Bill of lading comes from the verb to lade, which is itself a merchant term meaning to pack cargo onto a ship or other conveyance. Simply, it’s the inventory and contract that moves from carrier to shipper, and details the transportation of the given cargo to a specific destination, into the possession of the particular consignee detailed in the bill.

For multiple modes of transport (air, rail, ship, truck), a through bill of lading is used.

Bills of lading are available on the market. Short form bills are traded between carriers and shippers, and act as a kind of alternative to contract bidding. The short form represents the existing contract, and is evidence of that contract’s existence. Bills are freely transferable, but aren’t negotiable instruments (they aren’t a guarantee of payment at a defined time i.e. they aren’t checks or promissory notes). Instead, the bill promises ownership of the contract in question, only.

The “long form” of the bill of lading lays out all the details of the contract and, ultimately, specifies the final actors involved in this particular import/export venture.

A completed B/L includes:

● Name of the shipping company
● It’s flag of nationality
● Individual shipper’s name
● Order and notify party’s name
● Description of goods to be transported
● Their gross/net/tare weight
● The freight rate/measurements and weighment of total freight

If the [ORDER] slot is endorsed “blank”, then the shipper’s responsibility is to transfer ownership of the cargo to the first person to present the BOL in question.

You can see a bill of lading at the website of carrier Tarros. Remember, this is not an endorsement of Tarros as a shipper, but they had a contemporary, short B/L easily accessible.