| Cabotage | Cargo/passenger navigation between ports of the same state. |
| Cage | Enclosed area for storing valuables or platform for inventory tasks. |
| Cargo | Goods transported by various vehicles. |
| Carnet | Customs document allowing duty-free international transport of goods in specific categories. |
| Carriage & Insurance Paid To (CIP) | Delivery with insurance added for seller’s account on a defined route segment. |
| Carriage Paid To (CPT) | Seller arranges delivery to the specified location, often a terminal. |
| Carrier | Entity performing or mediating goods delivery under a carriage contract. |
| Carrier Certificate and Release Order | Document confirming shipment details and ownership for customs. |
| Carrier’s Lien | Freight carrier’s right to hold cargo until payment is received. |
| Cartage | Local movement of goods or associated charges. |
| Cartel | Group controlling supply/price of a product through agreements. |
| Cartment | Customs form allowing in-bond cargo movement within a customs district. |
| Cash Against Documents (CAD) | Exporter receives payment upon presenting shipping documents; importer gets documents after payment. |
| Cash In Advance | Buyer pays seller before shipment. |
| Cash with Order | Payment submitted with order before shipment; binds buyer and seller. |
| Certificate of Insurance (COI) | Document confirming existence and details of an insurance policy. |
| Certificate of Origin | Document listing goods to be imported/exported and their origin for customs/exchange. |
| Channel of Distribution | Network linking manufacturers to end-users. |
| Chargeable Weight | Basis for freight payment, could be dimensional or gross weight minus container tare weight. |
| Charter Party | Contract for ship rental for cargo or passenger transport. |
| Charter Rates | Tariff for ship chartering in specific trades. |
| Charterer | Entity renting a ship for cargo or passenger transport. |
| Chassis Usage Fee | Fee for chassis use at specific ports. |
| Clearance | Document confirming shipment's compliance with import regulations. |
| Collect Freight | Freight charges paid by consignee at destination port. |
| Collective Paper | All documents submitted for payment of a shipment. |
| Combined Transport | Transportation using multiple modes under a single document (e.g., sea and rail). |
| Commercial Invoice | Document claiming payment for supplied goods. |
| Commodities | Commercial products or services. |
| Commodity Code | A code describing a commodity or a group of commodities pertaining to goods classification. This code can be carrier tariff or regulating in nature. |
| Concealed Damage | Freight that might have been damaged during transit, but, the damage/loss/shortage was not notated on the Proof of Delivery. |
| Conference | A group of vessel operators joined for the purpose of establishing freight rates. |
| Conference Carrier | An ocean carrier who is a member of an association known as a 'conference.' The purpose of the conference is to standardize shipping practices, eliminate freight rate competition, and provide regularly scheduled service between specific ports. |
| Congestion Surcharge | This surcharge is dependent on unusual events, e.g. strikes, bad winter, major port fires. |
| Consignee | A natural or legal person to whom, at the direction of the shipper, the goods should be delivered at the destination. |
| Consignment | Freight sent under a single contract of carriage. |
| Consignor | A natural or legal person who delivered the goods for carriage and is indicated as the sender in the carriage document. |
| Consolidation | Collection and storage of small consignments from several consignors for their subsequent transportation by one transport document. |
| Consolidation Fee | A fee for bringing together and packing several smaller shipments into the same container, applicable to ocean freight LCL and air freight. |
| Consolidation Point | The location where consolidation takes place. |
| Consolidator | An agent groups the cargo of several customers for container transportation. |
| Consolidator's Bill of Lading | A bill of lading issued by a consolidating freight forwarder to a shipper. |
| Container | A single rigid, sealed, reusable metal box in which merchandise is shipped by vessel, truck, or rail. |
| Container Chassis | Devices for transporting containers for ship or other operations. |
| Container Cleaning Fee | Registration of all formalities and operations necessary to obtain permission to unload the container from the vessel and to load it on board the vessel. |
| Container depot | A storage area, other than a container yard, where shippers and consignees may pick up or drop off empty containers. |
| Container Freight Charge | The charge made for the packing or unpacking of cargo into or from ocean freight containers. |
| Container Freight Station | A carrier-designated facility at which LCL cargo is received from consignors for consolidation and loading into containers or at which LCL cargo is unloaded from containers and delivered to consignees. |
| Container Fumigation (at Export) | Disinfection allowance (fumigation). |
| Container ID | An identifier assigned to a container by a carrier. |
| Container Manifest | Document showing contents and loading sequence of a container. |
| Container Terminal | An area intended for storing goods in containers, usually delivered by road, rail, and sea, where containers are picked up, dropped off, maintained and housed. |
| Container Vessel | An oceangoing vessel designed specifically to easily handle the loading, stowage, and off-loading of ocean freight containers. |
| Container Yard | A place for handling/storage of materials used for fully unified cargo in containers and/or empty containers. |
| Containerization | The practice or technique of using a boxlike device in which a number of packages are stored, protected, and handled as a single unit in transit. |
| Contraband | Cargo that is prohibited. |
| Contract of Carriage | Contract on the legal obligations of the carrier and the client. |
| Cost and Insurance (CNI) | Same as the FCA, but insurance is added for the seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance can be any. |
| Cost Freight Incoterm (CFR) | Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board, and paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination. |
| Cost Insurance Freight Incoterm (CIF) | The same as CFR, but insurance is added for the seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance can be any. |
| Countertrade | An umbrella term for several sorts of trade in which the seller is required to accept goods or other instruments or trade, in partial or whole payment for its products. |
| Countervailing Duties (CVD) | Special duties imposed on imports to offset the benefits of subsidies to producers or exporters in the exporting country. |
| Cube Out | When a shipping container has been filled by volume but has not reached its maximum weight limit. |
| Cubic Capacity | The carrying capacity of a container according to measurement in cubic feet, cubic centimeters or cubic meters. |
| Customer | An enterprise that uses the services as provided by another enterprise. |
| Customer Order | The document containing the calculation of the amount of security and confirming the introduction of security for customs payments in the form of a bank guarantee, pledge agreement or guarantee. |
| Customs | A government agency providing the procedure for moving goods and vehicles, things, and other items across the customs border, levying customs payments. |
| Customs Bond | The bond protects the US government should an importer not pay any duties, penalties, etc. either while the goods are in CBP custody or after release. |
| Customs Broker | A legal entity that has received a license to perform intermediary functions in the field of customs clearance of goods at the expense and on behalf of the represented person. |
| Customs Clearance | The procedure provided for by the customs legislation of the country related to the import/export of goods and vehicles. Customs clearance includes customs clearance, payment of customs duties, and administrative actions related to the legalization of cargo. |
| Customs Duty (at Destination) | Duties on exports from China. |
| Customs Duty (at Origin) | Duty on imports to the US may apply. |
| Customs Entry | The document that provides US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with details of your shipment, such as cost, classification, and origin. |
| Customs Invoice | Payment charged by customs when importing or exporting goods. |
| Customs Value | The notional value of the goods used for customs duties. |
