Bill of Lading

A Bill of Lading (BOL) is often a term you find within auto transport and other freight style industries. The term talks about the means for which employees in the industry are able to track their daily movements. To explain in a more simplified manner:
A Bill of Lading can be broken down into two words. First we all know what a bill is. It is a piece of paper that outlines the costs for services or products rendered. Lading or lade is specific to the type of product or service. In a transport company it means “cargo loaded onto a ship or other form of transport.” So you see it is a pretty simple concept. Any time an item is shipped such as a vehicle a bill of lading must be filled out to signify what is being transported and for how much.
The Bill of Lading is sent out to the auto transport driver from the shipping company. This document is given to the transporter before they actually pick up the shipment. The document will have some specific information mentioned on it. We have that listed below for you:

• Mode of conveyance
• Destination
• Time
• Date
• Conditions regarding the items being shipped

For auto transport companies the bill of lading is received when they get to the vehicle to load it on the trailer or carrier. It will tell the driver what to expect. They will know the exact destination, the time they must have it to you, and any other conditions that apply. By receiving the bill of lading the driver can verify with the company all of the information regarding the contract the consumer and company have agreed to. In this case a bill of lading is a document of identity.
There are four types of Bills of Lading. You have inland, ocean, through, or air waybill. The first two are quite easy to figure out. You are either shipping by land or by sea. Any time you ship by sea you also have to have an inland BOL because it will touch the land and sea. If you transport an item that is being exported a through BOL is needed. The air waybill is for any item being shipped via aircraft. For most consumers using auto transport companies, inland or ocean BOL’s will apply.

When researching facts about bills of lading to help explain the information for our consumers we ran across a bit of fascinating history. The dictionary which studies the origin of words states that Bill of Lading was used as far back as 1371. The reasons for its use are unknown to us, but we can figure it must have something to do with prisoners or captives being transported. Other references to the term exist in the 19th century in which captains promised goods would arrive unharmed, except in times of danger on the seas. In other words it was an “act of God” clause. This type of clause is still used today in Bills of Lading.