Trade and customs
What a bill of lading actually is
A receipt, a contract and, sometimes, the thing that controls who gets the cargo. Three jobs in one document.
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The paperwork and the charges that decide what a shipment costs.
Demurrage, detention, bills of lading, customs release and origin. The documents and charges that turn a smooth shipment into an expensive one.
Container, bill of lading or booking · 3 free credits
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Trade and customs
Container sizes: what actually fits
Internal dimensions, payload limits and the door opening. Three numbers that decide whether your cargo fits.
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What a freight forwarder actually does
Not a carrier, not a broker. Understanding the difference tells you who to call when something goes wrong.
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Customs clearance, step by step
What actually happens between the vessel arriving and your goods being legally allowed to move.
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Trade and customs
Container types beyond the standard box
Reefer, open top, flat rack, tank. When the cargo does not fit a general purpose container, these are the options.
Trade and customs
FOB or CIF: which one should be on your contract
The two most used terms in ocean trade, and the one thing people consistently get wrong about both.
Trade and customs
The packing list is not paperwork, it is your evidence
The document nobody reads until something is missing, and then it decides whether you get paid.
Trade and customs
Switch bills of lading: legitimate, useful, and easy to misuse
A second set of originals replacing the first. Common in triangular trade and a genuine risk if handled loosely.
Trade and customs
Read the booking confirmation properly, it takes two minutes
Six fields decide most of what can go wrong later. Checking them at booking is the cheapest intervention available.
Trade and customs
Shipping marks: the labels that keep consolidated cargo apart
Simple, old fashioned, and still the thing that stops your pallets leaving with someone else’s.
Trade and customs
Letters of credit: why documents get rejected
Banks pay against documents, not against cargo. A perfect shipment with an imperfect document does not get paid.
Trade and customs
Demurrage vs detention: the difference that costs money
Two charges, two clocks, two places. Read them right and you stop paying for the one that was never yours.
Trade and customs
Telex release, express B/L, seaway bill: which one is on your desk
Three ways to release cargo without couriering paper, and the one that quietly removes your security.
Trade and customs
Negotiate free time before the container moves, not after the invoice
Free time is a commercial term like any other. Most people never ask, and then argue about it later at a disadvantage.
Trade and customs
Incoterms without the diagram: who pays and where risk changes hands
Eleven terms, two questions. Who arranges the transport, and where does risk transfer.
Trade and customs
Customs release: what it is and why it is not the same as cargo release
Two separate gates stand between the vessel and your warehouse. Clearing one does not open the other.
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