INLAND RATES, RAIL REGU- EXPORT TRAFFIC time allowed on export goods as compared with the short time allowance for delivery of domestic goods. To the ports of Boston and East Boston, Mass., Providence and South Providence, R. I., Portland, Me., St. John and West St. John, N. B., Quebec and Point Levi, Quebec, the New York rate basis is applied on export goods, while domestic rates to these cities are on a somewhat higher basis. To Montreal, Que., the rate basis for export goods is the same as to Philadelphia, while on domestic goods a higher scale of rates is applied. A more liberal free time allowance prevails at all ports for export goods than is the case on domestic deliveries. To Gulf ports and South Atlantic ports lower rates are accorded export goods than the scale applicable to goods destined locally to the port cities. For carload shipments, it is essential that a "booking" or engagement of space be entered with steamship company before the shipment is made from the interior. In connection with such booking, the ocean rate is agreed upon, and space for the shipment tentatively reserved. The Agent, through whom the booking is made, files with the steamship agency a confirmation of same, and on arrival of the underlying merchandise at the seaboard, the booking agent or broker applies for a delivery permit under the engagement confirmed to the steamship agents. The making of advance arrangements with steamship company on carload shipments is important for the reason that when exports are moving freely, it is often impossible to get steamer space on short notice, i. e., after arrival of cargo at the seaboard. Bookings with steamship lines are, in some instances, placed direct with steamship agents, but usually are negotiated through shipping agents (freight brokers) or railroad agents. On standard commodities, which the steamship lines carry on weight rates (fixed rates per ton weight or per hundred pounds), steamship bookings may be arranged direct with steamship lines or through the railroads. Through export bills of lading will be issued by the Commercial Agent of the railroad at or nearest the point of shipment, in exchange for the railroad domestic bill of lading. The through export bill of lading is not, as a rule, available for goods which the steamship lines carry on measurement rates (rates per cubic foot), or on an optional weight or measurement rate, as the basis for ocean charges on such goods must be determined after the cargo is loaded in the ship and stowage displacement ascertained. The terminal regulations at North Atlantic and Virginia ports, also at Pacific ports, are more liberal in connection with shipments covered by through export bills of lading than is the case when shipments are sent to the port "for export," to move under ocean bills of lading. The railroads agree to hold at their terminals without charge for a period of fifteen days, all carload shipments covered by through bill of lading to foreign port. An additional advantage of through bills of lading is that most of the trans-ocean carriers from Atlantic and Pacific ports have subscribed to an agreement with railroads whereby the steamship line will pay any detention expenses accruing on cargo as a result of their failure to accept delivery within the prescribed free time allowed under the rules. On shipments via Pacific ports, through export bills of lading are invariably used, as this is necessary in order to secure the benefit of export rates and rules. The through export bills of lading must be taken out within twenty days from date of shipment. EXPORT TRAFFIC Free time allowances in effect at present are as follows: North Atlantic ports: Carload shipments covered by through bills of lading, 15 days. Carload shipments not covered by through bills of lading, 10 days. Through bills of lading are not, as a rule, issued for less carload shipments. At South Atlantic ports, the rules vary from 10 to 15 days' free time, whether under through bill of lading or otherwise. There is at present no uniformity in the rules through the different ports. At Gulf ports, free time until clearance is allowed when shipments are covered by through bills of lading. When not covered by through bills of lading, the free time allowance is seven days for both carload and less-carload shipments. Owing to the lack of uniformity in the rules other than at North Atlantic ports, it is essential that shippers inform themselves through railroad representatives or INLAND RATES, shipping agents of the prevailing rules. RAIL REGU- STEAMSHIP SPACE RESERVA TIONS Con. OCEAN TRANS- CHARGES Carload export freight from interior points is delivered to steamers without extra charge, i. e., the railroads absorb out of their revenue the expense of putting the cargo alongside ships. Certain short-haul territory is an exception to this rule, i. e., territory adjacent to port of export from which the railroad revenue is not sufficient to warrant absorption of the expense for delivery alongside. At New York, most of the carload freight is delivered to ships by lighters (barges) which, as a rule, are without power, being towed alongside by tugs. There is a limited equipment of "steam lighters" or power barges for special deliveries. Some perishable freight, such as fresh meats, etc., in refrigerator cars is put alongside in the cars on car floats, but ordinary merchandise is unloaded at railroad terminals from cars to barges and from barges into ship or to steamship pier if ship, for any reason, cannot receive the cargo and space is available on the pier. At ports other than New York, the cars are usually switched to pier as the railroads provide the docking facilities and have direct track connection. Less-carload freight through the port of New York is subject to charge for cartage from arriving station to steamship dock, the charge varying according to location of dock to which delivery must be made. At ports other than New York, the cost of delivery to steamer is usually absorbed by railroads if revenue earned will permit. Ocean transportation rates, with the exception of certain standard commodities the stowage