Shipping document
The CMR note, and what signing it does
The consignment note is evidence of the carriage contract, not the contract itself: its absence or loss does not affect the agreement. What it fixes in writing is who sent what, to whom, and in what apparent condition it arrived. Signed clean, it stands as evidence that the goods were received as described.
The figures
| Who makes it out | The sender, in three original copies signed by sender and carrier (CMR, article 5) |
|---|---|
| Where the copies go | First to the sender, second travels with the goods, third retained by the carrier (CMR, article 5) |
| What it proves | Prima facie evidence of the contract, its conditions, and receipt of the goods by the carrier (CMR, article 9) |
| If it is missing or irregular | The existence and validity of the carriage contract are unaffected (CMR, article 4) |
| Where a reservation goes | On the note, against the carrier, at delivery for apparent damage (CMR, article 30.1) |
What it changes on an order
Your warehouse releases drivers quickly
The second copy leaves with the vehicle, and that is the one produced later. A note signed clean because nobody had time to look is a written statement that nothing looked wrong.
You buy delivered and never see the sender's copy
The document names the sender, the carrier and the route, which is sometimes the only way to find out who actually moved the fruit. Ask for a copy even on loads where the freight is not yours.
You are reconciling a short delivery
Package count and marks are on the note. Reading it against the packing list, rather than against the pallets on the floor, is what tells you whether the shortfall was loaded.
What this note does not settle
- This describes what the CMR convention says the document does. It is not advice on liability and it does not tell you how any dispute would be decided.
- The convention governs international carriage by road between the countries that apply it. A movement entirely inside one country runs under that country's own transport law.
- We have no confirmed incoterms and no carrier arrangement, so who makes out the note on a load from us is not something we can state today.
Source: Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR)
Evidence of the contract, not the contract
This one is misread constantly, and the misreading is expensive. The note is not what creates the carriage agreement, and losing it does not undo one. What it does is carry the agreed facts in writing: who sent what, from where, to whom, and in what apparent condition it was received. Where it is silent, a court starts from the assumption that everything was in order.
Read that last sentence again from the position of somebody about to sign one. A clean note is a statement that nothing looked wrong. If something did, this is the piece of paper where saying so counts.
The copy that matters is the one in the cab
Several originals are made up and they do not all end up in the same place. One stays with the sender, one travels with the goods, one goes to the carrier. When a reservation is written at delivery, it has to be on the copy the driver takes away, because that is the one that will be produced later.
Which means a photograph of your own copy, taken before the driver leaves, is the cheapest insurance on the dock. It takes a second and it settles what was written at the moment of handover. Without it, a dispute about whether a reservation was made becomes a dispute about handwriting.
Talk to the grower
Tell us the variety, the sizes and the delivery week you need. You get a delivered price and what we can commit to in writing, from the person who picks the fruit.
The grower handles enquiries. Response times are still to be confirmed.