The maritime industry has long been a user of electronic commerce. Information about a large number of the transactions in the U.S. maritime trades between shippers and carriers, as well as between ocean carriers and other modes of transport in intermodal transport movements, is communicated electronically. The data contained in bills of lading, dock receipts, certificates of insurance, and the carrier ' s manifest, as well as a host of other documents are generated and transmitted electronically in an internationally agreed format. The carriers and conferences also provide these rates to freight forwarders for their use in electronically booking cargo for their customers.
Carriers track cargo through computer coding on containers.
Their customers with access to this system or the ocean carriers using it can inform shippers of the location of the cargo at any time and provide real-time arrival times. The next big step in the development of electronic commerce for the industry will be shipping contracts signed and transmitted electronically. Both shippers and carriers can incur substantial costs when the paper trail becomes congested. The use of electronic signatures for bills of lading and other documents can unclog the paper trail at every turn. Some carriers now have the electronic means to allow shippers to set up non-negotiable bills of lading and charter party documents.