Customs status granted to companies with an exemplary compliance record. Benefits include reduced inspections, priority clearance, and mutual recognition between countries.

Economic integration bloc of 13 LATAM countries. Administers tariff preferences and bilateral trade agreements.

International customs document for duty-free temporary import (samples, professional equipment, exhibitions). Valid for up to 1 year.

Air transport document issued by the airline or consolidator. Acts as a receipt and contract of carriage. Unlike the ocean BL, it is NOT a document of title (not negotiable).

Fuel surcharge on ocean freight. Offsets bunker fuel price swings. Charged as a % or fixed amount per container.

Ocean transport document issued by the carrier or NVOCC. Serves three roles: cargo receipt, contract of carriage, and document of title (negotiable, transfers ownership).

Space reservation on a vessel or cargo flight. Assigns booking number, vessel, voyage, and cut-off.

General cargo that is NOT containerized — handled piece by piece (vehicles, heavy machinery, bags, coils). Requires specialized vessels.

Loose cargo carried without packaging (grain, minerals, liquids). Bulk carrier for dry, tanker for liquid.

Currency surcharge on ocean freight. Offsets USD swings against the carrier's local currency.

Economic bloc made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Operates an internal free-trade area (NANDINA as the common tariff).

Warehouse where LCL containers are stuffed or stripped. Typically inside or near the port.

Party to whom the goods are delivered at destination. Shown on the BL as the cargo owner on arrival. NOT necessarily the buyer.

Grouping multiple LCL shipments into a single container to optimize freight. Done by a consolidator (NVOCC or forwarder).

Certifies the country of origin of the goods. Required to claim tariff preferences under FTAs (CAN, MERCOSUR, USMCA, ALADI).

Deadline to deliver the container at the terminal before vessel departure. After cut-off, the carrier no longer guarantees loading on the booked vessel.

Container yard inside the port terminal. Drop-off point for the FCL at origin and pickup point at destination.

Customs document used in several LATAM countries (Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia with variants) to declare imports/exports. Equivalent to the European SAD.

Charge for keeping the container INSIDE the port terminal beyond the free time after arrival. Billed by the carrier.

Charge for keeping the container OUTSIDE the terminal (at the consignee's premises) beyond the free time. Different from demurrage.

Formal shipper declaration for hazardous shipments (IMDG by sea / IATA-DGR by air). Signatory must be certified.

Colombia's customs and tax authority. Administers SIIA (Integrated Customs Information System).

Short-distance road transport between port/terminal and warehouse or CFS. Typically by truck.

Main customs clearance document in Peru and Ecuador — declares cargo, value, origin, and regime to SUNAT/SENAE.

Estimated date and time of arrival at destination port/airport. Subject to operational delays.

Estimated date and time of departure from origin port/airport.

Mode without issuing a paper original BL. The carrier releases the cargo to the consignee without paper presentation — confirmed via a shipper 'telex release'.

Mode where a single shipper fills a complete container (20', 40', 40HC, 45HC). Charged per container, not by volume.

Small vessel that moves cargo between a main hub (like Manzanillo or Cartagena) and secondary LATAM ports. Provides coverage without the mother vessel calling each port.

Measurement unit equal to one 40' container. 1 FEU = 2 TEU. Used to size vessel capacity and traffic volume.

Container without side walls or roof, only a reinforced floor. For oversized cargo (over-height or over-width) that doesn't fit in a standard box.

Logistics operator that arranges international transport on behalf of the shipper or consignee. Doesn't move the cargo directly — books carriers, airlines, and trucking.

Free days the carrier grants for container use without demurrage or detention. Typically 3–7 days in LATAM, negotiable by volume.

Collect = freight billed to the consignee at destination. Prepaid = shipper pays at origin. Defines who pays the carrier.

Industry-wide ocean freight rate increase applied by carriers, typically at the start of each quarter. Announced 30 days ahead.

AWB issued by the forwarder or consolidator to the individual shipper. Acts as receipt and contract within an air consolidation.

BL issued by the forwarder or NVOCC to the individual shipper. Coexists with an MBL issued by the carrier to the NVOCC in a consolidated move.

Container with taller internal height (2.698 m vs. 2.393 m for standard). Available in 40' and 45'. Adds ~13% cubic capacity.

WCO harmonized tariff coding system. 6 universal digits; each country adds 2–4 extra digits (NANDINA in CAN, NCM in MERCOSUR, NALADISA in ALADI).

Airline association regulating air cargo transport, including dangerous goods (IATA-DGR) and airport codes.

International code for maritime transport of hazardous goods. Defines the 9 classes, labeling, segregation, and declaration.

UN agency for maritime affairs. Issues regulations (SOLAS, MARPOL, IMDG) and assigns unique IMO numbers to vessels and dangerous goods.

