Incoterms® 2020: who pays for the truck?

The matrix: who arranges each leg

The rules split the trip into three legs: the truck that takes the cargo out of the plant, the main carriage and the truck that delivers it. If the cargo travels by road only, the legs are usually one and the same dry van; if it leaves by ship, the main carriage is the ocean freight and the trucks stay at the two ends.

Each cell says who arranges and pays for that leg: Seller or Buyer. “Truck” is the inland freight at each end. The last column says where the risk of the cargo passes to the buyer, which does not always match who pays the freight.

For any mode of transport 7 rules

Only for sea and inland waterway transport 4 rules

Trademark and scope.Incoterms® is a registered trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). This table is our own summary and does not reproduce the official text (ICC publication No. 723). The contract must always state the exact place and the wording “Incoterms® 2020”.

Rule by rule: if you sell, if you buy

Pick the rule in your contract and read the card from your side of the operation. Whatever says “you” is yours to arrange and pay for.

What the matrix does not say: customs, insurance and unloading

The rule allocates transport and risk. These notes cover what does not fit in a cell.

• Incoterms® 2020 came into force on January 1, 2020 and is the version in force.
• With EXW, or with FCA at the seller’s plant, the buyer arranges the truck from origin. With FCA at an intermediate point, with CPT or CIP, or with any D rule, the seller arranges the leg up to the named place. Under DAP and DDP unloading is the buyer’s; under DPU, the seller’s.
• Customs clearance: the seller clears the goods for export and the buyer for import, except under EXW (both clearances are the buyer’s) and under DDP (both are the seller’s).
• Only two rules require the seller to insure the cargo: CIF and CIP. Under the others, each party decides whether to insure its risk.
• ICC warns that many disputes arise over who pays for loading and unloading, terminal handling, container rental and customs formalities, even when the rule is well chosen, and recommends spelling it out in writing in the contract. By extension, it is advisable to agree expressly on demurrage, container detention and truck detention.
• 2020 changes: DAT was renamed DPU (the destination can be any place, not only a terminal); CIP now requires cover of the Institute Cargo Clauses A type and CIF keeps Clauses C; FCA allows the parties to agree on a bill of lading with an “on board” notation; and transport with a party’s own means of transport is provided for under FCA, DAP, DPU and DDP.

The charges that cause the most disputes do not depend on the Incoterm but on each contract: they are explained in Detention and demurrage. The paperwork for each leg, in Documents: DUCA-T, waybill.

Seven mistakes: fixed before you sign

None of them is unusual. They are corrected in the contract, not when the truck is already at the gate.

1. Using FOB for a container

   Why it fails

   FOB is a maritime rule and risk passes when the goods are on board the vessel. For container cargo, ICC notes that FCA is usually the better option.

   What to do instead

   Consider FCA and state the exact place of delivery: the seller’s plant, a terminal, the port or the carrier’s warehouse.

2. Putting FAS, FOB, CFR or CIF on freight that travels by road only

   Why it fails

   Those 4 rules are only for sea and inland waterway transport.

   What to do instead

   Use one of the 7 rules for any mode: EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU or DDP.

3. Selling EXW when the goods cross a border

   Why it fails

   With EXW the buyer arranges the truck, loads at its own expense and risk and also takes on export clearance. ICC considers it appropriate mainly for domestic sales.

   What to do instead

   ICC recommends FCA when the goods cross a border: at the seller’s plant, the seller loads and clears the goods for export.

4. Assuming that whoever pays the freight bears the risk

   Why it fails

   Under CPT and CIP the seller arranges and pays for transport to destination, but risk passes at origin, when the goods are handed over to the carrier. Under CFR and CIF it passes when the goods are on board the vessel, at the port of shipment.

   What to do instead

   If the risk of the trip is the buyer’s, the buyer should know that only CIP and CIF require the seller to take out insurance.

5. Writing the rule without the place

   Why it fails

   The named place marks how far the transport arranged by each party goes. Without it, the rule is incomplete.

   What to do instead

   Write the rule, the exact place and the version. For example: “DAP buyer’s warehouse, [address], Incoterms® 2020”.

6. Taking unloading for granted

   Why it fails

   Under DAP and DDP the goods are delivered on the vehicle, ready for unloading: unloading is the buyer’s. Under DPU the seller unloads.

   What to do instead

   Put in writing who unloads and who pays if the truck waits.

7. Selling DDP without being able to import at destination

   Why it fails

   Under DDP the seller clears the goods for import and pays the duties. ICC warns that this can prove problematic for the seller.

   What to do instead

   With DAP the seller takes the cargo to the same place and the import, with its duties and taxes, is the buyer’s responsibility.

Five questions: EXW, FOB, FCA and DAP

Reference, not advice.General reference information, checked against official sources on September 30, 2026. It is not legal, customs or commercial advice and does not replace the text of the regulations or the terms of each contract. The rules change: confirm your case with your GoTruck contact and with your customs broker before shipping.