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Language Foundation

HBL

HBL, or house bill of lading, is a bill of lading issued by a freight forwarder or non-vessel-operating common carrier to a shipper as a receipt for the goods and as the contract for their carriage.

In plain English

It is the forwarder’s own shipping document for the cargo. The freight forwarder, or another carrier that does not operate the vessel, gives it to the shipper as both proof that the goods were received and the agreement to transport them.

In context

Here, HBL names the forwarder-issued ocean bill of lading in the shipment file, the document that acknowledges receipt of the goods and states the contract for carrying them.

Situation
Coordinating freight quotes, booking, consolidation, handoff, and transport documents
What it communicates
names the forwarder-level ocean document in the shipment file.

Meaning limits

The term itself only identifies this forwarder-issued bill of lading and does not, by itself, state any details beyond that defined role.

Examples

“The freight forwarder issued the HBL to the shipper when the cargo was received for carriage.”

Core meaning

“In the shipment file, the HBL recorded the goods received and the agreed carriage terms.”

In context

  • bill of lading Broader Term

    This is a more general transport document category that includes this item as one kind.

  • master bill of lading Contrast

    Both are bills of lading, but they differ in the party that issues the document.