Glossary

Free Carrier (... named place). In FCA, the seller/exporter/manufacturer clears the goods for export and then delivers them to the carrier specified by the buyer at the named place. If the named place is the seller's place of business, the seller is responsible for laoding the goods onto the transport vehicle. If the named place is any other location, such as the loading dock of the carrier, the seller is not responsible for loading the goods onto the transport vehicle.
The FCA term may be used for any mode of transport, including multimodal.
The "named place" in FCA and all "F" terms is domestic to the seller. "Carrier" has a specific and somewhat expanded meaning. A carrier can be a shipping line, an airline, a trucking firm, or a railway. The carrier can also be an individual or firm who undertakes to procure carriage by any of the above methods of transport including multimodal. Therefore ,a person, such as a freight forwarder, can act as a "carrier" under this term. In such a case, the buyer names the carrier or the individual who is to receive the goods.
The FCA term is often used when making an initial quotation for the sale of goods.
Normal payment terms for FCA transactions are generally cash in advance and open account.