Road freight
Road moves can be groupage, part-load or full-load. Keep the collection and delivery points, carrier/CMR reference, vehicle or trailer reference where relevant, gross weight, package count and border/customs instructions tied to the commercial invoice. A “door-to-door” road price still needs clarity on customs, waiting time, handling and destination charges.
Sea freight
Separate FCL, LCL and conventional/bulk arrangements. Keep the bill of lading or sea-waybill reference, container number where relevant, port/terminal charges and ocean freight visible. For Incoterms®, FAS/FOB/CFR/CIF are specifically sea/inland-waterway rules; containerised freight handed to a carrier before vessel loading may fit an any-mode rule better.
Air freight
Air pricing often depends on chargeable weight, so keep actual gross weight, packed dimensions and the carrier’s volumetric method together. Link the air-waybill or booking reference to the invoice and customs instruction. Do not reuse an air-cargo weight formula for road, sea or rail unless the carrier contract says so.
Rail freight
Rail is commonly part of a wider intermodal route. Record the rail/forwarder consignment reference, terminal hand-offs, wagon/container information where supplied and the onward road legs. Any-mode Incoterms® rules are designed to work where more than one mode is used.
Courier & parcel
The label can make the shipment look simple while customs still depends on the underlying data. Product description, commodity code, origin, value, package weight, consignee/importer details and duty/tax billing all need to line up. The carrier may move the parcel by road, air or both.
Multimodal
For road-to-air, road-to-sea, rail-to-road and similar routes, map the whole chain. The Incoterm controls the sale-contract hand-off; the transport documents control the physical legs. Keep both views so a freight quote does not hide where risk, cost or customs responsibility actually changes.
Customs timing is mode-sensitive
UK export-declaration timing can differ by mode. GOV.UK currently sets different minimum submission windows for road/inland waters, sea, air and rail. Treat those as operational deadlines, not permanent constants: check the live guidance before departure and confirm port, carrier and safety/security requirements separately.
Turn the route into a shipment instruction
Build a shipment instruction Allocate freight costs
Official sources
- GOV.UK — making a full export declaration (mode-specific timing)
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020 transport groups
- GOV.UK — import goods into the UK
LAST REVIEWED / 03 OCT 2026
Carrier documents, cut-offs, surcharges and port/terminal rules vary by service and route. Use this guide as a preparation framework and verify the live booking conditions.