Acronyms

Comman Term	Full Form	Meaning
IMO	International Maritime Organization (Mandate)	Under IMO 2020 regulations, starting 1 Jan 2020, the sulfur content in marine fuels will be capped at 0.5%, down from the current 3.5%.
ELD	Electronic Logging Device	The ELD mandate is US regulation requiring drivers of commercial motor vehicles to log their hours of service electronically.
SOLAS	Safety of Life at Sea	An international maritime treaty that sets basic measures for the safe construction, equipment, and operation of merchant vessels.
VGM	Verified Gross Mass	The total gross weight of a shipping container (including dunnage, bracing, and tare). Under SOLAS, shippers are required to declare the VGM of their shipping containers.
P2P	Port to Port	In port-to-port shipping, cargo is shipped from the port of origin to the port of destination. This excludes transportation services before and after loading.
D2D	Door to Door	In door-to-door shipping, cargo is shipped from the indicated pick-up location at origin (eg. seller’s warehouse) to the indicated drop-off location (eg. buyer’s warehouse) at destination.
FCL	Full Container Load	A container shipment that utilizes an entire container. Merchandise shipped under FCL does not share container space with other merchandise.
LCL	Less than Container Load	Also known as groupage or a shared container, LCL shipments are shipped alongside other cargo in one single shipping container.
LTL	Less than Trucking Load	Similar to LCL but for land transportation. Various LTL cargoes are grouped and transported together to lower transportation costs.
TEU	Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit	A unit of measurement in maritime transport that is equivalent to the capacity of a 20-foot container.
ETD	Estimated Time of Departure	The day an international shipment is estimated to depart the port of origin and begin its maritime transit.
ETA	Estimated Time of Arrival	The day an international shipment is estimated to arrive at the port of destination.
POL	Port of Loading	The port of origin from which the container is first loaded onto the vessel.
POD	Port of Discharge	The port of destination where the container is unloaded from the vessel and picked up by the consignee.
GRI	General Rate Increase	Also known as GRR (General Rate Restoration), a GRI is an increase in maritime freight rates applied by shipping lines when prices are low.
GRI	General Rate Increase	Also known as GRR (General Rate Restoration), a GRI is an increase in maritime freight rates applied by shipping lines when prices are low.
BL	Bill of Lading	The Bill of Lading is a document that serves as evidence of a contract of carriage between the shipper and carrier.
ISF	Importer Security Filing	A regulation that requires maritime cargo imported into the US to be declared 72 hours before vessel departure. Importer, exporter, and cargo information must be included.
EEI	Electronic Export Information	Electronic declaration of goods valued at above $2,500 that are exported from the US. Formerly known as the SED (Shipper’s Export Declaration).
HS	Harmonized System	HS codes are six-digit codes that classify goods according to their nature to determine the amount of taxes and duties that need to be paid.
HTS	Harmonized Tariff System	Seven- to ten-digit codes that classify products into more specific categories than HS codes.

