Container transport - Technical terms and abbreviations
B.A.F. | Bunker adjustment factor (compensation for changing fuel costs).
B/L | Bill of Lading (transport document, showing the sea transport from the place of departure to the place of destination).
C.A.F. | Currency adjustment factor (to compensate for exchange rate fluctuations of different currencies).
C.F.S. Container freight station (warehouse where consolidated containers are loaded or unloaded)
Conference Line | Shipping companies that are members of a conference.
C.Y. | (Container Yard) Place where loaded containers are delivered for shipment or onward carriage.
C/S | Congestion surcharge (surcharge for waiting times in ports).
C.S.C. | Container service charge (rental charges for containers in Europe).
DEMURRAG | Container rental if the container is not taken over in the port within a fixed time.
DETENTION | Container rental, if empty container is not returned in time.
E.C.B. | Express Cargo Bill of Lading (pure freight document, no bearer document).
E.T.A. | Estimated time of arrival (scheduled ship arrival).
E.T.D. | Estimated time of departure (scheduled ship departure).
F.C.L. | Full container load.
FCL/FCL | Full container service from door to door.
FEU | Fourty foot equivalent unit (40' container unit).
FCL/LCL | Shipments from one sender for several recipients in one container.
L.C.L. | Less than container load.
LCL/LCL | Partial shipments which are combined into a container at the container freight station and divided again at the destination.
LCL/FCL | Shipments of several senders for one recipient in a container.
M.V. | Motor Vessel (ocean-going vessel).
M.S. | Motor Ship (ocean-going vessel).
Non Conference Line | (Outsider) Shipping companies which are not members of a conference.
Non-Negot-Bill of Lading | Unsigned B/L copies, which are not considered original and therefore do not allow any right of disposal.
Notify | Additional address to be notified.
P.O.L. | Port of loading.
P.O.D. | Port of discharge.
Stripping | Container unloading.
Stuffing | Container loading.
T.A.A. | Trans Atlantic Agreement (Conference on Trans Atlantic Service).
T-B/L | Through Bill of Lading.
TEU | Twenty foot equivalent unit (20' container unit)
T.H.C. | Terminal handling charge (Handling charges for containers.)
T/T | transit time (transit time).
W/M | Weight or Measurement (charging of sea freight based on tonnes or cubic metres, whichever is higher).