Commercial Road Transport: Company Operations & Contracts

Posted on Apr 4, 2025 in Transport and Vehicle Maintenance

Commercial Road Transport: Company Operations

Transport Company:

  • Owns a vehicle fleet.
  • The traffic department manages the main activity. Workers are organized.
  • Depending on the market, export/return journey traffic, language, etc. are considered.
  • It can “sell” freight that it cannot carry with its own vehicle fleet.

Commercialization of Road Transport: Auxiliary Activities

Transport Operator:

  • Warehouse owner/Distributor: Keeps goods in its warehouse and performs activities of manipulation and order preparation.
  • Freight Forwarder: Primarily works in an international area, offering a global service including complementary services to transport, such as logistics, storage, and distribution.
  • Usually has a chain of collaborators worldwide, offering the possibility of multimodal transport adapted to customer needs.

CMR Convention: Key Articles

  • It is always applied when the country of origin or destination is a contracting country of the CMR convention.
  • When the article containing the goods is carried over part of the journey by sea, rail, or air, this convention will apply to the whole of the carriage.
  • The carrier is responsible for the acts and omissions of his agents and servants, and of any other person whose services he uses for the performance of the carriage.
  • When the carrier receives the goods, he has to check:
    • The accuracy of the statements in the consignment note: number of packets and their marks and numbers.
    • The apparent condition of the goods and their packaging.
  • The sender will be responsible for all expenses, loss, and damage sustained by the carrier due to inaccuracy of the information included in the consignment note.
  • The carrier will be liable for the total or partial loss of the goods and for the damage that occurs between the time when he takes over the goods and the time of delivery, as well as for any delay (with some exceptions).

Road Transport Contract Documents

Transport Order:

  • There is no standardized template.
  • Transport conditions are specified.

The CMR Consignment Note (Carta de Porte):

  • It proves that the contract of carriage exists.
  • It is filled out when the goods are being loaded.
  • Four original copies are made out and signed by the sender and the carrier:
    • Copy 1: Sender (red)
    • Copy 2: Consignee (blue)
    • Copy 3: Carrier (green)
    • Copy 4: Administrative use

Consignment Note: Main Contents

  • The name and address of the sender (1)
  • The name and address of the consignee (2)
  • The place of delivery. Place and date of taking over (3, 4)
  • Documents attached (packing list, commercial invoice, certificate of origin) (5)
  • The number of packages and their special marks and numbers (6, 7)
  • The description, regarding common use, of the nature of the goods, method of packaging, and, in the case of dangerous goods, their recognized description (8, 9)
  • The gross weight of the goods (11)
  • Volume in m³ (12)
  • Sender Instructions (13)

Consignment Contract: Main Contents

  • Payment Instructions (14)
  • Cash on delivery (15)
  • Carrier (16)
  • Successive carriers (17)
  • Carrier Reservations and observations (18)
  • Special agreements (19)
  • To be paid (20)
  • The date of the consignment note and the place at which it is made out (21)
  • The signature and stamp of the sender, the carrier, and the consignee (22, 23, 24)