FreightAmigo Academy – Shipping Terms

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There are currently 40 terms in this directory beginning with the letter U.
UCC-128
This barcode is a specially defined subset of Code 128 that is used mostly on shipping containers. It is numeric only, having a fixed length of 19 digits.

ULD (Unit Load Device)
ULDs contain airfreight cargo.

Ullage
Free space above a liquid contained in a tank, drum or tank-container, expressed as a percentage of the total capacity. Ullage is often used to leave room for possible expansion of the liquid.

Ultimate Consignee
An ultimate consignee is the party who will be the final recipient of a shipment.

Ultra Large Container Ship (ULCS)
A container carrier with a minimum capacity of 12,500 TEUs.

Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC)
A tanker vessel with a minimum capacity of 320,000 dwt.

UN Dangerous Goods Number (UNDG)
The four-digit number assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods to classify a substance or a particular groups of substances. Note: The prefix 'UN' must always be used in conjunction with these numbers.

UN Number
The same as UNDG. An identification number referring to hazardous cargoes as classified by the I.M.O.

UN-CEFACT (UN/CEFACT)
United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business. The worldwide facilitation of international transactions through the simplification and harmonisation of procedures and information flows.

UN-EDIFACT (UN/EDIFACT)
United Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport.

UN/LOCODE
United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, a geographic coding scheme developed and maintained by the UNECE. Assigns codes to lcoations uses in trade and transport.

Unaccompanied Baggage
A term mostly used in aircraft. Ocean Shipping uses instead 'Household Goods' or 'Personal Effects.'

Unclean Bill of Lading
A bill containing reservations as to the good order and condition of the goods, or the packaging, or both - for example, 'bags torn;' 'drums leaking;' 'one case damaged' or 'rolls chafed.'

Under the weather
Serving a watch on the weather side of the ship, exposed to wind and spray.

Under way
A vessel that is moving under control: that is, neither at anchor, made fast to the shore, aground nor adrift.

Under-keel clearance (UKC)
Commonly used to define the distance between the lowest point on the ship's keel (or hull) and the highest point on the channel bottom beneath the ship.

Underwater hull or underwater ship
The underwater section of a vessel beneath the waterline, normally not visible except when in drydock.

Uniform Customs and Practice (UCP)
An internationally recognized codification of rules unifying banking practice regarding documentary credits (L/C’s) and should be referenced within L/C’s. The UCP was co-developed with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Uniform Freight Classification (UFC)
Uniform Freight Classification

Unit Cost
The cost associated with a single unit of product; it is calculated as the total cost of producing a product or service divided by the number of units in the run or lot.

Unit Load
Packages loaded on a pallet, in a crate or any other way that enables them to be handled at one time as a unit.

Unit Load Device (ULD)
A pallet or container used to load many items including freight on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft.

Unit load device (UND)
A pallet.

Unit Train
A train of a specified number of railcars, perhaps 100, which remain as a unit for a designated destination or until a change in routing is made.

United Arab Shipping Company (UASC)
Established in July 1976; jointly by the six shareholding states from the Persian Gulf (Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE). The head office is located in the State of Kuwait. UASC is the largest ocean carrier of dry cargo to the Middle East.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place from 1973 through 1982. The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

Unitization
The consolidation of a quantity of individual items into one large shipping unit for easier and faster handling through methods such as palletizing, stripping, slinging and containerization.

Unloader
Port equipment employed to unload ships carrying dry bulk cargo. (Note: Small movable and hoistable unloaders are sometimes referred to as “vacuvators.”).

Unloading
The removal of a shipment from a container to a platform or warehouse.

Unmoor
To remove the ropes that attach a ship to the shore.

Up-behind
Slack off quickly and run slack to a belaying point. This order is given when a line or wire has been stopped off or falls have been four-in-hand and the hauling part is to be belayed.

UPCA
UPC (Universal Product Code) version A is used to encode an 11 digit number. The first digit is the system number and the rest are data characters. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

UPCE 11-Digit
UPCE is a zero suppressed version of the UPCA barcode. This version allows 11 digits to be encoded. The first digit must be zero. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

UPCE0 6-Digit
UPCE is a zero suppressed version of the UPCA barcode. This version allows 6 digits to be encoded. The first digit must be zero. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

UPCE1 6-Digit
UPCE is a zero suppressed version of the UPCA barcode. This version allows 6 digits to be encoded. The first digit must be zero. Both 2 and 5 digit supplementals are also supported.

Upper-yardmen
Specially selected personnel destined for high office.

USCBP
United States Customs and Border Protection Agency Customs authority for the USA

Usufruct
The legal right of using and enjoying the profits of something belonging to another party.

UTB | Uitnodiging Tot Betaling
Is the Dutch term for the actual Duties Bill.

Utilisation Rate
The quotient of used capacity and available capacity.