What is FCA?
The Free Carrier (FCA) incoterm is where the vendor is responsible for delivering the goods ordered by the buyer (likely containerized) to a place that is agreed in advance known as the ‘named place of delivery.’ This is often typically the designated warehouse operated by the freight forwarder at a port, or it could even be the vendor’s own facility.
The vendor is also responsible for handling the export side from their country, including paperwork, fees, etc, and the buyer for the import side upon arrival at the destination.
Risk and responsibility for the goods usually transfer to the buyer after they’ve been delivered, but before transit occurs. That’s a bit clearer and cleaner than another popular option, FOB, for instance, where the responsibility passes to the buyer when the goods are loaded, but also from the vendor once they’re delivered to place of delivery…what if there’s an accident that damages or destroys the goods before they’re loaded. FCA helps you avoid this gray area.
The FCA incoterm is popular with buyers who use all kinds of transport, not only for sea freight because it takes the responsibility for arranging the carriage out of the vendor’s hands which allows you to pursue a freight forwarder or shipping company with terms and prices to suit you instead of potentially having to accept a vendor’s choice (often slower, or less convenient).

Who is responsible for what when using FCA shipping?
Vendor’s responsibilities
- Manufacture the goods as specified by the buyer
- Pack and label the goods in appropriate export packaging as per the buyer’s needs
- Load the finished goods onto the vehicle transporting them to the named place of delivery
- Complete the export requirements, customs paperwork, and pay duties and taxes
Buyer’s responsibilities
The goods have been delivered to and loaded at the ‘named place.’ Here are the buyer’s responsibilities from this point:
- Arrange and pay for the domestic delivery from the supplier’s facility to the named place (typically the designated warehouse operated by the freight forwarder)
- OTHC (origin terminal handling charges)
- Loading onto the ship/plane/etc.
- Arranging and paying for shipping via a freight forwarder or shipping company
- Insurance (this is not mandatory, but the buyer may choose to purchase it for their own security)
- DTHC (destination terminal handling charges)
- Unloading fees
- Complete customs paperwork and pay import duties and taxes
- Domestic delivery fees
- Unloading at your final destination/s
FCA benefits
- Experienced buyers may choose to ship Free Carrier because they gain control over the logistics process and can book the freight they prefer.
- The vendor may agree to a lower unit price because they are factoring in fewer costs (such as shipping to your country).
- The vendor has to take care of fiddly export paperwork. Good for buyers who don’t have so much knowledge about that country’s export rules.
- FCA is a good option if you already work with a shipping company that you know provides good value and service.
FCA drawbacks
- It’s only recommended to use FCA when shipping via container directly to a port where the goods are exported.
- You need to be sure that your supplier will complete the export paperwork correctly, otherwise, delays may happen.
- Less experienced buyers may struggle with arranging shipping and handling terminal costs and loading onto the ship/train/plane.
- If you ship FCA to a named place that is not a port, you, the buyer, will be responsible for the export requirements and additional freight to get the goods to the port because the liability always transfers at the named place. These would be unwelcome ‘hidden’ costs.
FCA VS EXW
FCA provides slightly lower risks to buyers than EXW. In EXW the vendor will provide export-packaged goods at their facility and then upon collection the liability transfers to you and you arrange and pay for the rest of the process. With FCA, they pack and load the goods securely and also complete the export requirements, leaving you in total control of logistics. However, liability only transfers to you when the goods are delivered to the named place (using your carrier).
FOB VS FCA
In China, most suppliers request to ship FOB and are used to this incoterm and preparing the necessary transport and paperwork which helps less-experienced vendors who don’t need to arrange and pay for domestic shipping and export costs. However, we recommend FCA as it gives you fewer risks even if it may require more work on your side, as it leaves no gray area where the goods are under no overall control from either side like when they’re at the delivery location in FOB.
For further info, you may like to read this post: How Do Logistics From China Work for Importers?
Disclaimer
We are not lawyers. What we discussed above is based only on our understanding of legal requirements and regulations. Sofeast does not present this information as a basis for you to make decisions, and we do not accept any liability if you do so.