measurement of which does not vary to any considerable extent, are usually quoted on both the weight and measurement basis, subject to ship's option. This means that the charge will be assessed per hundred pounds or per cubic foot at the optional rates (or the equivalent in American money per hundred pounds or per cubic foot, if the quotation is named in sterling per ton of 2,240 lbs., or per 40 cubic feet, at ship's option), whichever will yield the steamer the greater revenue. At Atlantic and Gulf ports the ton weight, unless otherwise specially stated, is the gross ton of 2,240 lbs. What is known in steamship parlance as a "measurement" ton is 40 cubic feet of stowage space. At Pacific ports the ton weight, unless otherwise specially mentioned, is the net ton of 2,000 lbs., the measurement ton being 40 cubic feet of stowage space. Usually the steamship lines charge on actual cubic measurements of packages, although theoretically they claim the right to charge on "stowage" measurement. This is the practice in case of oddly shaped packages. The charge is for the cube based on the greatest dimensions. To arrive at cubic contents, multiply length, EXPORT TRAFFIC height and breadth. If each dimension is an even number of feet, the problem is OCEAN TRANS- simple, as for instance, a package 4 feet by 5 feet by 8 feet would measure 160 cubic PORTATION CHARGES Con. BOOKING AND STEAMER SPACE VESSEL SHIP- SHIPPERS' EX- feet. When the dimensions run into inches, the total number of inches in each dimension must be used for the multiplication, and the total number of inches divided by 1728 to ascertain the number of cubic feet. To arrange most advantageous through costs, the shipper should first ascertain the inland rate, the port charge, and the ocean rate via the different routes. In negotiating for steamer space, the commodity, destination and the desired clearance (the period in which it is desired to have the goods leave the port) should be clearly and specifically stated by the shipper. When bulky or heavy weight pieces or packages are to be exported, it is necessary to advise the steamship line both their dimensions and their weight. A large volume of cargo is booked through freight contractors or freight forwarders. The same operation is followed by such concerns as would be followed by the individual shipper. However, a freight forwarder, on account of indirectly controlling a large amount of cargo, is often able to secure more favorable rates than a shipper. The contract that will be supplied by the freight contractor to the shipper (see form 30, page 514) is made after receiving a confirmation or a contract from the steamship company. If the occasion arises where a contract is not executed, then the space should be confirmed by correspondence as a matter of protection to both parties. A shipping permit (see form 32, page 515) of the steamship line is given to the railroad or shipper when the cargo, after being covered by a "Space Contract,' arrives at the port of exit. The shipping permit grants authority for the delivery of the goods to the dock on the date as set forth in the permit. The reason for a permit on the part of a steamship line is to enable it to control the manner and order in which the goods should be stowed and limit deliveries to the capacity of the ship. Regulations promulgated by the United States Treasury Department require that a form, styled "Shippers' Export Declaration," be filled out and filed with the Collector of Customs at the port of exit for all merchandise (except shipments, "in bond") cleared for foreign countries or shipped to non-contiguous territory of the United States, or from Alaska, Hawaii or Porto Rico to the United States. The form of declaration at present in use, with the instructions appearing on back thereof, are reproduced on pages 512 and 513. These forms can be procured from Collectors of Customs. The Export Declaration must be executed by shipper, owner or consignor of the merchandise, or by his Agent. Shipping agents at United States seaboard will prepare these export declarations if provided with certified copy of exporter's invoice. Declarations must be prepared in duplicate and must be sworn to before a Notary Public or other person authorized to administer oaths, or before a proper Customs Officer. No oath is required to declarations covering shipments to Canada or Mexico. When goods for export are to be covered by through bills of lading, the exporter should prepare and deliver to the carrier the shippers' export declaration. If exporter desires to preserve privacy of invoice figures, the values may be shown SHIPPERS' EX- CONSULAR IN- CERTIFICATES EXPORT TRAFFIC only on the original of the declaration and not shown on the duplicate. The declaration may be placed in a sealed envelope addressed to the Collector of Customs at the port of exit, and the envelope may be delivered to the carrier with notation showing that it contains export declaration in duplicate covering the shipment in course of forwarding. The sealed envelope will be delivered by the carrier to the Collector of Customs, who will retain the original declaration showing value and put the Customs seal on the duplicate declaration, which will be used by the carrier for clearance purposes, i. e., presented to steamship line when permit for delivery of the cargo to the ship is applied for. Shippers' export declaration will not be required for goods originating in Canada or Mexico transported through the United States for export. On such goods export clearance will be granted based on the bonded entry under which the goods must move through the United states. To most of the countries in South and Central America, Mexico, and some of the West Indian Islands, viz.: Cuba, Haiti, Santo Domingo, etc., Consular Invoices (see form 36, page 519) are required. These may be arranged at the various Consulates of those countries in the United States, but most of them are taken out at the Consulates in New York. Owing to the Consular requirements and other conditions, through bills of lading are not obtainable on shipments for the Latin American countries, West