Chapter 4
Delivery of Goods
Delivery Conditions
 Delivery Vs. Shipment
 Partial shipments & transshipment
 Shipment Clause
Transportation Modes
 Ocean transport
 Rail transport
 Road transport
 Air transport
 Container transport
 Multi-modal transport & land-bridge transport

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Delivery of the goods refers to
the act of the seller transferring the
title of the goods to the buyer in
accordance with the stipulations in
the contract.
Shipment means the loading of
goods.
Delivery conditions include
 the time of delivery, and in some cases
 including the time of loading and
unloading operations,
 the port of shipment,
 the port of destination,
 partial shipments and transshipment,
etc.
Time of Delivery
 The time of delivery refers to the time limit
during which the seller shall deliver the goods
to the buyer at the agreed place by the
agreed methods.
 Ways of delivery
① Physical delivery or actual delivery: the seller
delivers the goods into the actual possession
of the buyer, for example, delivery of the
goods under EXW and DES trade terms.
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② Constructive delivery or symbolic delivery: after
the seller loads the goods on board the vessel and
presents the whole qualified documents which
include certificates of title to the goods, the seller is
said to have finished delivery of the goods. It is
unnecessary for the seller to guarantee the goods to
be received by the buyer actually. In the actual
delivery contract, there are two different time limits,
one is the time of shipment, the other is the time of
delivery. In the contract under F and C group trade
terms, the time of shipment and the time of delivery
belong to the same concept while in the contract
under D terms , they are different.

Delivery vs. Shipment
Under FOB, CFR, CIF and
FCA, CPT, CIP:
Delivery = Shipment
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UCP500
Article 46. a.
Unless otherwise stipulated in the Credit, the
expression "shipment" used in stipulating an
earliest and/or a latest date for shipment will
be understood to include expressions such as,
"loading on board," "dispatch," "accepted for
carriage," "date of post receipt," "date of
pick- up," and the like, and in the case of a
credit calling for a multi-modal transport
document the expression "taking in charge."
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Delivery in a certain month
Delivery in several months
Delivery at the end of a certain
month, or before a certain date
Delivery within xx days after receipt
of L/C
Others
Delivery in a certain month
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Shipment during March 20…
Shipment during June 20…
Delivery in several months

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Shipment during Feb./Mar. 20…
Shipment during Feb./Mar./Apr. 20…
Delivery at the end of a certain
month, or before a certain date

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Shipment at or before the end of May 20…
Shipment not later than the end of June 20…
Delivery within xx days after receipt
of L/C

Shipment within 45 days after receipt of
L/C…
Others
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Shipment on certain date
e.g. Shipment on 5th March …
Prompt shipment/ Immediate shipment/
Shipment as soon as possible
Shipment under certain situations
e.g. subject to shipping space available
subject to approval of export license
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Place of Delivery
Place of delivery refers to the
prescribed place where the goods are to
be delivered to the buyer or the carrier.
A: Port of shipment
B: Port of destination

Partial shipments & Transshipment
In case of an export covering a large amount of goods, it is
necessary to make shipment in several lots by several carriers
sailing on different dates. This is done because of:

the limitation of shipping space available,
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poor unloading facilities at the port of destination,

dull market season, or

possible delay in the process of manufacturing the goods, etc.
And this is allowable only if the clause “Partial shipment to be
allowed” is agreed upon in the sales contract. If partial shipment
is not allowed, the clause “No partial shipment” or the like
should be given in the contract.
Transshipment in maritime transport is the movement
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of goods in transit from one carrier to another at the
ports of transshipment before the goods reach the
port of destination. Transshipment is necessary when:
ships going directly to the port of destination are not
available, or
the port of destination does not lie along the sailing
route of the liner,
transshipment is allowed when the sales contract has
a clause like “transshipment to be allowed”.
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Shipment Clause
Shipment during Oct./Nov./Dec.20---, with
partial shipments and transshipment allowed.
Shipment during Jan./Feb.20---in two about
equal lots.
Shipment during Jan./Feb.20---in two equal
monthly lots( in two equal monthly
shipments), transshipment to be allowed.