Common Term	Abbreviation
3PL	3rd Party Logistics
4PL	4th Party Logistics
4SC	4-High Straddle Carrier
AMS	Automated Manifest System
API	Application Programming Interface
AS/RS	Automated Storage and Retrieval System
AWB	Air Waybill
B2B	Business to Business
B2B	Business to Customer
BAF	Bunker Adjustment Factor
B/B	Break Bulk
BCO	Beneficial Cargo Owner
BIMCO	The Baltic and International Maritime Council
B/L	Bill of Lading
BPO	Business Process Outsourcing
CAF	Currency Adjustment Factor
CBM	Cubic Metre
CC	Carbon Copy
CDMA	Code Division Multiple Access
CEP	Courier, Express, Parcel
CEPA	Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement
C&F	Cost and Freight
CFS	Container Freight Station
CGI	Common Gateway Interface
CIF	Cost,Insurance and Freight
CILT	The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport
CIM	The Chartered Institute of Marketing
CIP	Carriage and Insurance Paid To
CLP	Container Load Plan
C/O	Certificate of Origin
C.O.C.	Carrier’s Own Container
C.O.D.	Cash On Delivery
COFC	Container-on-flatcar
CPT	Carriage Paid To
CSC	International Convention for Safe Container
CSI	Container Securtiy Intiative
CY	Container Yard
D/A	Document Against Acceptance
DAF	Delivered at Frontier
DDC	Destination Delivery Charge
DDU	Delivered Duty Unpaid
DDP	Delivered Duty Paid
DDU	Delivered Duty Unpaid
DEQ	Delivered Ex-Quay
DES	Delivered Ex-Ship
D.G.	Dangerous Goods
D/O	Delivery Order
D/P	Document Against Payment
DPP	Damage Protection Plan
D/R	Dock Receipt
DRP	Distribution Resources Planning
EDI	Electronic Data Interchange
E & O E	Errors and Omissions Excepted
ERM	Enterprise Resources Management
ERP	Enterprise Resources Planning
ETA	Estimated Time of Arrival
ETD	Estimated Time of Departure
EXW	Ex-Works
EXW	Ex-Works
FAF	Fuel Adjustment Factor
FAK	Freight All Kinds
FAK	Freight All Kinds
FAS	Free Alongside Ship
FAS	Free Alongside Ship
FB/L	FIATA Combined Transport Bill of Lading
FCL	Full Container Load
FCR	Forwarder’s Cargo Receipt
FEU	Forty Feet Equivalent Unit
FEU	Forty Feet Equivalent Unit
F.I.	Free In
FIATA	International Federation of Forwarding Agent Associations
FIFO	First-in, First-out
F.I.O.	Free In and Out
FIOST	Free In, Out, Stowed & Trimmed
FMC	Federal Maritime Commission
F.O.	Free Out
FOB	Free On Board
F.O.R.	Free On Rail
F.O.T.	Free On Truck
F/R	Flat Rack Container
FRC	Flat Rack Container
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
FTZ	Free Trade Zones
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
GRI	General Rate Increase
GSA	General Sales Agent
GSC	Global Supply Chain
G.WT	Gross Weight
HAFFA	HAFFAHong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics Ltd.
HAWB	House Air Waybill
H/H	Half Height Container
IADA	Intra Asia Discussion Agreement
I.A. Rates	Independent Action Rates
IATA	International Air Transport Association
IBC	Intermediate Bulk Container
ICAO	International Civil Aviation Organization
ICC	International Chamber of Commerce
ICT	Information and Communications Technology
IMDG	International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code
IMO	International Maritime Organization
Incoterms	International Commercial Terms
IP	Internet Protocol
IP	Internet Protocol
IPI	Interior Point Intermodal
IRA	Informal Rate Agreement
ISDN	Integrated Server Digital Network
ISDN	Integrated Server Digital Network
ISO	International Standard Organization
ISP	Internet Service Provider
ISPS	International Ship and Port Facility Security
LAN	Local Area Networking
LASH	Ligther Aboard Ship
L/C	Letter of Credit
LCL	Less (than) Container Load
L/G	Letter of Guarantee
L.I.	Liner Inward
LILO	Last-In, Last-Out
L.I.O.	Liner In and Out
LNG	Liquefied Natural Gas
L.O.A.	Length Overall
Lo-Lo ship	Lift-on Lift-off Ship
LPG	Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LT	(Lead Time) Time between placing and receiving an order
LTL	Less-Than-Truckload
MAWB	Master Air Waybill
MLO	Main Line Operators
MRP	Material Requirements Planning
M/S	Motor Ship
MSDS	Material Safety Data Sheet
MTO	Multimode Transport Operator
N/A	Not Applicable/Not Available
NAP	Network Access Point
NAP	Network Access Point
N.O.E.	Not Otherwise Enumerated
N.O.S.	Not Otherwise Specified
NVOCC	Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier
OCP	Overland Common Point
OEM	Original Equipment Manufacturer
O/H	Over Height
ORC	Origin Receiving Charge
O/S	Open Side Container
O/T	Open Top Containerr
O/W	Over Width
PCS	Port Congestion Surcharge
P & I Club	Protection and Indemnity Club
POD	Port of Discharge
POL	Port of Loading
POP	Point of Presence
PPP	Point-to-Point Protocol
PRD	Pearl River Delta
PSS	Peak Season Surcharge
RF	Reefer Container
RFP	Request for Proposal
RFQ	Request for Quotation
RFRC	Rail Fuel Recovery Charge
Ro-Ro ship	Roll-on Roll-off Ship
RRS	Rate Restoration Surcharge
R/T	Revenue Tons
SAN	Storage Area Network
SET	Secure Electronic Transaction
SKU	Stock Keeping Unit
SME	Small and Medium-size Enterprises
SME	Small and Medium-size Enterprises
S/O / S/I	Shipping Order / Shipping Instruction
S.O.C.	Shipper’s Own Container
SQL	Structure Query Language
S/S	Steamship
SSL	Secure Socket Layer
S.T.C.	Said To Contain
TACA	Transatlantic Conference Agreement
TCP	Transmission Control Protocol
TEU	Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit
T.H.C.	Terminal Handling Charge
TMS	Transportation Management System
TOFC	Trailer-On-Flatcarm
TQC	Total Quality Control
TQM	Total Quality Management
T.R.S.	Terminal Receiving Station
TSA	Transpacific Stabilization Agreement
TT	Telegraphic Transfer
TVC	Time Volume Contract
TWRA	Transpacific Westbound Rate Agreement
UCP500	Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits
ULCC	Ultra Large Crude Carrier
UNCTAD	United Nations Conference of Trade and Development
V.A.T.	Very Large Crude Carrier
VLCC	Value Added Tax
VMI	Value Added Tax
VOC	Value Added Tax
V.O.W.	Vehicle On Wheel
VPN	Virtual Private Network
VSL	Vessel
WAP	Wireless Application Protocol
WCS	Wireless Communications Service
WMS	Warehouse Management System
W.R.	War Risks
WTO	World Trade Organization
W.W.	Warehouse Warrant

Even though basic, it’s extremely important to fully understand these terms and how they apply to your shipment. Familiarize yourself with them right from the beginning so you get accustomed to seeing and hearing about them throughout your shipping process.