Filing required by US CBP: 10 importer data fields + 2 carrier fields. Must be filed 24h before loading at origin. USD 5,000 penalty for non-filing.

Security surcharge under the ISPS code post-9/11. Applies to every international ocean shipment as a fixed amount per container or BL.

Latin America region. In international logistics, typically Mexico plus Central and South America as a trade area. Gloval Shipping operates its own offices in USA, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru.

Mode where multiple shippers share the same container. Freight charged by volume (CBM) or weight, whichever is greater. Slightly longer transit due to consolidation / deconsolidation.

5-character code identifying ports, airports, and terminals (2 country + 3 location). e.g. ECGYE = Ecuador / Guayaquil. Maintained by UNECE.

Official list of all cargo on board a vessel or flight. Filed by the operator with customs before arrival. In LATAM transmitted electronically (SIIA, ECUAPASS).

AWB issued by the airline to the consolidator (forwarder/NVOCC). In air consolidations, coexists with HAWBs the consolidator issues to its clients.

BL issued by the carrier to the NVOCC or forwarder. In consolidated moves, coexists with HBLs issued by the NVOCC to each shipper.

Southern Common Market — bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay (+ Bolivia and Venezuela suspended). Uses the NCM tariff with an internal free-trade area.

Combination of two or more modes (sea + road + air) under a single contract and BL. e.g. vessel to Los Angeles → truck to Miami → flight to Quito.

8-digit tariff system used in ALADI for preferences between member countries. Identifies products benefiting from trade agreements.

10-digit tariff system used by the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). 6 HS digits + 4 Andean digits.

8-digit tariff system used by MERCOSUR. Built on the international HS + 2 own digits. Equivalent to CAN's NANDINA.

Operator that acts as a carrier (issues its own BL) without owning vessels. Buys space from actual carriers and resells to its clients.

Paper BL signed by the carrier, the only document of title that must be presented to release the cargo. Typically issued in a set of 3 originals.

Cargo exceeding standard container dimensions. Requires flat rack, open top, or break-bulk. Higher rates and operating restrictions.

Container without a roof (covered by tarp). For over-height cargo that won't fit through the regular door — loaded from above by crane.

Detail of the shipment's packages: quantity, dimensions, gross/net weight, marks and numbers. Accompanies the commercial invoice.

Mexico's main customs document for import, export, transit, and virtual regimes. Equivalent to the Andean DUA.

POD has two meanings: (1) Port of Discharge = port where vessel discharges. (2) Proof of Delivery = signed receipt of final delivery to the consignee.

Port where cargo is loaded on board the vessel to start the main carriage.

Surcharge applied by carriers during high-demand seasons (typically Q3-Q4 on the Asia → USA/LATAM trade). Announced in advance.

Refrigerated container with its own cooling system. For temperature-controlled cargo (food, pharma, flowers). Available in 20' and 40' HC.

Mode for self-propelled vehicles and machinery — cargo rolls on/off the vessel under its own power. Specialized vessels with built-in ramps.

Ecuador's customs authority. Administers ECUAPASS for electronic operations. Its DUA equivalent is the Declaración Aduanera de Importación.

Party sending the cargo. Books transport and is named as such on the BL/AWB. Usually the same as the seller.

Letter from the shipper to the forwarder with detailed instructions: incoterm, consignee/notify data, routing, mode, BL type, contracted services.

Process of unloading an LCL container at the destination CFS and separating cargo by consignee. The opposite of stuffing.

Process of loading a container — from loose pieces at the CFS (LCL) or from the customer's warehouse (FCL).

Peru's customs and tax authority. Administers the Peruvian DUA and customs regimes.

Standard unit for vessel capacity and port volume. 1 TEU = 1 × 20' container. A 40' = 2 TEU.

Charges for handling the container at the port terminal (loading, discharge, moves). Origin THC and destination THC may be included in the freight or billed separately.

Single BL covering the entire journey including transhipments and/or multimodal legs. One paper from origin → final destination.

Switch of vessel during transit at a hub port (e.g. Manzanillo Panama, Cartagena). Connects ports the mother vessel doesn't call directly.

Unique 4-digit identifier for dangerous goods (UN0001 to UN3559). Assigned by the UN. Drives IMDG class, packing group, and proper shipping name.

Verified gross mass of the loaded container. Mandatory under SOLAS since 2016 — must be declared before loading or the container won't board. Calculated by weighing or via method 2 (sum of individual weights).

Vessel voyage number. Identifies a specific sailing (e.g. MAERSK SEMARANG voy. 447S). Important for tracking and bookings.

The largest free trade zone in the western hemisphere, located in Colón, Panama. Redistribution hub for LATAM and the Caribbean.

Special customs territory where cargo is stored, transformed, or re-exported without paying duties. Panama: ZLC (Colón); other countries have industrial and commercial Free Zones.