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During Mar./Apr. in two shipments,
transshipment is prohibited.
During Mar./Apr. in two equal monthly
shipments, to be transshipped at Hong Kong.
Shipment during May from London to
Shanghai. The sellers shall advise the Buyers
45 days before the month of shipment of the
time the goods will be ready for shipment.
Partial shipments and transshipment allowed.

Modes of Transportation
Ocean Transport (Sea Transport)
Ocean Transport is the most widely used
mode of transportation in international trade,
with advantages of easy passage, large
capacity and low cost. However, it is slow,
vulnerable to bad weather and less punctual
if compared with road or air transport.
Kinds of vessels
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General cargo vessels 杂货船
Oil tankers
Container vessels
Oil/Bulk/Ore (OBO) vessels
Ro/Ro vessels 滚装船
LASH (Lighter Aboard Ship)载驳船
Refrigerated ship 冷藏船
Timber ship 木材船
Liner transport
and charter transport
According to the ways of operation,
ocean transport can be divided into
liner transport and charter
transport. Comparatively speaking,
liner transport prove to be more
economical of international cargo
distribution.

A liner is a vessel that operates over a
regular route, stops at fixed ports
according to an advised schedule.
Its freight is relatively fixed with loading
and unloading charges included. It’s
suitable for cargo of small quantity.
The main features of liners are usually
concluded by “4+1”:
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4 FIXED: fixed line, fixed ports, fixed
sailing schedule and comparatively fixed
freight
1 RESPONSIBLE: The carrier is
responsible for loading and unloading
operations, i.e. , gross terms.
A tramp is a freight-carrying vessel
which has no regular route or
schedule of sailings. It is first in
one trade and then in another,
always seeking those ports where
there is a demand at the moment
for shipping space.
The shipper charters the ship from
the ship owner and uses it to carry
the goods. It falls into 3 kinds:
 Voyage charter/ Trip charter
 Time charter
 Bare boat charter/ Demise
charter

Voyage charter: It includes single trip
charter, return trip charter and consecutive
voyages. According to the route stipulating in
the charter party , the ship owner is
responsible for delivering the goods to the
port of destination and for managing the ship
as well as bearing all expenses.
Voyage charter is used the most
frequently, it is suitable for big lot of
bulk goods, such as ore, grants, oil and
chemical materials.

Time charter: The charter party charters the ship
for a period of time during which the ship is deployed
and managed by the charter party. A series of work,
such as loading, unloading, stowing and trimming
and the so-caused fuel expenses, etc., should be
borne by the charter party. The ship owner should
bear the wages and board expenses of the crew and
be responsible for seaworthiness during the period of
chartering and the so-caused expenses and the
vessel insurance premium.

Demise charter: Demise charter is also
called bare boat charter, which belongs to
time charter, but there are some differences:
as to time charter, during the period of
chartering, the ship owner provides the
charter party with crew, while as to bare boat
charter, the ship owner only provides the
charter party with a bare boat, the charter
party should employ the crew himself.
Freight
Liner Freight
Voyage Charter Freight
Time Charter Rent

Liner Freight
Bulk transport
① includes the freight in the sea and
loading and unloading fees.
② is calculated according to liner’s
freight tariff.
Container transport

The basic standards for calculating freight are
stipulated as follows:
① According to gross weight, i.e.,
weight ton, which is indicated by “W” in the
tariff.
② According to volume, i.e., measurement
ton, which is indicated by “M” in the tariff.
① & ② are two forms of freight ton.
③ According to value of the cargo, i.e., a
certain percentage of FOB price which
is indicated by “A.V.” (Ad Valorem) in
the liner freight tariff.
④ According to gross weight or volume,
i.e., choosing the higher rate between
the two, which is indicated by “W/M”
in the tariff.
⑤ According to gross weight or volume or A.V.,
i.e., choosing the highest rate of the three,
which is indicated by “W/M or A.V.”
⑥ According to gross weight or volume, and
then plus a certain percentage of A.V., which
is indicated by “W/M plus A.V.”
⑦ According to the number of the cargo. E.g.,
“per head” for big animals, “per unit” for
automobiles.
⑧ According to the temporary agreement
entered into between the ship owner and the
consignor, “open rate” sometimes is decided
temporarily.
In practice, “W”, “M” and “W/M” are frequently used for
usual cargoes, while “A.V.” is used more for valuable
goods.
The main surcharges in liner freight includes:
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Bunker adjustment factor (BAF);
Heavy lift additional;
Long length surcharge;
Direct additional;
Transshipment surcharge;
Port surcharge;
Port congestion surcharge;
Optional fees;
Alternation of destination surcharge;
Deviation surcharge.

