Legal Definitions - FIOS

Definition: FIOS is an abbreviation for "Free in and out stowed." This term is used in a bill of lading and means that the shipper is responsible for supervising and paying for the loading, unloading, and stowing of the cargo.

• A company ships a container of goods from China to the United States using FIOS terms. This means that the company is responsible for hiring workers to load the container onto the ship in China, and then unload and stow the container when it arrives in the United States.
• Another company ships a shipment of cars from Japan to Australia using FIOS terms. This means that the company is responsible for supervising the loading of the cars onto the ship in Japan, and then unloading and stowing the cars when they arrive in Australia.

These examples illustrate how FIOS works in practice. When a company uses FIOS terms, they are responsible for all aspects of the loading, unloading, and stowing of their cargo. This can be a good option for companies that want more control over the shipping process, but it can also be more expensive and time-consuming than other options.