# Freight & customs glossary

> 129 international freight and Mexican trade terms, in plain words.

Source: https://www.freightspot.com/en/resources/glossary · Publisher: FreightSpot

## A

- **Abandoned cargo** (Customs): Legal status of cargo that overstays its allowed time at the bonded facility without clearing customs: ownership passes to the Mexican treasury.
- **AEO (Authorized Economic Operator)** (Customs): Supply-chain security certification (OEA in Mexico) that grants customs facilitation benefits.
- **All-in rate** (Costs): A rate that bundles freight and surcharges into a single price — no surprise charges.
- **AMS (Automated Manifest System)** (Documents): Advance electronic manifest filing required by the U.S. for cargo entering or transiting its territory.
- **Anti-dumping duty (cuota compensatoria)** (Customs): Surtax on goods imported at dumped prices, set by country and product.
- **Automatic import notice (aviso automático)** (Customs): Prior import permit that applies to certain sensitive goods (e.g. steel) as a non-tariff requirement in Mexico.
- **AWB (Air Waybill)** (Documents): The transport document for air cargo. Unlike a BL, it is not a document of title.

## B

- **BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor)** (Costs): Ocean freight surcharge that adjusts for the vessel’s fuel price.
- **Bill of Lading (BL)** (Documents): Ocean transport contract, cargo receipt and document of title, all in one. Without it the cargo is not released.
- **BL revalidation (revalidación)** (Documents): Endorsement by the carrier or its agent authorizing release of the container to the importer at the Mexican port.
- **Bonded facility (recinto fiscalizado)** (Customs): Authorized facility where goods remain in customs custody until cleared.
- **Bonded warehouse (depósito fiscal)** (Customs): Regime that stores foreign goods in an authorized warehouse, deferring duties and taxes until withdrawal.
- **Booking** (Transport): Space reservation with the ocean carrier or airline for a specific shipment.
- **Break bulk** (Transport): General cargo shipped loose rather than containerized: sacks, drums, machinery.

## C

- **Cabotage** (Transport): Freight moved between two points in the same country, generally reserved for domestic carriers.
- **Cargo handling (maniobras)** (Costs): Physical moves of the cargo — loading, unloading, positioning — and their cost.
- **Cargo insurance** (Costs): Coverage against damage or loss in transit; carrier liability is limited, insurance fills the gap.
- **Cargo manifest** (Documents): List of all cargo aboard a vessel, aircraft or truck, filed with the authorities.
- **Carrier** (Transport): Who physically moves the cargo: the ocean line, airline or trucking company.
- **Carta Porte (Mexico’s e-waybill)** (Documents): Document (a CFDI tax supplement in Mexico) that must accompany goods moving by road.
- **CBM (cubic meter)** (Costs): Standard unit for quoting LCL and calculating volume: length × width × height in meters.
- **Certificate of origin** (Documents): Proves the country of origin to claim preferential duties under agreements like USMCA.
- **CFS (Container Freight Station)** (Operations): Facility where LCL cargo is consolidated and deconsolidated before or after the ocean leg.
- **Chargeable weight** (Costs): The greater of actual and volumetric weight: what air freight (and LCL under W/M) is billed on.
- **Chassis** (Transport): Wheeled frame the container is mounted on for road drayage.
- **Commercial invoice** (Documents): The international sale document; the basis for determining customs value.
- **Consignee** (Documents): Person or company in whose name the cargo travels, entitled to receive it at destination.
- **Consolidated cargo** (Transport): Freight from several shippers grouped in one transport unit to share costs. See LCL.
- **Consolidation** (Operations): Grouping cargo from several shippers into a single transport unit to cut costs.
- **COVE (electronic value voucher)** (Documents): Electronic transmission of the invoice through Mexico’s trade single window; generates the acknowledgment required on the customs entry.
- **Cross-docking** (Operations): Transferring goods from one transport to another without storing them, cutting warehouse time and cost.
- **Customs** (Customs): The authority and checkpoint where goods enter or leave the country, duties are paid and regulations are verified.
- **Customs broker (agente aduanal)** (Customs): Licensed professional who files customs entries with Mexican customs on behalf of the importer or exporter.
- **Customs broker license (patente aduanal)** (Customs): Government authorization that lets a customs broker clear goods through Mexican customs.
- **Customs clearance** (Customs): The set of steps and formalities for goods to legally enter or leave the country.
- **Customs exam (aforo)** (Customs): Physical or documentary inspection by customs to verify the goods match what was declared.
- **Customs value** (Customs): The base for import taxes: the value of the goods plus additions like freight and insurance.
- **Cut-off** (Operations): Deadline to deliver cargo or documents in time to make a given vessel or flight.

## H

- **Hazmat (dangerous goods)** (Operations): Cargo classified by risk (flammable, corrosive, toxic…) requiring special packaging, documentation and stowage under the IMDG/IATA codes.
- **Handling charges** (Costs): Charges for moving and handling cargo at terminals, airports or warehouses.
- **HS code (Harmonized System)** (Customs): WCO nomenclature that standardizes goods classification worldwide; the basis of Mexico’s tariff schedule.
- **HBL (House Bill of Lading)** (Documents): BL issued by the forwarder to the customer; runs in parallel with the carrier’s Master BL.
- **Hub** (Transport): Concentrating port or airport where a network’s cargo flows cross and redistribute.