In addition to the above-mentioned
surcharges, ice surcharge, cleaning
tank surcharge, currency
adjustment factor, fumigation
surcharge etc. are sometimes
included.
Example :
A company exports 15 cartons of diesel
engines, the total gross weight is 5.65
M/T, and total volume is 10.676 m3, the
lot is shipped from Qingdao to Sultan
port, transported in H.K.. How much is
the freight?
In Goods Levels, diesel engines are in level 10,
and should be calculated with “W/M”;
According to the liner freight tariff, the
freight is USD 22 per freight ton from
Qingdao to H.K.. The transport fees in H.K.
are USD 13.
According to the liner freight tariff, the
freight is USD 95 per freight ton from H.K. to
Sultan.
Finally, it is found that Port Congestion
Surcharge would be collected in Sultan
port, and the rate is 10%.
As measure ton for the lot is 10.676
freight ton, while weight ton is 5.65
freight ton, the former one is bigger
and should be selected.
The freight per freight ton should be:
USD (22+13+95+95x10%)=USD
139.5
The total freight:
USD 139.5 X10.676=USD 1489.302
Voyage Charter Freight
① according to rate of freight
 Freight per unit
 Intaken quantity or delivered
quantity
② lump-sum freight

The freight may be stipulated in the charter
party as follows:
★Freight can be paid in advance;
★Freight can be paid after the goods have
been arrived at the port of destination;
★Part of freight is paid in advance, the rest of
which is paid after the goods have arrived at
the port of destination.

Before the charter pays off freight
and other charges, the ship owner
is entitled to refuse to deliver the
goods, this kind of right is called
lien.

There are 4 methods to be used to stipulated
the expenses of loading & unloading:
① gross terms/ liner terms/ berth terms:
The ship owner bears gross terms;
② free out, F. O.: The ship owner is free;
③ free in, F. I.: The ship owner is free;
④ free in and out, F.I.O.
④ free in and out, F.I.O.: The ship owner
is free in and out.
When adopting this method , the
interested parties should indicate who will
bear the expenses of stowing and
trimming. If they agree that the charter
party shall be responsible for them, the
interested parties shall stipulate “ ship
owner is free in and out, stowed,
trimmed( F.I.O.S.T)”.

The main terms in the charter party
include the interested parties, name of
the ship, description and quantity of the
shipments, time of chartering, freight,
loading and unloading expenses, time
limit of loading and unloading,
demurrage and dispatch money.

The time of loading and unloading will
affect the turn-over rate of the ship,
and thus, will affect the interest of the
ship owner. Therefore it is the main
clause specified in the charter party.
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Demurrage (滞期费)
During the time limit of loading and unloading,
in case the charter party does not finish the
work of loading and unloading, in order to
compensate the ship owner for his losses, the
charter party should pay certain amount of
fine for the exceeding time, this is the socalled demurrage.
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dispatch money (速遣费)
During the time limit of loading and
unloading, in case the carrier finishes
the work of loading and unloading
ahead of schedule, then the ship owner
shall pay certain amount of bonus to
the charter party, this is called the
dispatch money.

dispatch money = demurrage x ½
Shipping Documents
Shipping documents indicate that the goods
have been loaded on board the vessel or
have been delivered into the custody of the
carrier. In constructive delivery, shipping
documents are the main function for the
seller to prove that he has fulfilled the duty of
delivery, as well as for the buyer to pay the
purchase price.
Ocean Bill of lading
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the document for sea transport is called B/L, which is a receipt
from the shipping company, giving details of a particular
shipment.
The B/L drawn by the shipping company is the shipping contract
between the carrier and the consignor. The rights and
obligations of the carrier and the consignor are based on the
B/L drawn by the shipping company.
Bill of lading, means a document which evidences a contract of carriage by
sea and the taking over or loading of the goods by the carrier, and by
which the carrier undertakes to deliver the goods against surrender of the
document. A provision in the document that the goods are to be delivered
to the order of the document. A provision in the document that the goods
are to be delivered to the order of a named person, or to order, or to
bearer, constitutes such an undertaking. (Hamburg Rules)
Roles of B/L
▲receipt for goods (货物收据)
▲document of title (物权凭证)
▲evidence of the contract of
carriage
(运输合同证明)

receipt for goods
B/L is issued by the ship
owner or his agent
evidencing the receipt of the
goods mentioned in B/L.

