Transport documents lie at the heart of international trade transactions. These documents are issued by the shipping line, airline, international trucking company, railroad, freight forwarder or logistics company.
To the shipping company and freight forwarder transport documents provide an accounting record of the transaction, instructions on where and how to ship the goods and a statement giving instructions for handling the shipment.
There is a Type of Transport Document for each mode of transport (CMR for road transport, Bill of Lading for shipping, etc.). Those goods carried in multimodal transport units (mainly containers) use a document called FIATA multimodal Bill of Lading (FBL). The responsibility for the management and processing of shipping documents will depend on the sale conditions (Incoterms) agreed between de parties.