BACKHAUL: Transport of materials from suppliers back to the operator's facility.
BACK ORDER: Items ordered that aren't shipped due to stockout. Scheduled for shipment as available.
BACK TO BACK LETTERS OF CREDIT: Two letters of credit with identical documentary requirements, except for a difference in the price of the merchandise as shown by the invoice and draft.
BAIL: Metal handle.
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS: A statement which indicates a country's foreign economic transactions over a specified time.
BALANCE OF TRADE: The difference between a country's total imports and exports over a given period. A favorable balance of trade results from exports exceeding imports.
BALLAST: Material used to stabilize an empty or partially empty vessel.
BALLOON FREIGHT: Freight taking up considerable space in comparison to weight.
BANDING: Material used to wrap around the shipment to hold it in place.
BANKER'S ACCEPTANCE: A time bill of exchange, or acceptance, which has been drawn on and accepted by a bank.
BAR CODE: A symbol consisting of a series of printed bars representing values. A system of optical character reading, scanning, and tracking of units by reading a series of printed bars.
BARRIER MATERIALS: Materials that can withstand water, oil, vapor, and various gases.
BARTER: The direct exchange of goods for other goods without the use of money and without third party involvement.
BAUD RATE: The speed at which you can transmit and receive data from one computer to another.
B.B.L.: Barrel.
B.D.I.: Both dates inclusive.
B/E: Bill of exchange.
BENEFICIARY COUNTRY: Any country, territory, or successor political entity to which there is, in effect, a proclamation by the President designating such as a beneficiary country entitled to special tariff treatment.
BILL OF LADING: A contract between a shipper and a carrier that provides proof that the merchandise was transferred from the shipper to the consignee and that the carrier has assumed responsibility for the cargo until it is delivered.
BILL OF LADING NUMBER: A unique number shown on a bill of lading at the time the merchandise is accepted for shipment.
BILL OF MATERIALS: The list of materials and components necessary to support planned production runs.
BILL OF SALE: A written contract that transfers ownership from one party to another.
BINDING RULING: A Ruling by US Customs that certifies a commodity classification and duty rate
B/L: Bill of lading.
B.O.: Buyer's option.
BOND: An acceptable, written financial guarantee required to be given to Customs to secure a transaction by specifically binding the obligatory to certain covenants for certain amounts. (19CFR113)
BONDED GOODS: Goods in charge of Customs officers on which bonds instead of cash have been given. The goods in question have not "cleared Customs".
BONDED WAREHOUSE: A warehouse approved by the U.S. Treasury department into which non-cleared goods may be placed. There are several classes of bonded facilities.
BREAK BULK: The splitting up of one consolidated shipment into smaller ones for ultimate delivery to various consignees.
BU: Bushel.
BULK PACKING: Packing a number of small containers into a single larger container to facilitate movement.
BX:Box.