document of title
Any lawful holder of B/L may take
the delivery of the goods from the
shipping company against B/L, or
transfer the title to the goods by
transferring the B/L from the bank
before the arrival of the shipment.
•
evidence of the contract of carriage
The rights and obligations of the two parties
are listed on the B/L.
Kinds of B/L
①
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According to whether the goods have been
loaded on board the vessel, the B/L is divided into
Shipped B/L (also called “on board B/L”) and
Received for shipment B/L （备运提单）.
An on board B/L evidences that the goods
have been loaded on board a certain steamer. In
general trade practices, only the shipped on board
B/L is accepted by banks for payment under a letter
of credit. The seller is responsible to offer on board
B/L.
A received for shipment B/L is the
evidence given by the ship owner to
indicate that the goods have been
received for shipment but have not been
actually loaded on a particular ship yet.
It is therefore uncertain whether the goods
would be shipped or loaded on board a
vessel within a short period of time.
② According to whether there are notes on the
bill of loading, it falls into two kinds: clean
B/L(清洁提单) and unclean B/L(不清洁提单).
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A clean B/L shows that the goods have been
shipped on board a vessel in apparent good
order or condition.
Unclean B/L are generally marked
“insufficiently packed”, “carton old and
stained”, “packed in damaged condition” etc.

A clean B/L is issued to the shipper when the goods
do not have any exterior defects at the port of
shipment. Actually on every B/L, there are words
“shipped in apparent good order and condition”. The
carrier will not modify this statement if the goods are
in good order, therefore making the bill of lading
clean. The carrier undertakes full liability for the
goods and will carry and deliver them in the same
good order as he received them. The carrier will be
liable if the goods are found damaged.
Not all bills of lading which are noted are
unclean bills of lading. The following kinds
are not regarded as unclean bills of lading.
▲The notes do not indicate clearly that the
goods or packing are unsatisfactory , e.g.,
“ old packing” or “ old carton” etc.
▲The purpose of the note is to emphasize that
the carrier shall not be responsible for the
risks resulting from the quality of the goods
or packing.

According to whether the B/L
is transferable, it is divided
into 3 kinds:
③
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straight B/L （记名提单）,
bearer B/L （不记名提单）,
order B/L （指示提单）.
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A straight B/L is made out so that only the
named consignee at the destination is entitled to take
delivery of the goods under the bill.
The consignee is designated the shipper. The carrier
has to hand over the cargo to the named consignee,
not to any third party in possession of the bill. This
kind bill of lading is not transferable. The shipper
cannot pass the bill to a third party by endorsement.
So the bill is of very restricted application. When the
goods are shipped on a non-commercial basis, such
as samples or exhibits, or extremely valuable
goods, a straight bill of lading is generally issued.

A bearer B/L is also called open B/L or
blank bill of lading. It refers to the bill in
which the name of a definite consignee is
not mentioned. There usually appear in the
box of consignee words like “ to bearer” and
the holder of the B/L can take delivery of the
goods against the surrender of B/L.

Open B/L is rarely used in international trade

An order bill of lading indicates that the
bill is made out to the order of any person
named in such a bill. This kind of bill may be
transferred after endorsement. When the bill
is made out “to order of shipper” it is
necessary for the shipper to endorse the bill
either in blank or in full, to the consignee to
whom he wishes the delivery of the goods is
to be made. If the shipper does not endorse
such a bill, he reserves the right to dispose of
the goods to himself. Often used in trade.
Case: Risk by 1/3 Blank B/L

A foreign trade corporation A applied to Bank B for
the issuance of a Credit in favor of C, which
stipulated that 1/3 original bill of lading made out to
order should be posted by C himself to the Applicant
within two days after the cargo is loaded. Beneficiary
C acted in accordance with that and presented the
other two copies of the original bill of lading together
with other documents under the Credit for
negotiation. The Issuing bank made payment as the
documents and the Credit were consistent with each
other, and later found, when requesting the payment
from Corp.A, that A had disappeared after picking up
the goods with the 1/3 original bill of lading.
④ According to the modes of
transport, it can be divided into
direct B/L (直达提单),
 transshipment B/L (转船提单),
 through bill of lading (联运提

单).

