A bill of lading is a document which is issued by the transportation carrier to the shipper acknowledging that they have received the shipment of goods and that they have been placed on board a particular vessel which is bound for a particular destination and states the terms in which these goods received are to be carried. Separate bills of lading are issued for the inland or domestic portion of the transportation and the ocean or air transportation, or a through bill of lading can be obtained covering all modes of transporting goods to their destination.
Bills of lading, whether inland or ocean, can be issued in either non-negotiable (straight) form or in negotiable form. If the bill of lading is specified as being non-negotiable, the transportation carrier must deliver it only to the consignee named in the bill of lading, thus the bill of lading acts both as a receipt of goods and as an agreement to transport these goods to a specific destination and consignee in return for payment of the transportation charges. If the bill of lading is specifically labeled as being negotiable, ownership to the goods and the right to re-route the shipment are with the person who has ownership of the bill of lading properly issued or negotiated to it. Such bills of lading are issued to shipper's order, rather than to a specific, named consignee. Where collection and payment is through banking channels, such as under a letter of credit or documentary collection, negotiable bills of lading are required (except for air shipments). The exporter must endorse the bill of lading and deliver it to the bank in order to receive payment.
There are four types of bills of lading: inland, ocean, through, and air waybill.
Inland Bill of Lading - this is a a contract between a shipper and transportation company used when transporting goods overland to an exporter's international carrier.
Ocean Bill of Lading - this is a contract between a exporter and an international carrier for transport of merchandise to a specified foreign market overseas.
Through Bill of Lading - A document that establishes the terms between a shipper and a transportation company covering both the domestic and international transport of export goods between specified points for a specified charge. For example, an air shipment can be covered with a through bill of lading; however, ocean shipments require both an inland bill of lading (for domestic transport) and an ocean bill of lading (for international transport).
Air Waybill - An airway bill is a bill of lading which covers both domestic and international flights transporting goods to a specified destination. It establishes the terms between a shipper and an air transportation company for the transport of goods. Included in the document are the conditions, limitations of liability, shipping instructions, description of commodity, and applicable transportation charges. In addition, the air waybill is a non-negotiable document which serves as a receipt for the shipper, indicating that the carrier has accepted the goods listed and obligates itself to carry the consignment to the airport of destination according to specified conditions.