Ex Works
The goods stay at the seller's site until the buyer collects them. Export paperwork, the journey, cover and both sets of duties sit with the buyer.
Freight reference
Incoterms 2020: where cost and risk change hands
Each of the eleven codes marks the point where the seller stops paying and the buyer starts. Freight, risk, insurance and customs duty do not always switch together. Open a code to see how far that rule actually goes.
Incoterms® is a trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce. Chinese Brothers wrote this page as a working summary.
Eleven codes
Any-mode rules first, sea rules after
Used on road, rail, air and sea
Free Carrier
The seller hands over export-cleared goods to the carrier, or at the place the buyer names. From that handover, the buyer runs the shipment.
Carriage Paid To
The seller pays carriage through to the named place. Risk still moves to the buyer as soon as the first carrier takes the goods.
Carriage and Insurance Paid To
Same split as CPT, plus the seller must insure the goods to the named place at the broader all-risks level, for the buyer.
Delivered at Place
The seller carries cost and risk until the goods reach the named place, still loaded. The buyer clears them through import.
Delivered at Place Unloaded
Reaches the same place as DAP, and the seller also pays for and risks the unloading there.
Delivered Duty Paid
The widest seller duty. The goods arrive at the named place already cleared in, with duty and tax settled.
Rules only for ship or barge cargo
Free Alongside Ship
The seller places export-cleared goods beside the ship at the named loading port. The buyer takes them from the quay.
Free on Board
The seller loads the goods onto the ship the buyer names. Risk moves once they are on board.
Cost and Freight
The seller pays ocean freight to the named arrival port. Risk still moves when the goods go on board at the loading port.
Cost, Insurance and Freight
The same freight split as CFR, and the seller also buys at least minimum insurance to the arrival port for the buyer.
Older contracts may still name retired codes. DAT (Delivered at Terminal) became DPU in the 2020 edition. From the 2000 set, DAF , DES , DEQ and DDU were folded into the D rules above.
Along the route
See one rule from door to door
Select a code. The bars show how far the seller still pays for carriage, cover and duty before the buyer takes over.
Seller
Buyer
Origin haul
Origin port
Loading
Ocean freight
Unloading
Arrival port
Final haul
Seller's cost
Buyer's cost
Carriage
Cover
Duty
Now showing Ex Works (EXW). The lightest duty on the seller: the goods wait at their own premises for the buyer to collect.
Questions
What the codes do not decide
They split transport, risk, insurance and customs work between seller and buyer. They do not move ownership of the goods, and they do not set the price. Those points belong in the sales contract.
Only when the contract names them, for example "FOB Shanghai, Incoterms® 2020." They are a set both sides choose to use. They are not a law that attaches by itself.
Yes. The 2020 revision did not withdraw the 2010 rules. Either year is valid if the contract says which edition it means.
Habit. FOB and CIF are still written on a lot of container bookings, even though FCA and CIP match container cargo more closely. Risk moves when the box is handed to the carrier, not when the ship is loaded.