Direct B/L
is evidence that the goods are shipped and
carried by the steamer and transported from
the port of loading direct to the port of
destination without transshipment during the
voyage. The buyer usually prefers such a B/L,
because the possible cargo damage or losses
is usually caused by transshipment.

Transshipment B/L
is a document showing that when there is
no direct service between two ports, the
goods are transited by another steamer
during the voyage, generally at the port of
transshipment mentioned in the B/L , to
the port of destination where an oceangoing liner does not call during its voyage.

Through bill of lading
is issued when the entire voyage involves
more than one carrier. The first carrier issues
the bill and collects the freight for the entire
voyage, and arranges transshipment and
forwarding of the goods at the intermediate
port. The shipper prefers this kind of B/L
because of the trouble having been saved to
deal with other carriers by himself.
⑤ According to modes of operation and
transportation, it can be divided into

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liner B/L (班轮提单), &
charter party B/L (租船提单)
⑥ According to the validity, it can be divided
into
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original B/L (正本提单) &
copy B/L (副本提单): only for reference
⑦ According to the time for payment of
freight, it can be divided into
 Freight prepaid B/L (预付提单) means that
all the freight is paid by the consignor when
the B/L is issued by the carrier.

Freight to be collected B/L
(到付提单)
refers to the B/L on which “ freight payable at
destination” is indicated.
⑧ According to the contents of the B/L, it can be
divided into Long Form B/L and short form B/L.
 A Long Form B/L (繁式提单) refers to the bill of
lading on the back of which all the detailed terms and
conditions about the rights and obligations of the
carrier and the consignor are listed as an integral
part of the bill.

A short form B/L (简式提单) is a document which
omits the terms and conditions on the back of the
B/L.
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Other types of B/L:
Stale B/L (过期提单): A stale bill of lading is a
bill when it is presented to the consignee or
bank later than a specified time after
issuance. In order to safeguard the interests
of its principal, the bank usually refuses to
accept a stale B/L, because the delay in the
presentation of the B/L might lead to
additional costs, such as warehousing
expenses etc.

On Deck B/L (甲板提单). An on deck bill
is issued when the goods are stowed on
deck. Some cargoes, such as
inflammable goods, explosive goods
and poisonous goods, cargoes in large
volume or of backward sizes, live cattle,
plants, etc, must be loaded on deck.

Groupage B/L(成组提单) and House B/L （运输代
理行提单）: The forwarding agent（运输代理行）
usually groups together particular compatible goods
of consignees situated usually in the same area, and
dispatches them as one consignment. After taking
over the consignment, the ship-owner will issue a
groupage B/L to the forwarding agent. And then
several house B/L are issued by the forwarding agent
to the individual consignors. At the destination, the
forwarding agent’s representative or another agent
will break bulk（开始卸货） the consignment and
distribute the goods, to their representative
consignees on their production of the house B/L.
Case

The British seller Glass Fibres and Equipments Ltd.
signed a contract with the Peruvian buyer for
equipment of glass fibres factories. The Peruvian
Bcomo Continental S.A. issued a credit, of which the
latest date for shipment Dec. 15, 1976, and Royal
Bank of Canada added its confirmation to the credit
on the beneficiary’s request. The vessel American
Accord arrived at the port of shipment on Dec.16.
The broker in charge of shipment modified the
issuing date of the bill of lading to Dec.15 so that the
date could comply with the shipping date stipulated
in the credit. He also marked the B/L as “on Board”.

