and due to intensified congestion in ports.

The WRS (War Risk Surcharge) refers to a surcharge imposed due to unavoidable risks for the transportation of cargo to areas threatened with wars.

The CCF (Collect Charge Fee) is a kind of exchange commission in which the forwarder usually imposes 2 to 5% to preserve the remittance of payments, exchange rate, etc. in the countries of departure when the airfreight charge of imported cargo is collected.

The CCF (Container Cleaning Fee) refers to a cost imposed when the cleaning of containers is required before or after loading cargo according to its characteristics.
* It is also called CCC (Container Cleaning Charge).

The Weight Surcharge (WCS) is denoted as Over Weight Surcharge, Heavy Weight Surcharge, or Container Overweight Surcharge. It refers to a surcharge imposed on heavy cargo to increase the supply of the vessel by regulating the weight when the quantity of shipments exceeds the number of operating vessels.
*It is different for each shipping company and is a cost item to increase additional freight revenue for shipping companies.

The PCS (Port Congestion Surcharge) refers to a cost imposed on shippers by shipping companies or the liner conference when a ship is on demurrage due to the congestion of ships.

The Free Time refers to a certain period of time during which cargo unloaded from the ship can be stored in CFS or CY without storage fees. For your reference, each shipping conference sets that period in consideration of the conditions of the terminals in each port of discharge.

- Demurrage Charge (transaction with shippers): It refers to the cost that shippers should pay to shipping companies if they do not take their containers out of CY beyond the Free Time.
- Demurrage Charge (transaction with ship owners): It refers to the cost per day or per weight tonnage payable to charterers if the number of loading or unloading days exceeds the pre-determined Laydays.

The Over Storage Charge refers to storage fees collected when cargo or containers are not taken out from CFS or CY within the Free Time. In addition, if they are not taken over after the end of that period, carriers will be entitled to dispose of them by public sale and to collect all incidental expenses, such as warehousing fees, etc., from the shipper.

The Detention Charge refers to the cost to be paid to the shipper or carrier as a penalty when the shipper fails to return containers rented within the Free Time after they are shipped from CY.

The EDI charge is an EDI fee generated when a forwarder transfers the D/O to a bonded warehouse on behalf of shippers after D/O computerization was introduced for the efficient export of imported cargo. (D/O transfer fee) : air

H/C (Handling Charge) refers to an administrative cost incurred in services provided by the forwarder, such as the transmission of the manifest in the bill of lading (B/L) (EDI), cargo arrival notification (A/N), overseas communication, etc.
* It is regarded as an EDI Charge in some cases.

The Cargo Handling Fee (Agent) refers to the fees that agencies, such as customs brokers, shipping companies, forwarders, etc. requested by the shipper to act as an agent for customs clearance and transportation procedures following the receipt of cargo, spend on customs clearance, receiving D/O, receipt of cargo, inland transportation, etc.

The Shoring & Lashing refers to the cost incurred in fixing the location of cargo using ropes, wires, chains, straps, etc. to prevent damages that may occur due to shaking of the ship during the operation of the loaded cargo or to ensure their safety.

The Shoring charge refers to the cost charged to the shipper after fixing the location of cargo by using wood, pipes, etc. in order to prevent the cargo loaded in the container from moving.

The Drayage Charge refers to the transportation cost for the transport section from the wharf or CY to the assigned CFS or bonded warehouse for the classification and storage of LCL cargo.
* The Drayage charge is charged separately according to the volume or weight of the shipper's cargo and is a cost item incurred only at Incheon Port.

The HS CODE classifies products for international trade by numeric codes for unifying the product classification system to facilitate international trade and ensure that tariff rates are consistently applied. The HS CODE consists of 10 digits, and the tariff rate varies accordingly.