Legal Definitions - FIO

Definition: FIO stands for Free in and out. This bill-of-lading term means that the shipper supervises and pays for loading and unloading of cargo.

• A company ships a container of goods from China to the United States using FIO terms. This means that the company is responsible for overseeing the loading of the container onto the ship in China and the unloading of the container from the ship in the United States.
• Another company ships a shipment of oil using FIO terms. This means that the company is responsible for supervising the loading of the oil onto the tanker and the unloading of the oil at the destination port.

These examples illustrate how FIO terms work in practice. When a company uses FIO terms, they are responsible for the loading and unloading of their cargo. This can be beneficial for companies that want more control over the shipping process, but it can also be more expensive since they have to pay for the labor and equipment needed for loading and unloading.