The box is handed over days before it is loaded.
If the cargo is in a container, FCA is the right rule and FOB the wrong one. The reason is simple: a container is handed over at the port days before it is loaded on board. Under FOB, risk passes to the buyer only when the goods are on the vessel, so from the gate-in until loading the seller carries the risk of goods it cannot actually control. The ICC's own decision flowchart says to choose FCA in this case.
Where exactly the risk gap is
The real sequence of a container shipment is this: the container is stuffed at the factory, sealed, taken to the port or container yard (CY), passes the gate, waits in the yard, and is finally loaded on board. Days pass between gate-in and loading.
Which container type you use does not change this chain — size and capacity are a separate matter. The only thing that changes is where risk changes hands.
FOB's risk transfer point is at the very end of this chain — the moment the goods are on board. So a fire, a theft or handling damage while the container waits in the yard is still the seller's loss. Yet at that moment the container is in the hands of the port and the carrier, not the seller. The seller can neither open the doors, nor restack, nor manage the risk.
The difference between FOB and FCA
| Point | FOB | FCA |
|---|---|---|
| Mode of transport | Sea and inland waterway only | Any mode and multimodal |
| Risk transfer point | When the goods are on board | When the goods are delivered to the carrier |
| Export clearance | Seller | Seller |
| Place of delivery | Port of loading, on board | Any place named in the contract |
| Who loads | The seller loads on board | At the seller's premises the seller loads; elsewhere the seller does not unload |
| Suitable for containers | No — not recommended by the ICC | Yes — the rule the ICC recommends |
| For air freight | Cannot be used | Can be used |
The ICC states that FOB suits bulk cargo and conventional general cargo — or cases where the seller itself has the container loaded on board. For containerised and multimodal transport, FCA is recommended.
What if the credit calls for "on board"
In practice this is the most common reason FCA is abandoned. The documentary credit requires an ocean bill of lading with an "on board" notation; because under FCA the seller completes delivery before loading, it cannot have that document issued in its own name. If it forces the document, the presentation is discrepant and payment depends on the buyer's acceptance.
The common but wrong fix: switching the contract to FOB. That solves the bank's document requirement but reopens for the seller the risk window described above.
Incoterms® 2020 introduced a direct option for this problem: the parties may agree that the carrier issues the seller a transport document with an on-board notation. The option must be written into the contract explicitly and the credit text amended accordingly.
If the cargo is in a container or travels by more than one mode, FCA. Write the delivery place as a full address — not "FCA İstanbul" but "FCA [facility name and address]" or "FCA [terminal name]".
If the cargo is bulk or conventional general cargo and the seller loads it on board itself, FOB. That is the scenario the rule was designed for.
If the credit calls for "on board", still choose FCA, but write the Incoterms® 2020 on-board notation option into the contract and have the credit amended to match. Do not solve a document problem by changing the rule.
When it goes wrong
The container is damaged in the yard, the parties blame each other
On a shipment written FOB, the container is damaged while waiting in the CY. The buyer says "the risk is yours, the goods were not on board"; the seller says "the goods left my hands". Under the contract the buyer is right. The seller loses the goods and, usually, the insurance as well, because the policy was written on the FOB assumption.
FCA written, delivery place left vague
Under FCA the loading obligation flips with the place of delivery: at the seller's premises the seller loads; anywhere else the seller delivers on its own vehicle and does not unload. If the place is not written in full, who hires the forklift, the vehicle's waiting time and the empty container return stay in dispute.
FOB written on an air shipment
FOB is for sea and inland waterway only; it has no meaning in air freight. Seeing "FOB" on an air waybill produces a discrepancy under the credit and a valuation argument in the customs declaration. Detail: Incoterms by mode of transport.
Frequently asked
Who pays the freight under FCA?
The buyer. FCA is an F rule: the seller delivers the goods and clears export, the buyer pays the main freight. In that respect it is the same as FOB — the difference is where delivery takes place.
What is the difference between EXW and FCA?
Two critical differences. First: export clearance. Under EXW it is the buyer's, under FCA the seller's. Second: loading. Under EXW the seller is not even obliged to load the goods onto a vehicle; under FCA, if delivery is at the seller's premises, the seller loads.
On exports from Turkey this difference matters in particular: because a foreign buyer cannot file an export declaration in Turkey as exporter, EXW does not work in practice and FCA does.
Who gets the bill of lading under FCA?
Because the buyer concludes the contract of carriage, the transport document is normally issued in the buyer's name. The seller's proof of delivery is the receipt given by the carrier.
Under a documentary credit that may not be enough; in that case the Incoterms® 2020 on-board notation option is written into the contract.
Sources
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020 Checklist and Flowcharts The ICC's own decision flowchart: FCA for containerised or multimodal transport, FOB for general or bulk cargo loaded on board in the conventional way; "all risks" (LMA/IUA Clauses A) cover under CIP · ICC Publication No. 817E, ISBN 978-92-842-0626-1, © 2022 · library.iccwbo.org (PDF, free) · accessed 1 Sep 2026
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020 Introduction (Publication No. 723E) The FCA recommendation for containerised cargo and the cases where FOB is suitable. The introduction is signed by Charles Debattista (ICC Special Adviser, Incoterms® 2020 Drafting Group); by its own note the views are the author's and not part of the rules · icc-switzerland.ch · accessed 1 Sep 2026
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020 official page Scope and entry into force of the rules · iccwbo.org · accessed 1 Sep 2026
- UTİKAD — Incoterms 2020 circular (No. 2020/009) Confirms the clarification provided under FCA · utikad.org.tr · accessed 1 Sep 2026
- ICC — Index of documentary credit rule sets (UCP 600, eUCP 2.1, ISBP) Discrepancy and electronic presentation rules · library.iccwbo.org · accessed 1 Sep 2026
This page is for information only and is not legal or customs advice. Amending a credit text is a step to be taken together with your bank and your buyer. Incoterms® is a registered trademark of the ICC.
Change log
- Page published as the English counterpart of the Turkish page of 1 Sep 2026. Basis: ICC Incoterms® 2020.