Legal Definitions - FIO

FIO stands for Free in and out.

This is a shipping term used in contracts, often found on a bill of lading, which specifies that the party sending the goods (the shipper) is responsible for arranging and paying for both the loading of the cargo onto the transport vessel or vehicle at the origin point and the unloading of the cargo from the vessel or vehicle at the destination point. Essentially, the carrier (the company transporting the goods) is only responsible for the actual transportation between the two points, not the handling at either end.

• Example 1: Bulk Commodity Shipment

  A large agricultural company in Brazil sells a substantial volume of soybeans to a food processing plant in Europe. Their shipping agreement specifies "FIO" terms. This means the Brazilian company (the shipper) must arrange and pay for the equipment and labor to load the soybeans onto the bulk carrier ship at the port in Brazil. Upon the ship's arrival in Europe, the Brazilian company is also responsible for the costs and logistics of unloading the soybeans from the vessel into the processing plant's designated storage facilities. The shipping line's charges cover only the ocean transit itself.

• Example 2: Specialized Industrial Equipment

  An engineering firm in Japan manufactures a custom-built, oversized turbine for a power plant in the United States. The contract for shipping this turbine includes the "FIO" clause. Under these terms, the Japanese firm (the shipper) is responsible for hiring specialized cranes and personnel to carefully load the heavy turbine onto the cargo ship in Japan. When the ship reaches the U.S. port, the Japanese firm must again arrange and pay for the necessary heavy-lift equipment and skilled workers to safely unload the turbine from the ship and place it onto a specialized truck for onward transport. The shipping company's fee only covers the journey across the ocean.

• Example 3: Containerized Goods from a Factory

  A clothing manufacturer in Bangladesh ships several containers filled with garments to a retail distributor in Canada. The freight forwarder's quote for this shipment includes "FIO" terms. This means the Bangladeshi manufacturer (the shipper) is responsible for packing the containers at their factory, transporting them to the port, and paying for their loading onto the container ship. Once the containers arrive at the Canadian port, the manufacturer is also responsible for the costs and arrangements to unload the containers from the ship and transport them to the distributor's warehouse. The shipping line's service begins when the loaded containers are secured on board and ends when they are made available at the destination port.