## D

- **Deconsolidation** (Operations): Splitting grouped cargo at destination to deliver each shipper’s freight individually.
- **Definitive import** (Customs): Regime where goods enter Mexico to stay, paying all applicable duties and taxes.
- **Demurrage** (Costs): Carrier charge for keeping the container inside the terminal beyond the agreed free days.
- **Detention** (Costs): Charge for keeping the container outside the terminal (at your warehouse) beyond the free days.
- **DODA (customs presentation QR)** (Documents): QR-coded document used to present goods to Mexican customs at clearance.
- **Door to door** (Transport): End-to-end service from your supplier’s warehouse to yours, with one party responsible for the whole chain.
- **Draft BL** (Documents): The BL draft reviewed and corrected before final issue. Checking it avoids costly corrections at destination.
- **Duty drawback** (Customs): Refund of duties paid on imported inputs that are later exported in a finished product.
- **Drayage** (Transport): Short-haul container trucking, typically between the port or rail terminal and the warehouse.
- **Dumping** (Customs): Selling goods abroad below their normal value; countered with antidumping duties.
- **Duty (arancel)** (Customs): Tax on importing (or exporting) goods; in Mexico, the IGI set by the tariff code.

## E

- **EIR (Equipment Interchange Receipt)** (Documents): Receipt documenting the container’s physical condition as it enters or leaves the terminal.
- **ETA** (Operations): Estimated Time of Arrival: when the shipment is expected at destination.
- **ETD** (Operations): Estimated Time of Departure: when the shipment is expected to leave origin.

## F

- **FCL (Full Container Load)** (Transport): A full container for a single shipper. Pays off from ~15 m³, or when the cargo shouldn’t share space.
- **Feeder vessel** (Transport): Smaller ship connecting regional ports with the hubs where mainline vessels call.
- **Final mile** (Operations): The last leg of delivery, from the final hub to the destination point.
- **Free days (free time)** (Costs): No-cost period granted by the carrier and terminal to use the container and pick it up before demurrage or storage kicks in.
- **Freight** (Costs): The price of moving the goods; the main component of international logistics cost.
- **Freight forwarder** (Transport): Company that arranges international transportation with ocean carriers, airlines and truckers, coordinating the chain door to door.
- **FTL (Full Truckload)** (Transport): A dedicated truck for a single shipper, door to door.

## G

- **Gate in / gate out** (Operations): Record of the container entering and leaving the port terminal.
- **General cargo** (Transport): Goods that need no special temperature or handling and travel in standard equipment.
- **GRI (General Rate Increase)** (Costs): Across-the-board rate increases announced by carriers, typically at the start of the month.
- **Gross / net weight** (Operations): Gross: goods plus packaging. Net: the goods alone. Both are declared on the documents.

## I

- **IGI (Mexico’s import duty)** (Customs): The general import duty, paid according to the tariff code and the origin of the goods.
- **IMMEX** (Customs): Mexican program that lets manufacturers temporarily import inputs duty-free to produce and export.
- **Import VAT (IVA)** (Customs): The 16% paid on import, calculated on customs value plus duty and fees. Usually creditable for companies.
- **Importers registry (padrón de importadores)** (Customs): Mandatory tax-authority registry to import into Mexico; sector registries apply to sensitive goods.
- **Incoterms** (Documents): ICC rules that define which costs and risks each party assumes in an international sale. See our complete guide.
- **Intermodal** (Transport): Transport combining modes (vessel + rail + truck) moving the same container without touching the cargo.
- **ISF (Importer Security Filing)** (Documents): The “10+2” advance data filing required by the U.S. for ocean shipments bound for that country.

## J

- **Just in time** (Operations): Inventory strategy that receives inputs exactly when needed, running on high-precision logistics.

## L

- **LCL (Less than Container Load)** (Transport): Consolidated ocean freight: your cargo shares a container with other importers and you pay only for the space you use.
- **Lead time** (Operations): Total time from placing an order to receiving it; international transit is one of its components.
- **LTL (Less than Truckload)** (Transport): Consolidated trucking: you share the truck with other shipments and pay for the space you use.

## M

- **MBL (Master Bill of Lading)** (Documents): BL issued by the ocean carrier to the forwarder; covers the container with the line. See HBL.
- **MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)** (Documents): Sheet with a substance’s properties and risks; required to transport dangerous goods.
- **Multimodal** (Transport): Transport under a single contract combining several modes; the operator is responsible for the entire chain.

## N

- **NICO (commercial identification number)** (Customs): Additional digits after Mexico’s tariff code that pinpoint the goods description.
- **NOM (Mexican product standard)** (Customs): Official Mexican Standards: technical and labeling requirements that apply to many imported products.
- **NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier)** (Transport): Ocean carrier that issues its own BL without operating vessels.
- **Non-tariff regulations (RRNAs)** (Customs): Permits, NOMs, notices or certificates certain goods must meet in Mexico beyond the duty itself.

