House Bill of Lading (HBL)
A house bill of lading is the B/L a freight forwarder or NVOCC issues to the shipper. The forwarder in turn receives a master B/L from the shipping line for the same container. HBLs are common in LCL, where one consolidated container carries many HBLs from different shippers. At destination, the consignee surrenders the HBL to the forwarder's agent to obtain a delivery order. Make sure the issuer has a reliable agent at the port of discharge.
Related terms
- Master Bill of Lading (MBL)
A master bill of lading is the B/L issued by the ocean carrier for the containers booked with it.
- NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier)
An NVOCC is a carrier that operates no ships of its own but buys space from shipping lines and resells it to shippers under its own house B/L.
- Freight Forwarder
A freight forwarder organises shipments on behalf of cargo owners: booking ship or aircraft space, arranging trucking, documents, insurance and LCL consolidation.
- LCL (Less than Container Load)
LCL is a shipment too small to fill a container, so a forwarder or NVOCC consolidates it with other shippers' cargo at a container freight station (CFS).