FCA — Free Carrier

No. FOB is only appropriate for sea and inland waterway freight where goods are physically loaded onto a named vessel. Courier shipments move through carrier hubs and are never 'on board a vessel' in the traditional sense. FCA correctly describes courier shipments: the seller hands goods to the carrier (the courier company), and risk transfers at that handover point.

The seller handles export customs clearance under FCA. This is one of the key advantages over EXW — the seller, as the exporter of record, can obtain the export declaration needed to support VAT zero-rating.

The named place is the specific location where delivery to the carrier occurs. It could be the seller's warehouse, a carrier collection depot, an airport cargo terminal, or any other agreed point. The more precisely defined the named place, the less ambiguity about when risk transfers.

Yes, and ICC specifically recommends FCA over FOB for containerised sea freight. Under FOB, risk transfers when goods cross the ship's rail — but containers are handed to the carrier at an inland container depot, long before loading onto the vessel. FCA accurately captures this modern container logistics reality.

Incoterms 2020 added a mechanism for the buyer to instruct their carrier to issue an on-board bill of lading to the seller after the container is loaded. This solved the problem where banks under documentary letters of credit required an on-board B/L, but under FCA the seller has already lost control of the goods. The 2020 update allows FCA to work with L/C financing.

FCA stands for Free Carrier. Under FCA, the seller delivers goods to a named place — typically their own premises or a carrier's depot — where they are handed over to the buyer's nominated carrier. The seller handles export customs; the buyer arranges and pays for the main international freight. FCA can be used for all transport modes: road, air, sea, and rail.

A clothing manufacturer in Portugal ships a container of garments to a retailer in the United States on FCA Lisbon Container Terminal terms. The seller delivers the container to the Lisbon terminal, handling Portuguese export clearance. At that point, risk and cost pass to the US buyer, who has arranged ocean freight to New York and will handle US customs on arrival.

Incoterms 2020 is the current edition of the ICC trade terms, effective from 1 January 2020. The most significant change for FCA in 2020 was the addition of an optional clause allowing the buyer's carrier to issue an on-board bill of lading to the seller after container loading. This makes FCA compatible with documentary letters of credit — a common financing mechanism in international trade.

Both FCA and EXW give the buyer responsibility for arranging main carriage, but they differ on two key points: (1) Under EXW, the seller's obligation ends before loading — the buyer loads at the seller's premises. Under FCA, the seller loads onto the buyer's carrier (if delivery is at seller's premises) or delivers to a named carrier location. (2) Under FCA, the seller handles export customs; under EXW, the buyer does. FCA is safer for sellers in most international trade scenarios.

Under FCA, the buyer nominates and pays for the main international freight — they control the carrier and cost from the named place onward. Under DAP, the seller arranges and pays for freight to the buyer's country and delivers to the named destination. FCA gives the buyer more cost visibility and control; DAP gives the buyer convenience with the seller managing all logistics.

The buyer pays the main freight (international carriage) from the named FCA place to the destination. The seller pays for any pre-carriage to the named place and export customs. If the named FCA place is the seller's own premises, the seller also pays for loading the goods onto the buyer's carrier.

Yes. FCA is the most appropriate Incoterm for express courier shipments from Portugal or anywhere in Europe. Specifying FCA at the seller's address means the seller hands the parcel or pallet to the courier at collection, handling export paperwork. The buyer (or the buyer's account with the courier) then pays the freight cost to the destination.

Risk transfers from seller to buyer at the moment the goods are handed to the buyer's nominated carrier at the named place. If the named place is the seller's premises, risk transfers after loading. If the named place is a carrier depot, risk transfers when goods are delivered there and the carrier has accepted them.

No. FCA does not require either party to arrange cargo insurance. The buyer bears transit risk from the named FCA place onwards and should arrange cargo insurance for the main international leg. The seller should consider insurance for any pre-carriage they arrange to the named FCA place.