Direct answer. Chartering is the contract by which a charterer (shipper, freight forwarder or main carrier) hires a road carrier to make a vehicle available to carry out a freight transport, generally on a dedicated basis. It differs from groupage and parcel consolidation, where several shipments from different clients share the same vehicle.
Charterer, carrier and types of chartering
In road freight transport, chartering brings together two parties: the charterer, who needs goods transported and hires the capacity of a vehicle for that purpose, and the carrier, who physically carries out the route with its own resources. The charterer is not always the final shipper of the goods: it can be a freight forwarder, or even another carrier subcontracting part of its business to a peer, for example for reasons of capacity or geographic coverage.
Several forms of chartering are generally distinguished depending on the length of the commitment. Trip chartering covers a single route or load. Time chartering makes a vehicle, and often its driver, available for a given period for several successive assignments. Continuous or regular chartering, meanwhile, organizes a lasting relationship between the same partners for recurring flows. In everyday road transport practice, chartering most often corresponds to a full or near-full load dedicated to a single client, which brings it close to the English-language notion of FTL (Full Truckload).
This dedicated-vehicle logic sets chartering apart from groupage and parcel consolidation, two arrangements in which several shipments from different clients are combined into the same vehicle to optimize its fill rate. Chartering nonetheless remains a common link in the supply chain: a freight forwarder or a shipper without its own fleet can charter a carrier to carry out all or part of a transport plan, including for international routes governed by a CMR consignment note.
FAQ
What is the difference between chartering and groupage?
Chartering covers a dedicated vehicle, generally hired for a single client and a given route or period. Groupage, by contrast, consists of combining shipments from several different clients into the same truck to optimize its fill rate, via a sorting hub.
Who are the charterer and the carrier?
The charterer is the party that needs goods transported and, for that, hires the capacity of a vehicle: a shipper, a freight forwarder, or even another carrier. The carrier is the road transport company that physically carries out the route with its own vehicles and drivers.
Does chartering only apply to road transport?
No: the concept also exists in maritime and air transport, where chartering designates hiring all or part of the capacity of a ship or an aircraft for a given period or voyage. In French inland logistics, the term is mostly used for road transport.
Related terms
Groupage · Parcel consolidation (transport) · LTL / FTL · Freight · Freight forwarder / customs broker · 3PL / 4PL · Transport plan · CMR consignment note · Demurrage.
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