The eight different bills of lading kinds are broken down as per the mode of transportation
Are your items being transported by truck, rail, sea, or air?
Depending on the mode of transportation, bills of lading have different conditions and formats.
Transportation by Ocean
An ocean bill of lading is issued when items are transported by ship. The Federal Maritime Commission oversees ocean freight to or from the United States (FMC).
Ocean bills of lading or releases frequently used include:
The buyer's customs broker is designated as a "Notify Party" on a straight bill of lading, which is an unalterable form of the B/L that is addressed or committed directly to the buyer.
The carrier will in this instance issue a trio of original Bills of Lading, one of which the consignee must endorse and produce to receive the cargo at the destination.
Usually, if the buyer is still in arrears on all or part of the goods, a straight bill of lading is given.
A bill of lading that is addressed "to order" or "to order of [a party]" rather than being consigned to the buyer is known as an "order" bill of lading. Providing this bill of lading is shown and is so endorsed on the back, the carrier will deliver the shipment to the bearer.
The owner of the items being shipped is presumed to be the person holding the order bill of lading.
When a letter of credit is being used to pay for the purchase of the goods or when the products are anticipated to be exchanged on a market while the cargo is still in transit, the order bill of lading is frequently employed.
The electronic "telex" release:
This does away with the requirement that a real bill of lading be handed in for the goods to be released at the destination. Instead, the shipper gives the carrier's agent an original bill of lading with their endorsement on it at the origin. The items may then be discharged without the physical copy bill of lading present, the origin agency informs the destination agent in a brief communication.
The word "telex notification" refers to the method of notification used in the past; however, electronic releases are now made by email or integrated system notes in carrier booking systems.
This is frequently used when a customer still owes money for all or a portion of the products yet pays upfront.
An express bill of lading commits the carrier to only transfer the goods to the consignee or notify the party listed on the document. No original bills of lading are ever issued, and it is a non-negotiable document. If the importer paid for the items before shipping or has credit with the supplier, the express bill of lading is usually used.
Doing away with the requirement for a tangible bill of lading to be presented, speeds up the release of the goods after arrival and reduces time and mail delivery costs.
Transportation via Air
When commodities are delivered by air, air waybills, or AWBs, are generated.
They cannot be altered, therefore as soon as the shipment reaches the airport of destination, it is promptly given to the consignee or their customs broker for customs clearance and delivery.
As a result, air waybills solely act as:
- a carriage agreement
- a cargo receipt indicating that the shipment has been received by the carrier
- directions for delivery, if special handling is required
However, the air waybill may be committed to a bank if the items are sent under a letter of credit or the shipper is utilizing his bank to get payment for the commodities before releasing them to the consignee.
In these circumstances, the consignee must pay the bank, which then gives the airline a bank release allowing the carrier to release the cargo.
The products will sit at the airline warehouse during this process, which generally takes several days, and they may be charged storage fees.
Waybill for Land Transportation
In North America, "Waybills" are frequently used for overland shipments. This is a condensed version of a contract for carriage that often just makes passing reference to the terms and conditions in the carrier's tariff.
Make sure to ask for them because you'll need to know the liability restrictions that apply to the movement of your shipment.
A Waybill is never consigned "to order" and is never negotiable, just like an Air Waybill. To safeguard the interests of both the buyer and the seller, the item can instead be dispatched under "Collect on Delivery" conditions with an extra carrier handling fee.
Standardized Bill of Lading
The "uniform" terms and conditions of commonly used transportation tariffs and/or contract carriage agreements apply to this type of bill of lading, which is used for overland shipments.
When consigned "to order," the uniform bill of lading (also known as the uniform waybill) transforms into a negotiable bill of lading, much like an ocean B/L.
An extended version of the "Waybill," known as a uniform bill of lading, contains all of the terms and conditions, whereas the waybill just makes passing reference to them.
Hand Tag
The hand tag gets its name from the fact that it is frequently used when a truck driver arrives at a door or shipping dock to pick up cargo and fills out a form by hand. Several terms and conditions are only briefly mentioned in this short-form contract. It refers to the carrier's underlying tariff and, despite its casual nature, is nonetheless protected by the carrier's liability limit.
Courier services and other electronically dispatched trucks that are engaged to pick up cargo from shippers who did not produce a consistent waybill for the driver to sign as a cargo receipt typically utilize the hand tag in the air freight and local carriage business due to its convenience.