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Glossary
The freight-forwarding glossary
The terms every forwarding team uses —AIS, DCSA, demurrage, ETA, SAD, VeriFactu and more— in plain language.
- AIS
- Automatic Identification System. Broadcasts a vessel's real-time position, course and speed; used to track the ocean leg and recalculate the ETA.
- BAF / CAF
- Carrier surcharges: BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) offsets fuel price; CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor) offsets currency fluctuation.
- BL (Bill of Lading)
- Bill of Lading. Document issued by the carrier as the transport contract, receipt of goods and title to the ocean cargo.
- Callsign
- The identifier used for a flight in air traffic. Lets you track a specific cargo flight with live data.
- Control tower
- A single view of the whole operation —ocean, air, rail and road— with real-time ETA, events and alerts.
- DCSA
- Digital Container Shipping Association. Publishes open standards (such as Track & Trace) so carriers describe the same milestones the same way.
- Demurrage
- Carrier charge when the full container stays at the port terminal beyond the agreed free days.
- Detention
- Carrier charge when the container, already picked up from the port, isn't returned empty on time.
- eBL
- Electronic Bill of Lading. The digital version of the bill of lading, one of the standards driven by the DCSA.
- ETA
- Estimated Time of Arrival. A reliable ETA combines carrier events, vessel AIS and the road and air legs.
- FCL / LCL
- FCL (Full Container Load): the cargo fills a whole container. LCL (Less than Container Load): cargo sharing a container with others, typical of groupage.
- Freight forwarder
- A company that arranges international transport of goods on behalf of its clients, coordinating carriers, customs and inland transport.
- Groupage
- Consolidating cargo from several clients into one container or truck to optimise space. In ocean freight it maps to LCL.
- Magic-link
- Passwordless access via a link sent by email. Rowan Cargo uses it in the client portal for secure sign-in without managing passwords.
- SAD
- The Single Administrative Document (SAD). Declaration filed with customs to import or export goods outside the EU.
- THC
- Terminal Handling Charge. Cost of handling the container at the port terminal, at origin and destination.
- Transshipment
- Transferring a container from one vessel to another at an intermediate port to reach its final destination.
- VeriFactu
- Spain's verifiable invoicing system from the tax agency: each invoice is chained, tamper-proof and verifiable, with a code and QR.
