If modern-day ‘text speak’ leaves you googling SMH or IYKYK (IKR?!), then spare a thought for those of us working in the shipping industry, who can often feel like we’re speaking and translating another language when explaining to a client why the ETD is different to the ATD, and why their TEU is going to end up sitting in a CY unless they have correct POD documentation.
Scratching your head? We get it.
The recent implementation of US tariffs has thrown a fresh spotlight on the global shipping industry and terms such as blank sailing, port omission and transshipment, to highlight just a few.
So, what does it all mean, and do you need to be able to ‘speak’ shipping to successfully get your goods to their final destination?
As always, we recommend engaging an industry expert to provide valuable assistance when importing or exporting – which includes explaining the various abbreviations, acronyms and commonly used terms.
However, we also believe in empowering our clients and the general public to gain a better understanding of the shipping industry, such as being able to decipher some of the language used.
These are some of the more common terms you might hear used, particularly in the current global environment;
- Blank Sailing: A scheduled sailing that is cancelled by the carrier or shipping line. Reasons for a blank sailing are varied, but it is often due to low demand, delays in the supply chain, or as a strategic move to manage capacity and freight rates.
- Slow Steaming: A deliberate slowing of vessels on their route, which can assist with reducing costs and fuel, and balancing out supply and demand.
- Transshipment Rolling: Shipped cargo is sometimes required to transfer from one vessel to another, however if a container is unable to make it to the next vessel (maybe there’s no space, there’s a delay or the ship has already left) it gets ‘rolled’ to the next available. Think of it like missing a connecting flight at the airport (which can also happen to air cargo!)
- Port Omission: As the name suggests, this occurs when a shipping line skips a scheduled port stop either to avoid delays, make up lost time, or due to capacity constraints.
- INCOTERM: Without going too deeply into this one (because that’s an entirely separate article!) International Commercial Terms (INCOTERM) are essentially the rules used by buyers and sellers to agree on which party is responsible for which part of the shipping process.
Our industry also loves an acronym, so here are some of the key ones;
- B/L– Bill of Lading
- ETA– Estimated Time of Arrival
- ETD– Estimated Time of Departure
- ATD – Actual Time of Departure
- ATA – Actual time of Arrival
- LCL– Less than Container Load
- FCL– Full Container Load
- TEU– Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit
- POD– Port of Discharge or Proof of Delivery
- POL– Port of Loading
- CY– Container Yard
- CFS– Container Freight Station
- 3PL– Third party Logistics
- SOC– Shipper Owned container
- FTL– Full Truck Load
- LTL– Less Than Truckload
- MSDS– Material Safety Data Sheet
- VGM– Verified Gross Mass
While we might know these like the back of our hand, you absolutely don’t need to speak the language to be able to import or export goods successfully. But, like being able to get from the airport to the hotel on your overseas holiday, having a basic understanding helps.
With the implementation of various US trade tariffs forcing companies to consider new supply chains, potential markets and alternative routes, it’s worth paying attention to the key words used and understanding how they might impact your business contracts.
After all, you don’t want to book an LTL delivery when you’ve got an FTL with an ETA that doesn’t match the ATA. You might just end up saying WTF?! (where’s the freight, of course).
