how free carrier fca works
buyers and sellers engaged in economic trade requiring the shipment of goods can use fca shipping terms to describe any transportation point regardless of the number of transportation modes involved in the shipping process the point must be a location within the seller s home country however it s the seller s duty to safely transport the goods to that facility the carrier can be any kind of transportation service such as a truck train boat or airplane liability for the merchandise transfers from the seller to the carrier or buyer at the time the seller delivers the goods to the agreed port or area the seller is only responsible for delivery to the specified destination as part of the liability transfer it isn t obligated to unload the goods but the seller might be responsible for ensuring that the goods have been cleared for export out of the united states if the destination is the seller s premises under fca shipping terms the buyer doesn t have to deal with export details and licenses because this is the responsibility of the seller the buyer must arrange for transport however once goods arrive at the carrier and title transfers to the buyer the goods become an asset on the buyer s balance sheet many experts recommend that any party involved in international trade consult with an appropriate legal professional such as a trade attorney before using any trade term within a contract fca incotermscontracts involving international transportation often contain abbreviated trade terms or terms of sale that describe shipment specifics these might include the time and place of delivery payment the point at which the risk of loss shifts from the seller to the buyer and the party responsible for freight and insurance costs to help facilitate the delivery of such items the most commonly known trade terms are international commercial terms or incoterms incoterms are internationally recognized standards published by the international chamber of commerce icc these are often identical in form to domestic terms such as the uniform commercial code ucc but there can be slight differences in their official interpretations the term free carrier or fca is a typical and highly used example of incoterms it has been internationally recognized as a standard set of instructions to designate delivery terms fca shipping terms were included in incoterms starting in 1980 and have been revised every ten years 1established by the international chamber of commerce the incoterms rules may be purchased via the icc s website example of fcaunder fca shipping terms the seller delivers the goods to the destination named by the buyer the shipper has responsibility for the goods until they arrive there the buyer would be responsible for loading the goods for transport for example joe seller ships goods to bob buyer under an fca shipping term agreement bob opts to use his shipper with whom he s done business before joe agrees and it s his responsibility to deliver the goods to the shipper at this point all liability passes to bob 