Indies, etc., such shipments being handled on bills of lading issued by the carrying steamship lines. Exporters in the interior, who have no establishments of their own at seaboard, will require the services of a reliable. shipping agent to handle the formalities of shipping goods to such countries. Negotiations are under way to make through railroad bills of lading available to South American ports but owing to consular and port requirements peculiar to LatinAmerican countries there is doubt as to whether shipments can be satisfactorily handled under through bills of lading of the United States railroads. The requirements of the different countries vary considerably, Argentina, for instance, requiring that three copies of the bills of lading signed by the steamship company be presented to the Consul for certification, and that to the first copy there be attached a copy of the certificate of origin. The Consul vises the bills of lading and certificate of origin, retaining one copy. The other two are submitted to the steamship company with the balance of the set for signature. A fixed charge is made for the consular certification, regardless of value. No consular invoice is required. As typical of the more extreme requirements of many of the other South American countries, Chile requires that bills of lading be certified by the Consul, also that consular invoices be prepared in Spanish and submitted in quadruplicate for vise. A fixed fee is charged for certification of the bills of lading, while the charge for certification of the consular invoices varies according to the amount of the invoice, or the invoice value. The various shipping agents will, for a moderate charge, attend to the preparation of bills of lading and the necessary Consular formalities. When buyers in foreign countries ask that "Certificate of Origin" (see form 37, page 519) be furnished, such request should always be complied with, as the certificate will undoubtedly be required for some special purpose, such as obtaining the most favorable rate of duty in countries which grant preferential or varying rates of duty on merchandise according to the country of origin. These certificates of origin must be prepared by the exporter or exporter's shipping agent and CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN (Con.) DOCK DOMESTIC EXPORT EXPORT TRAFFIC submitted to a Consul of the country of destination for certification, or vise. They are not generally requested, although on certain kinds of merchandise to France and French Colonies a preferential rate of duty is allowed, to secure the advantage of which a certificate of origin is necessary. On some commodities consignee will require a form of consular invoice to serve a similar purpose. When this is desired exporters should be careful to instruct their shipping agents to obtain the consular invoice at the time of forwarding the goods from port of export. It is in rare instances that export certificates are requested on shipments for Great Britain, or for British Dependencies or Colonies. They are, as a rule, requested in connection with shipments to France or French Dependencies and Colonies. A Dock Receipt (form 33, page 516) is a receipt for goods delivered at a dock and is signed on behalf of the steamship company by its representative at the dock. The purpose of the dock receipt is to indicate that the goods have been received by the steamship company. It shows the date, description of the goods, the shipper, marks, etc. In rare cases a dock receipt may be made a negotiable document, but under the general practice it is a non-negotiable document. If goods are delivered in a damaged condition, the representative of the steamship company will make notes of exception as to the condition of the goods on the dock receipt. After the shipper or his shipping agent has received the signed dock receipt, it is presented to the steamship company, together with bills of lading covering the consignment, and it is retained by the steamship company, the bills of lading being issued in lieu thereof. The ownership of the goods is evidenced by the dock receipt until the ocean bills of lading are executed, whereupon the ocean bills of lading are the documents that designate the ownership of the goods. In the ordinary routine of export traffic, the supplier prepares, and has railroad agent sign, a domestic bill of lading showing the name of consignee, or, in the case of an "order" shipment, the party to be notified, destination, and other data as required in the domestic bill of lading (see forms 1 and 2, pages 474-476). In the case of shipments via Pacific Coast ports, the domestic bill of lading, after being executed by the initial rail agent, is forwarded to the exporter (if the supplier is not the exporter). Frequently the domestic bill of lading is an "order" bill of lading and reaches the exporter through the banks. After the exporter is in possession of the domestic bill of lading he exchanges it for an export bill of lading, or, as sometimes called, a through export bill of lading. The Export Bill of Lading (see form 25, page 506) is issued in exchange for the domestic bill of lading. Where no arrangements are in force for the issuance of an export rail-and-ocean bill of lading, it is necessary to handle shipments on a domestic bill of lading to the port, the shipper or his agent being required to obtain the ocean bill of lading (see form 26, page 508) at the port. Export bills of lading are issued via all the principal ports. The advantage of an export bill of lading is that it enables the exporter or supplier to obtain payment of invoice promptly. As an example, a domestic bill of lading on a shipment originating at Cleveland, Ohio, destined to Kobe, Japan, via San Francisco, on an order of an exporter located at New York, can be exchanged for an Export Trans-Pacific bill of lading within a few days after the shipment is receipted for by the initial line; that is, the exporter in New York receives the domestic bill of lading, prepares an Export Trans-Pacific bill of lading, and exchanges the domestic bill of lading for an executed |