What we get asked every day.

It starts with the distance and the route, plus the time that does not depend on the truck: appointments and queues at the port, processing at each border crossing, the hours of customs and other authorities, and traffic restrictions. In international transit, the customs office of departure sets the route and the deadline the carrier must meet. That is why every transit time is an indicative range, not a guarantee: ask for the one for your route when you get a quote.

indicativeAs a general reference, these can delay it: incomplete documents or documents that do not match, missing sanitary permits, physical inspection at customs, a damaged customs seal, overweight, no appointment or a missed cut-off at the port, a late vessel, customs system outages, and road closures, weather or force majeure. In Costa Rica and Guatemala, the Commercial Code makes the shipper liable for damages caused by missing or incorrect documents. Check them before shipping.

indicativeIt is the deadline set by the shipping line or the terminal to receive the documents or the container before the vessel sails. If it is missed, the shipment may be rolled to another sailing and incur additional costs. Cut-offs change by vessel: ask for them along with the booking.

At the Moín Container Terminal (APM Terminals), yes: appointments are scheduled in the TERMPoint system, with separate types for imports, exports and empties. For other ports in the region, confirm with each terminal.

As a baseline, the commercial invoice and the data for the waybill (carta de porte): shipper, consignee, packages, weight and description of the goods. If it is an export, also the number of the DUCA-F or of the export declaration. The carrier issues the waybill with that data; the DUCA-T (the Central American single transit declaration) serves as the cargo manifest, except for overseas or consolidated cargo, which carries a separate manifest. Depending on the goods, the bill of lading (if the cargo comes from overseas) and the sanitary certificates or permits are added. They must be legible and the data must match across documents; confirm the list for your cargo with your GoTruck contact and with your customs broker.

It depends on the type. The DUCA-F and the DUCA-D are generated by the exporter and the importer, normally through their customs broker. The DUCA-T is generated by the authorized land carrier; GoTruck is a licensed customs carrier (code CR02343).

Route and customs offices, exporter, importer, transit route, carrier and transport unit, driver, description of the goods, supporting documents and equipment (trailer or container and seals). Filling it in takes 10 steps; the last one is saving and submitting the declaration. Have that data ready when you request the service.

The rules designed for any mode of transport: EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU and DDP. FAS, FOB, CFR and CIF are only for sea and inland waterway transport. The choice depends on who is better placed to arrange the transport and on where each party wants the risk to pass. This answer is for information only and does not replace commercial or legal advice.

The customs office en route (aduana de paso) checks the unit’s data and the customs seal, and notifies the previous customs office electronically that the cargo has arrived. If everything is in order, goods in transit are normally not physically inspected, although customs keeps the power to do so. Other authorities may request an inspection; in that case the nearest customs office steps in and the unit is sealed again.

It is the security seal on the transport unit (in Spanish, marchamo). In international transit it is applied at the customs office of departure, under its control, and the other countries accept it as their own; the interested party covers its cost. If the cargo is transshipped to another unit, customs reprograms the seal or applies a new one.

Customs may inspect the unit and the goods: if there are signs of an infraction, the unit is taken to the nearest customs office to be inspected, with whatever legal consequences apply. Removing or breaking the seal without customs present, or altering its markings, is an infraction of the transit regime, and each country sets the penalties. It usually means a delay.

indicativeIt depends on the country, the axle configuration of the truck, the tare of the equipment and the maximum marked on the container itself. As a reference for Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, the Central American Agreement sets 37 t of total weight for a T3-S2 and 41 t for a T3-S3, including the tare of the tractor, chassis and container. Costa Rica and Panama apply their own rules. Check the table of weights by country and confirm with your GoTruck contact before loading.

The vehicle cannot continue its trip until the excess is corrected, and each country applies its own penalties. In practice the cargo has to be redistributed or split across more vehicles, with the cost and time that involves; Maersk, for example, states that the customer bears that cost. Confirm the actual weight of the cargo before dispatch.

It is the verified gross mass of the packed container. The shipper declares it in the shipping document and provides it to the shipping line and the terminal sufficiently in advance. It is obtained by weighing the container once it is packed, or by weighing all the cargo and packaging and adding the tare of the container using a certified method. Without a VGM the container is not loaded on the vessel.

Full truckload (FTL): the unit travels with your goods only. Consolidated (LTL): your shipment shares the unit with cargo from other customers; at customs it may travel under a “master” document and be separated at destination. Ask your GoTruck contact which option applies to your route.

They are the days at no charge that the shipping line grants to pick up the container from the port and to return it empty. They change by shipping line and by port. Ask for them in writing before shipping.

Demurrage: the full container is still inside the terminal after the free days. Container detention: the container is outside the terminal, in the customer’s hands, and was not returned empty on time. The shipping line charges both, and they can add up.

Because the container and the space at the port are limited resources. The charge is meant to get the equipment back into circulation and to keep cargo from sitting in storage at the terminal.

It is the carrier’s charge when the truck, the chassis or the driver is kept waiting beyond the time agreed for loading, unloading or crossing. It is different from the shipping line’s demurrage and is charged by a different company. At GoTruck, the free time and the truck detention terms are agreed in each quote.

The shipping line bills its charges to its customer according to its tariff, and the carrier bills truck detention to whoever hired it. How they are split among seller, buyer and carrier depends on the contracts, not on the Incoterm alone. ICC recommends putting it in writing; at GoTruck, the truck detention terms are stated in each quote.

The refrigerated (reefer) container needs electricity: on the road it comes from a generator (genset) clipped onto the container or mounted under the chassis; the reefer trailer has its own refrigeration unit. The unit works to the set point on the thermostat and depends on air circulating well around the cargo. State the temperature your cargo requires when you request the service.

Yes, it is the recommended practice. The truck’s refrigeration unit is designed to maintain the temperature, with limited reserve capacity to bring it down; if you load the product warm, the unit has to absorb that extra heat and may not keep up. Following the stowage pattern also matters, so that air can circulate. Whether the unit itself is pre-cooled or not is defined by your shipping line’s instructions.

There are two separate layers. The commercial one is the carrier’s: at GoTruck every unit carries GPS with 24-hour monitoring, and you receive a public tracking link per shipment. The customs one is the authority’s control: an electronic seal where the authority requires it, and the status of the DUCA-T, which the carrier checks on the SIECA portal.

The freight rate does not in itself include insurance for the goods. Only the CIF and CIP rules require the seller to take out insurance; under the others, each party decides whether to insure its risk, and a cargo policy in the name of whoever bears it is recommended. With GoTruck, cargo insurance is arranged per shipment and quoted with the freight.