The buyer found the vessel arriving at the
port on deferred date and gave notice to the
issuing bank that the “on Board” notation of
the offered shipping document might not
comply with the terms of the credit. The
issuing bank contacted the confirming bank
and by this reason, Royal bank of Canada
rejected the documents against which the
seller requested payment. Then, the seller
lodged a complaint to court.
Contents of B/L

Every liner company in the world has its own
B/L form and clauses, but the basic contents
are stipulated according to the International
Convention for the Unification of Certain
Rules of Law Relating to Bill of Lading. （《统
一提单的若干法律规则的国际公约》(Hague
Rules)（海牙规则）
On the face of the B/L, the following particulars
are to be noted:
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Consignor / Consignee / Party to be notified /
Name of the vessel /Ship’s nationality /
Voyage / Port of shipment and port of
destination / Freight;
Number of the copies of the B/L, date,
signature of the ship-owner or his agent or
capital of the steamer.
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Main particulars regarding the goods loaded
on the steamer:
description, marks, number of package,
weight or measurement.
Declaration shall be made that the goods
have been loaded on board in apparent good
order and should be discharged at the port of
destination or the port as near as the vessel
may safely get and be always afloat.


After one of the original B/L（正本提单） has
accomplished the formality of taking delivery ,
the others stand null and void.
The consignor, consignee and bearer declare
that they accept and agree the B/L and its
stipulations and exclusion clauses printed,
written or typed on the back of the B/L.
Clauses on the back of the B/L
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Obligations and responsibility of the carrier;
Exceptions;
Claim and action clauses;
Duty and obligation of the consignor;
Transportation clauses for special goods;
Other clauses.
Railway Transport
Railway transport does not tend to be
effected by weather conditions , so it is
available for transportation for almost the
whole year. Rail way transport is fast, delivery
quantity is large. It can guarantee the
successive transport of the goods. Risks of
damage to the goods are comparatively small.
According to the stipulations of the
International Union of Railways (国际货约), the
International Railway Cargo Through
Transport Agreement and the International
Convention Concerning the Carriage of Goods
by Rail, the goods belong to the export
country may be transported directly to the
place of destination as long as the carrier
issues a railway bill of lading at the place of
dispatch.

The main transport documents are the railway bill
(铁路运单) and its duplicate. The railway bill is the
transportation contract and binding upon the
consignee, the consignor and the railway department.
The railway bill together with the goods is
transported from the place of dispatch to the place of
destination and then is delivered to the consignee
after he has paid off the freight and other charges.
The consignor may make exchange settlement with
the bank against the duplicate of railway bill.
Air Transport
Air transport is fast and safe, the risk of
or damage to the goods is reduced to
the lowest degree. It is not restricted by
ground conditions. It is especially
suitable for transporting fresh, live,
perishable, seasonable goods and
samples .

The airway bill (航空运单) is a document
supplied by the carrier to the consignor. It is
a transport contract signed between the
consignor and the carrier. After the goods
have arrived at the place of destination, the
consignee may take delivery of the goods
against the advice of arrival given by the
carrier. The consignor fills in this document in
triplicate, and one of these copies shall be
sent with the goods.
Air transport services are divided into four
categories:
① Airliner transport (scheduled airlines)（班机）
operates on a scheduled service, over a fixed airline
and between fixed airports.
② Chartered carriers （包机）
are the hire of an aircraft by a shippers to deliver
cargoes. They are ideal for carrying cargoes of large
quantities or carrying cargoes of different shippers to
the same destination.
③ Consolidated consignments (consolidation
transport)（集中托运）
mean that a number of individual shipments into one
consignment and dispatches them on one air waybill.
A consolidated shipment made by several shipments
can be dispatched to one common destination. Many
shippers prefer this kind of shipment as the freight
rate is lower than that of a scheduled airline.
④ Air express service ( desk to desk service)
（航空急件传送）
Case

An export company received an L/C issued by an
English bank, requiring them to export a cargo lot by
air to the London airport. The negotiation bank
accepted the documents after examination and asked
the reimbursement from the issuing bank. Half month
later, they received a cable from the issuing bank,
saying that they refused to make payment. The
reason for the refusal was that there was no “shipped”
typeface in the Air waybill. The issuing bank also
pointed out, “according to the statements made by
the buyer, the goods had not reached the airport.
Please tell the whereabouts of the goods.”

