November 22, 2009

The Bill of Lading is the contract between the seller and the freight company for shipping goods from one location to another. There are five basic modes of transport: ocean, air, truck, rail and mail/courier. Each transport mode, or combination of modes, has some common requirements for information on its Bill of Lading. However, only Ocean Bills of Lading convey title of ownership of the goods being transported. Air Waybill, Railway and Truck or Straight Bills of Lading do not convey title by themselves.
Definition of a Bill of Lading
A Bill of Lading is a contract between the seller of the goods and the carrier. The title document issued by a carrier (steamship, railroad, or other common carrier) which serves as a receipt for the goods and is a contract to deliver the goods to a designated person or to his order.
Purpose of a Bill of Lading
The Bill of Lading represents the title to the goods in transit and the original copy must be endorsed before it is presented for collection. The Bill of Lading describes the conditions under which the goods are accepted by the carrier and details the nature and quantity of the goods name of vessel (if shipped by sea), identifying marks, numbers, and destination. The person sending the goods is the "shipper" or "consignor", the company or agent transporting the goods is the "consignee." Bills of Lading may be negotiable or non-negotiable.
Ocean bill of Lading
The Bill of Lading on maritime shipments confers title to the goods it covers when properly endorsed. Additionally, it serves as a receipt for goods delivered to the carrier and as a contract for services to be rendered by the carrier. It may also serve as the basis for the issuance of a draft if drawn to order of the shipper. The Bill of Lading is made by the shipper on blank bill on blank bill of lading forms furnished by the maritime company or one of its agents. To claim goods at the destination of the shipment, only one original bill of lading is required. For this reason, banks normally require all original copies of the Bill of Lading properly endorsed.
Negotiable or Shippers order bill of Lading
The negotiable Bill of lading is used for sight draft of letter of credit shipments.
To order bill of Lading
The "To Order" Bill of Lading is made out to order of the consignee or to a foreign bank. The shipper must endorse the original copy of the "To Order" Bill of Lading before it is presented to the bank for collection. The endorsement may be "to the order of" a third party such as the negotiating or paying bank. The Letter of Credit will stipulate which endorsement to use.
Air Waybill
The Air Waybill is the forwarding agreement or carrying agreement between shipper and air carrier and is obtained from the airline used to ship the goods in question. In cases where the goods are received by a freight consolidator or freight forwarder, the air waybill is issued by the consolidator or forwarder, which also bills the freight charges, so that the airline has no contract with the shipper. When an airline contracts direct with the shipper as to the transportation and delivery of the goods shipped by it, the Air Waybill, just like an ocean bill of lading, is the contract between shipper and carrier, stating the conditions under which the goods are being carried. The Air Waybill contains no indication of a "notify party", only the information "Consigned to".
Inland bill of Lading
This is also known as a waybill on rail or straight bill of lading in the tracking industry, and is used to document the transportation of the goods between the point where the exporter is located and the port or point of exit.
Process for a Bill of Lading
The Bill of Lading is prepared by the freight forwarder.
The Bill of Lading is included in the negotiable document set.
Fields for a Bill of Lading
Not Applicable - Commercial carriers have their own practices.