freight

freight, goods transported in a ship, or the money paid for the transport of such goods. Freight, in its meaning of goods transported, is specified in the bill of lading and when shipped c.i.f., which indicates that the quoted price for shipment includes cost, insurance, and freight, remains the property of the consignor until delivery is taken by the consignee at the port of unloading. Where freight is shipped f.o.b. (free on board) the goods become the property of the consignee immediately they arrive on board and he is responsible for the payment of insurance and freight charges.

In older forms of commerce the shipowner often owned the goods loaded in his ship and carried them to foreign ports to sell to the best advantage, replacing them when sold with goods purchased abroad and brought home for sale at a profit. In this case there were of course no actual freight charges as such, this element of the cost coming from the overall profit from the sales of outward-bound and inward-bound goods. An alternative to this general pattern was for a merchant to charter a ship to carry his goods to foreign ports for the master, or an agent known as a supercargo or husband, to sell to the best advantage. In this case the actual freight charges would not be specifically determined but would be a part of the sum paid in chartering the ship.

With the introduction of steam propulsion and more rapid means of communications, the old pattern of freight changed. Instead of goods being taken aboard on the basis of adventure, sales of specific goods were arranged directly between merchants, and the freight was arranged with a shipowner or a shipping line trading regularly to the port nearest to the consignee.

As the overall volume of world trade expanded from the late 19th century, the pattern of freight again changed, especially in the design of ships to carry one particular product, such as coal, grain, etc. The increasing volume of trade since then, in conjunction with the profits to be made in handling larger cargoes, has resulted in the building of ever larger bulk carriers and container ships.