Container leasing and trading glossary

Approved Continuous Examination Program: a scheme approved under the CSC in which containers are examined during their normal operation, shown by an ACEP number on the CSC plate or a decal.

A container sold in its current condition, damage included, without any warranty.

A container structurally fit to carry cargo by sea, with a valid CSC plate and examination.

The last digit of a container number, calculated from the ten characters before it. It detects most typing errors.

The condition class of a container, such as new, one trip, IICL, cargo worthy, wind and water tight or as is.

Renting containers to a shipping line, a forwarder or a shipper for a period, against a daily rate (per diem) and fixed charges at pickup and return. The lessor stays the owner and gets the containers back at the end of the lease.

Buying and selling containers, new or used, usually per depot and per grade. A trader may buy containers released by a supplier at a depot, or containers returned at the end of a lease, and sell them on to end users, other traders or lessors.

The safety approval plate required by the International Convention for Safe Containers, usually on the left door. It shows the approval reference, manufacture date, ratings and the next examination date or ACEP reference.

A charge for a container that stays inside the port or terminal beyond its free time. In French: surestaries.

A yard where empty containers are stored, inspected and repaired, and handed over or received against releases and return instructions.

The daily charge a depot bills the container owner for keeping a container in the yard, after the free days of the depot tariff, plus handling at arrival and departure.

A charge for keeping a carrier's container outside the terminal beyond the free time, until the empty container is returned.

The return of a container to a depot. In Krak Stack, recording the drop-off sets the gate-in date and ends the rental.

A fixed amount per container billed when it is returned, often higher in places where the lessor already has too many containers.

The standard closed steel container for general cargo, without refrigeration.

The receipt signed when a container passes from one party to another. It records the container number, the date and time, the haulier and the condition of the container.

Forty-foot equivalent unit: one 40 ft container, or 2 TEU.

A container platform with end walls but no side walls or roof, for oversized cargo. ISO type codes P1 and following.

The number of days included in a lease or a tariff before daily charges start. In leasing, free days are granted per container and usually count both the first and the last day.

A trading deal where containers change hands when they enter a depot (at drop-off), for example leased containers sold to a buyer at the end of the lease instead of coming back into stock.

A container entering a depot or a terminal. For a lease, gate-in ends the rental of that container.

A container leaving a depot or a terminal. For a lease, gate-out starts the rental of that container.

A container 9 ft 6 in (2.896 m) high instead of 8 ft 6 in, giving about 30 cm more height inside. ISO size codes 45G1 (40 ft) or L5G1 (45 ft).

The Institute of International Container Lessors. Its inspection criteria (IICL 6 since 1 August 2016) define the condition in which leased containers must be returned. "IICL grade" means a used container meeting them.

The standard for container identification: owner code, equipment category, serial number, check digit, and the size and type codes.

The customer who rents containers from a lessor and pays the per diem while they are on hire.

The owner of the containers in a lease, who rents them out and bills the per diem.

The handling charge for lifting a container onto or off a truck at a depot, also called handling in and handling out.

A lease of several years at a fixed per diem, under which the lessee keeps the containers for the whole period.

A frame agreement under which a lessee picks up and returns containers as needed, at agreed rates and in agreed locations.

The maximum weight of the container and its cargo together, marked on the doors and the CSC plate.

A container that has never been used, straight from the factory.

The moment a leased container stops being rented, normally the day it is returned to an agreed depot (gate-in).

The moment a leased container starts to be rented, normally the day it leaves the depot (gate-out). The on-hire day is usually the first rental day.

A container that has made a single loaded voyage after manufacture and is sold at its destination. Nearly as good as new.

A lease where the container is picked up in one place and returned in another, often used to move containers to where the lessor needs them.

A container without a rigid roof, covered by a tarpaulin, for cargo loaded from above. ISO type codes U0 or U1.

The three letters that start a container number, registered with the Bureau International des Containers (BIC), followed by the category letter (U for freight containers).

The maximum weight of cargo a container may carry: maximum gross mass minus tare.

A daily charge per container. In leasing, it is the daily rental rate. In US shipping and trucking, it often means the detention charged for keeping a carrier's equipment too long.

The collection of a container at a depot by the haulier presenting a release reference. In Krak Stack, recording the pickup sets the gate-out date of the container.

A fixed amount per container billed when the container is picked up, also called lift-out or handout charge.

A refrigerated container with its own cooling unit, ISO type codes R0 or R1, for example 45R1.

The instruction from the container owner to a depot to hand over a number of containers of a given type and grade, or specific numbers, to the bearer of the release reference, before an expiry date.

Moving empty containers from places where there are too many to places where they are needed, at the owner's cost unless a lessee or a one-way lease covers it.

The instruction telling a depot which containers will be returned there, also called drop-off instruction (DOI), redelivery or off-hire notice.

The four-character ISO code on the doors that gives the length, the height and the type of a container, such as 22G1 or 45G1.

The weight of the empty container, marked on its doors.

Twenty-foot equivalent unit. A 20 ft container counts as 1 TEU, a 40 ft as 2 TEU. Fleets and ships are measured in TEU.

A container with no holes or leaks, fit for storage on land but not certified to carry cargo by sea.

Year of manufacture of a container, shown on its CSC plate. Used to value and grade used containers.