Shipping marks: the labels that keep consolidated cargo apart

Shipping marks predate every system in this industry and still do a job none of them replaced.

What goes on them

Consignee name or an agreed code, destination port, package number in the sequence, gross weight and dimensions, and any handling symbols such as fragile or this way up. Printed large enough to read across a warehouse.

Why LCL depends on them

In a full container everything inside belongs to you, so a mislabelled carton is an inconvenience. In LCL, your pallets sit next to cargo from four other shippers and are separated at destination by a warehouse worker reading the outside of the boxes.

If your marks are unclear, faded or in a language nobody at that warehouse reads, your cargo goes to the wrong deconsolidation lane. Finding it again takes days and sometimes never fully succeeds.

Matching the documents

The marks printed on the cartons must match the marks listed on the packing list, character for character. A mismatch means customs cannot reconcile the physical cargo with the declaration, and it turns a routine examination into a long one.

Check this before the container is sealed. Afterwards you are relying on someone at the destination to interpret the discrepancy in your favour.