Logistic terms


We’ll help you make sense of the industry jargon and terms used.

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   Y   X   Y   Z

I.V.

Increased Value.

IACS

Abbreviation: IACS. Organization in which the major classification societies, among others American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping and Germanischer Lloyd, are joined. Its principal aim is the improvement of standards concerning safety at sea.

IATA

Abbreviation: IATA. International organization of airlines, founded in 1945, with the aim of promoting commercial air traffic. It encourages cooperation between parties concerned and ensures that these interested parties follow certain rules, procedures and tariffs, regarding both cargo and passengers.

IATA Cargo Agent

Agent approved by IATA and registered in the IATA Cargo Agency List. This enables the agent, upon authorization of the IATA carrier, to receive shipments, to execute Air Waybills and to collect charges (air cargo).

IATA Member

Airline which is a member of IATA (air cargo).

ICAO

Abbreviation: ICAO. International organization of governments, dealing with search and rescue in distress, weather information, telecommunications and navigational requirements.

ICC

Institute Cargo Clauses. There are three basic sets of these clauses (A, B and C). The “A” clauses cover all risks, subject to specified exclusions. The “B” and “C” clauses cover specified risks, subject to specified exclusions.

ICD

Abbreviation: ICD. Inland location where cargo, particularly containerized, may be cleared by customs.

ICHCA

International Cargo Handling Coordinating Association.

ICS

Abbreviation: ICS. Voluntary organization of national shipowners’ associations with the objective of promoting the interests of its members, primarily in the technical and legal fields of shipping operations.

Identification

Unique data, e.g. name, number or code, determining a certain object or person.

Idle Time

Amount of ineffective time whereby the available resources are not used, e.g. a container in a yard.

Ignition

Setting on fire or catching fire.

ILO

Abbreviation: ILO. United Nations agency, dealing with employment rights and working conditions, covering work at sea and in ports.

IMDG Code

Abbreviation: IMDG Code. Code, representing the classification of dangerous goods as defined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in compliance with international legal requirements.

IMGS

International Medical Guide for Ships. Abbreviation: IMGS. 2The doctor at sea.”

IMO

IMO

Import License

Document required and issued by some national governments authorizing the importation of goods into their individual countries.

Importer

Party responsible for the import of goods. For customs purposes it is the party that makes, or on whose behalf an agent makes, an import declaration.

In Bond

Term applied to the status of merchandise admitted provisionally to a country without payment of duties either for storage in a bonded warehouse or for transshipment to another point, where duties will eventually be imposed.

In Transit

Status of goods or persons between the outwards customs clearance and inwards customs clearance.

Incoterms

In 1936, the International Chamber of Commerce first published a set of international rules for the interpretation of trade terms. These rules became known as Incoterms. Amendments and additions have occurred in 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990 and 2000.

Incremental Cost to Export

Additional costs incurred while manufacturing and preparing a product for export (e.g., product modifications, special export packaging and export administration costs). This does not include the costs to manufacture a standard domestic product, export crating and transportation to the foreign market.

Indemnification

Compensation of lading for a loss and/or the expenses incurred.

Indirect Route

Any route other than the direct route.

Individually Validated Export License

A required document issued by the Government authorizing the export of specific commodities. This license is for a specific transaction or time period in which the exporting is to take place.

Inherent Vice

Characteristic of cargo which causes, or is liable to cause, loss or damage to the cargo, without any accident occurring (e.g. spontaneous combustion). It is always excluded by the insurers of the cargo because of its inevitable nature.

Inland Bill of Lading

Synonym for Consignment Note, used in USA and Canada.

Inland Clearance Depot

Abbreviation: ICD. Inland location where cargo, particularly containerized, may be cleared by customs.

Inland Waterways Bill of Lading

Transport document made out to a named person, to order or to bearer, signed by the carrier and handed to the sender after receipt of the goods.

Inspection Company

Company providing inspection of goods and packing to meet special requirements and specifications called for by buyer and seller.

