What is a shipper in freight?
What is a shipper in freight? The shipper is the party sending the goods, and on most shipments the party who books the move and signs the bill of lading.
What is a shipper in freight, in practice
The shipper is the origin party. They tender the freight to the carrier, describe it on the bill of lading, and are usually the party paying, though not always. On a prepaid shipment the shipper pays. On a collect shipment the consignee does. On a third-party shipment neither of them does, and the bill goes to whoever is named.
Being the shipper is mostly about accuracy. The weight, the piece count, the dimensions and the freight class on the bill of lading come from the shipper, and every one of them is a number the carrier can check and rebill.
What the shipper is responsible for
Packaging the freight so it survives a trailer that stops fifteen times. Loading it, unless the carrier agreed otherwise. Getting the paperwork right. Having someone at the dock during the pickup window.
The shipper also owns the description of the commodity. Freight billed as one thing and inspected as another gets reclassified, and the difference lands on the invoice weeks later.
Related terms
Quick answers
Is the shipper always the one who pays?
No. The bill of lading names the payment terms. Prepaid means the shipper pays, collect means the consignee pays, and third party means the invoice goes to a named payer who is neither.
Can the shipper and consignee be the same company?
Yes, and it is common. A brand moving stock from its own warehouse into a fulfillment center is both parties on the paperwork.
Shipping something out?
Now that what is a shipper in freight is settled, the useful part is the rate. Send the origin, destination, weight and pallet count and we come back with a number you can book.