## O

- **Ocean carrier** (Transport): Company that owns or operates the vessels moving the containers (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM…).
- **Open top** (Transport): Container with a tarp instead of a rigid roof, for tall cargo loaded from above by crane.
- **Out-of-gauge cargo (OOG)** (Transport): Cargo exceeding standard container dimensions; moves in open top, flat rack or as project cargo.
- **Origin inspection (previo)** (Operations): Inspecting the goods before they ship: quantities, packaging and labeling verified to avoid surprises at destination.

## P

- **Package (bulto)** (Operations): Each physical unit of cargo (box, pallet, bundle) declared on the transport documents.
- **Packaging** (Operations): Physical protection of the goods for transport: boxes, pallets, strapping, corner boards.
- **Packing list** (Documents): Detail of packages, weights and dimensions for each shipment.
- **Pallet** (Operations): Platform cargo is grouped and strapped on for forklift handling; the standard American pallet is 1.0 × 1.2 m.
- **Pedimento (Mexican customs entry)** (Documents): The tax declaration filed with Mexican customs covering an import or export. The central document of any clearance.
- **POL / POD** (Transport): Port of Loading and Port of Discharge: where the cargo ships out and where it comes off.
- **Pre-validation (prevalidación)** (Customs): Electronic check of the entry data before filing with Mexican customs; carries a fixed fee per operation.
- **Prepaid / collect freight** (Costs): Whether the freight is paid at origin (prepaid) or at destination (collect).
- **Project cargo** (Transport): Oversized or heavy freight that needs custom transport engineering: machinery, structures, entire plants.
- **PROSEC** (Customs): Sector Promotion Program: preferential Mexican duties for manufacturers in specific sectors.
- **Port terminal** (Operations): Port facility where containers are loaded, unloaded and stored.

## R

- **Reefer** (Transport): Refrigerated container with temperature control for perishables and pharma.
- **Reverse logistics** (Operations): The return flow: returns, packaging and products moving backward through the chain.
- **Rolled cargo (roll-over)** (Operations): When the carrier bumps your container to the next vessel because space was overbooked.

## S

- **Seal** (Operations): Numbered seal closing the container; its integrity proves the cargo wasn’t opened in transit.
- **Shipper** (Documents): Who hands the cargo to the carrier and appears as the sender on the transport document.
- **Spot rate** (Costs): Market rate for a one-off shipment with no volume contract; rises and falls with the supply of space.
- **Storage charges** (Costs): What the bonded facility or warehouse charges for holding cargo after the free days run out.
- **Stowage** (Operations): How cargo is arranged inside the container, warehouse or vessel; good stowage maximizes space and prevents damage.
- **Straight truck (rabón)** (Transport): Two-axle Mexican rigid truck with a typical capacity of ~8 tons / 45 m³.

## T

- **Tariff classification** (Customs): Assigning goods their correct tariff code, which determines duties and regulations.
- **Tariff code (fracción arancelaria)** (Customs): Numeric classification of the goods (8 digits + NICO in Mexico) that determines applicable duties and regulations.
- **Telex release** (Documents): Electronic BL release: the cargo can be picked up at destination without presenting the paper original.
- **Temporary import** (Customs): Regime that lets goods enter for a limited time and specific purpose, without paying (or deferring) taxes.
- **TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit)** (Transport): One 20-foot container. A 40’ container is 2 TEU.
- **THC (Terminal Handling Charge)** (Costs): Port terminal charge for container moves.
- **TIGIE (Mexico’s tariff schedule)** (Customs): The Mexican catalog of tariff codes and duty rates for imports and exports.
- **Tracking** (Operations): Real-time shipment monitoring across its milestones: booking, departure, arrival, clearance, delivery.
- **Transit time** (Operations): Total travel time between the cargo’s origin and destination.
- **Transshipment** (Transport): Changing vessel (or mode) at an intermediate port before reaching destination.

## U

- **ULD (Unit Load Device)** (Transport): Standardized container or pallet used to consolidate cargo on aircraft.
- **UN number** (Operations): Four-digit code that identifies every dangerous good internationally.
- **USMCA (T-MEC)** (Customs): The Mexico–U.S.–Canada trade agreement; grants preferential duties to goods originating in the region.

## V

- **Vessel departure (zarpe)** (Transport): The ship leaving port; marks the start of the international ocean transit.
- **VGM (Verified Gross Mass)** (Documents): Verified gross weight of the container, mandatory to declare before loading (SOLAS convention).
- **Volumetric weight** (Costs): Theoretical weight based on the cargo’s volume (air: cm³ ÷ 6,000). Compared against actual weight for billing.
- **VUTCE (Mexico’s trade single window)** (Documents): The platform for foreign-trade filings and document digitization. It operationally replaced VUCEM by decree of May 4, 2026 and moved from SAT to ATDT; many still call it VUCEM.

## W

- **W/M (Weight or Measure)** (Costs): LCL billing rule: you pay the greater of weight (tons) and volume (m³).
- **WMS (Warehouse Management System)** (Operations): Software that manages inventory, locations and movements inside a warehouse.

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