Insulated Container

Thermal container without devices for cooling and/or heating.

Insulated Tank Container

Container frame holding one or more thermal insulated tanks for liquids.

Insurable Interest

It is illegal for anyone to insure without an insurable interest or, in the case of marine insurance, a reasonable expectation of acquiring such interest. In general, a party has such interest when its relationship to property at risk may result in the exposure to loss or liability and where it stands to gain by the safety of the property.

Insurance

Protection against loss or damage for which a party agrees to pay a certain sum (premiums) for a guarantee that they will be compensated under certain conditions for loss or damage.

Insurance Certificate

Proof of an insurance contract.

Insurance Company

Party covering the risks of the insured goods and/or services.

Insured Party

Insured Party

Integrated Hardfreight

SwissGlobalCargo’s time definite door-to-door airfreight service without weight limits.

Integrated Logistics Support

Systematic approach applied to simultaneous management of equipment and related logistics support, in order to provide the customer with a desired level of goods available.

Intercoastal

As opposed to coastal water operations, intercoastal refers to water transport carried out between coasts (e.g. between Pacific and Atlantic coasts).

Intercontainer

Cooperative formed by 19 European railways, for the management of international rail container traffic in Europe.

Interim Receipt

Receipt given by a carrier pending execution of an Air Waybill.

Interline Agreement

Cooperation between two or more airlines for the carriage over particular routes.

Interline Carriage

Carriage over the routes of two or more parties of an interline agreement.

Interline Carrier

Carrier with whom another carrier has an interline agreement.

Intermodal Transport

Movement of goods (containers) in one and the same loading unit or vehicle which successively uses several modes of transport without handling the goods themselves in changing modes.

International Air Transport Association

Abbreviation: IATA. International organization of airlines, founded in 1945, with the aim of promoting commercial air traffic. It encourages cooperation between parties concerned and ensures that these interested parties follow certain rules, procedures and tariffs, regarding both cargo and passengers.

International Association of Classification Societies

Abbreviation: IACS. Organization in which the major classification societies, among others American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping and Germanischer Lloyd, are joined. Its principal aim is the improvement of standards concerning safety at sea.

International Carriage

Carriage whereby the place of departure and any place of landing are situated in more than one country.

International Chamber of Shipping

Abbreviation: ICS. Voluntary organization of national shipowners’ associations with the objective of promoting the interests of its members, primarily in the technical and legal fields of shipping operations.

International Civil Aviation Organization

Abbreviation: ICAO. International organization of governments, dealing with search and rescue in distress, weather information, telecommunications and navigational requirements.

International Medical Guide for Ships

Abbreviation: IMGS. 2The doctor at sea.”

International Organization for Standardization

Abbreviation: ISO. International Standards Organization also referred to as the International Organization for Standardization. This is a worldwide federation of national standards member bodies. It consists of technical committees made up of governmental and non-governmental international organizations. Draft international standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to member bodies for voting. Adoption of standards requires approval of at least 75% of member bodies that cast a vote.

International Safety Management Code

This international standard for the safe management and operation of ships prescribes rules for the organization of a shipping company management in the context of safety and pollution prevention and requires the development and implementation of a safety management system.

International Transport and Information System

Abbreviation: INTIS. Organization with the aim to improve the position of the port of Rotterdam by the development, realization and exploitation of a communication and information network through computers.

INTIS

International Transport and Information System

INTRAC

Panalpina’s invoice tracking system.

Inventory

A detailed list of goods located in a certain place or belonging to a specified object.

Irrevocable Letter of Credit

Letter of Credit with a fixed expiry date that carries the irrevocable obligation of the issuing bank to pay the exporter when all of the terms and conditions of the Letter of Credit have been met.

ISO

International Organization for Standardization

Issuing Carrier

Carrier whose Air Waybill is issued.

Item

Separate article or unit.

Itinerary

Route of a means of transport, indicated by the names of the ports of call or other locations, often including estimated arrival and departure dates.

Contact Us

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Start typing and press Enter to search