Manifest Journals

The Difference Between House Bills and Master Bills.

In the raw US Customs’ Import Data, there are two types of bills of lading: house bills and master bills.

A data field called, master_house_bill_indicator, distinguishes house bills from master bills.

For a master bill, the master_house_bill_indicator is “M”. If the master_house_bill_indicator is blank or “H”, then the bill of lading is a house bill.

You can apply two general statements for the differences between master bills and house bills.

1. In 98% of occurrences, the master bill is a duplicate of the house bill.

2. If you aren’t in the freight or maritime industries, you are mostly concerned with the house bills. For instance, if you are using Manifest Journals to evaluate your competitors, you are mostly concerned with house bills.

Why the Raw US Customs’ Import Data has Master Bills and House Bills

In most cases, the house bill states the actual foreign manufacturer or trading company and the actual US importer or consignee.

A shipping line or freight forwarder files the house bill with US Customs. (Note: If the foreign manufacturer or US importer is booking cargo direct with a shipping line, the shipping line files the manifest with US Customs. We include all direct bookings as house bills.)

A master bill states a relationship between a freight forwarder and a shipping line. The shipping line files a master bill with US Customs. In doing this, the shipping line is stating to US Customs that a freight forwarder has booked cargo with the shipping line.

Why Master Bills are Duplicate of House Bills in 98% of Cases?

Let’s use the fictitious container number ABCD12345678.

ABCD12345678 was unloaded at Los Angeles on 10/15/09.

On 10/17/09, Manifest Journals receives a daily file of raw US Customs’ Import Data. In the file, ABCD12345678 appears twice.

In the first appearance, ABCD12345678 is attached to the house bill FRFO8765432.

In the second appearance, ABCD12345678 is attached to the master bill LINE98765432.

In the first appearance, the freight forwarder --FRFO-- filed a house bill that showed the actual foreign manufacturer and the actual US importer.

In the second case, the shipping line –LINE-- filed a master bill to show that the freight forwarder booked a container with the shipping line.

The container –ABCD12345678—only loaded on the vessel once and unloaded at Los Angeles once.

If you count ABCD12345678 on the house bill as one container
-and-
you count ABCD12345678 on the master bill as a second container
-then-
you are double counting ABCD12345678.


ABOUT US
Manifest Journals grew out of a need to assess how the global marketplace is affecting U.S. businesses. Manifest Journals streamlines the administration and research necessary to acquire international trade data. Our database and customized reporting services offer a total solution package.

What is Manifest Journals exactly? It's an on-line tool that allows you to identify any good or product that arrives at a port in the United States. You can search the database by foreign shipper or manufacturer, by U.S. customer or purchaser, or by a description of the good or product. The database is updated daily and is a scalable, easy to use and cost-effective way to get this valuable information. We collaborate with clients to meet individualized needs and help them leverage their strengths.

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