FCA (Free Carrier) is an Incoterm under which the seller delivers the goods, cleared for export, to a carrier or place nominated by the buyer, at which point risk passes to the buyer.
FCA (Free Carrier) is a flexible and widely used Incoterm under which the seller delivers the goods, cleared for export, to a carrier or another party nominated by the buyer, at a named place. Once delivered, risk and onward cost pass to the buyer. FCA can be used for any mode of transport, which makes it especially suitable for containerised and multimodal shipments.
Under FCA, the seller's obligations end when the goods are handed over to the buyer's carrier at the agreed place. Crucially, the seller is responsible for export clearance — a key difference from EXW. The named place matters: if it is the seller's premises, the seller must load the goods; if it is another location such as a port terminal, the seller delivers them ready for unloading from the seller's vehicle.
The seller packages the goods, clears them for export, and delivers them to the nominated carrier or place. The buyer nominates the carrier, pays for main carriage and insurance, and handles import clearance and duties at destination.
Risk passes to the buyer when the goods are delivered to the carrier at the named place. Incoterms 2020 also added an option under FCA for the buyer to instruct the carrier to issue an on-board Bill of Lading to the seller, which is useful when payment is made under a Letter of Credit that requires such a document.
FOB was designed for goods physically loaded onto a vessel, with risk passing once the goods are on board. For containerised cargo handed over at a terminal or inland depot — where the seller loses control of the container before it is loaded onto the ship — FCA is the more accurate choice, because risk passes at the agreed delivery point. Many trade bodies recommend FCA rather than FOB for container shipments.
FCA suits buyers who want the seller to handle export clearance but prefer to control the main international carriage themselves, often to secure better freight rates through their own freight forwarder. It is a practical middle ground between EXW and delivered terms.
FCA is a versatile Incoterm that balances responsibility between seller and buyer: the seller clears the goods for export and delivers them to the buyer's carrier, and the buyer takes over cost and risk from there. Its flexibility across transport modes and its suitability for containers make FCA one of the most recommended rules in modern trade. Always specify the exact named place and the Incoterms version.