The negotiating bank consulted with the
export company after receiving the cable.
Both them thought that the refusal of
payment was groundless. The negotiating
bank cabled back: ”the Air waybill submitted
by the beneficiary conformed to the
requirement of L/C, and the payment should
be made immediately. As for the goods, you
can consult the local airline agency.”
Parcel post transport
Parcel post transport is relatively a
simple method of transportation, the
seller fulfills the duty of delivery only if
he delivers the parcel to the post office,
pays off the postage, and gets the
receipt. It includes two kinds: regular
mail/surface parcel post and air mail.
Road transport

The road vehicle, used between countries by
roads, is a low capacity but very versatile（功
能多）unit of transport, very flexible in its
operation. It has a high distributive ability of
offering a door-to-door service. Road
transport is ideal for general merchandise and
selective bulk cargoes in small quantities.
Inland waterway transport

The inland waterway system is usually linked
to the seaport and thereby acts as a
distributor and feeder (支线）to the shipping
services. In some countries, especially
underdeveloped countries, inland waterways
a major form of distribution as the road and
rail systems are unable to cope or
nonexistent in many areas.
Container transport
Containers are constructed of
metal and of standard lengths,
mostly ranging from twenty to forty
feet. The use of containers
provides a highly efficient form for
transport by road, by rail and air.
Features of container transport:

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It offers a door to door service under FCL /
FCL (整装整拆), door to container freight
station (CFS) service under FCL/LCL(整装拼
拆), CFS to CFS service under LCL / LCL(拼装
拼拆), or CFS to door service under LCL /
FCL(拼装整拆).
FCL: full container load
LCL: less than container load
CFS: container freight station 集装箱货运站


Quickly:
It can handled quickly and easily by
standardized equipment and can thus saves
labor and loading and unloading charges.
low risk:
The low risk of cargo damage and pilferage
enables more favorable cargo premiums to
obtained, compared with break-bulk cargo
shipments.
Less packing:
is required for containerized consignments.
 Faster transit:
coupled with more reliable maritime schedules, and
ultimately increased service frequency, produces
savings in warehouse accommodation needs, lessen
risks of obsolescent stock and speed up capital
turnover.
Container transport falls into two kinds:
 Full container load (FCL)
 Less than container load (LCL)

Modes of Transportation

Process of Container Transport

Port to port
consignor
Port of shipment Ocean transport Port of destination
CY/CFS
CY/CFS
consignee
Container yard(集装箱堆场）
CFS(集装箱货运站）



Modes of Transportation
Door to door
Warehouse of factoryInland transport Port of shipment
CY
of the consignor
﹌﹌﹌﹌
Ocean transport
Port of destination
Warehouse or factory
Inland transport
CY
of the consignee
Carrier takes delivery of the container at inland depot
consignor
﹌﹌﹌﹌
Ocean transport
Inland depot Inland transport
Port of destination
CY/CFS
Port of shipment
CY/CFS
Inland transport
Inland depot
consignee
Land Bridge Transport
 Land bridge transport is a mode of transport
that connects the ocean transport on the two
sides of the land by the railway which runs
across the continent.
 Land bridge transport uses the container as a
medium, so it has all advantage of container
transport.
There are two main land bridges in the world:


American land bridge;
New European Asian land bridge.
The advantages of land bridge transport are obvious:

Make exchange settlement earlier. As soon as the container is
delivered, the seller may make exchange settlement against
combined transport documents;

The formality is simple. All that the consignor should do is to
apply for consignment and the general carrier will be
responsible for arranging and transporting the goods from the
place of delivery to the place of destination.


International Multi-modal
Transport
International multi-modal transport (international combined
transport) means the carriage of cargo by at least two modes of
transport on the basis of a multi-modal transport contract from
a place at which the cargos are collected in one country to a
place designated for delivery in another country. Although
different modes of transport are combined, only one multimodal transport operator is responsible for taking the cargo
from the consignor and delivering them to the consignee. Multimodal transport document is the only one document used.

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The basic conditions of international multi-modal
transport are:
Transport documents, i.e., combined transport
documents shall cover the whole journey;
It includes two or more different modes of successive
transportation;
It shall be international transportation;
The multi-modal transport operator (MTO)(多式联运
经营人)shall be responsible for the whole journey;
The whole journey shall use a single factor rate.(单一
的运费费率)