How to Read a Bill of Lading Record: All 67 Fields Explained

Every shipment in a bill of lading dataset is a single, structured record — and once you know how to read it, a spreadsheet of shipments becomes a map of who is buying what, from whom, in what volume, and through which ports.

The parties: who traded

The most valuable fields name the companies. The importer (consignee) and supplier (shipper) each come with a name, address, city, phone, email and website. A verified-buyer and verified-supplier flag tells you whether the party is the true trading company rather than a forwarder. Notify-party fields show who else was informed of the shipment.

The goods: what moved

The HS code and product description classify the cargo. Value fields (lane value, CIF value, estimated value in USD) tell you the size of the deal, while quantity, weight, CBM, TEU and FEU describe the physical shipment.

The route: where and when

Origin and destination country, the loading and discharge ports, the sailing and arrival dates, and the transport mode let you rebuild the trade lane and its timing — useful for spotting seasonality and preferred gateways.

The logistics: how it shipped

Vessel name and IMO code, voyage, carrier, container number, size and type, and the freight forwarder round out the picture for anyone analysing carriers or capacity.

In total there are 67 fields per record. You can inspect the full structure on any country or commodity page, or request a free sample to see real records before you buy.