What is “O.C.P” shipping?

O.C.P. stands for OVERLAND COMMON POINTS, a term frequently encountered in transportation clauses of trade contracts signed between China and the United States. It is used to describe the destination of maritime transport and is translated as "Overland Common Points."
　
　　The so-called "Overland Common Points" refer to ports on the U.S. West Coast that have land transportation links connecting to interior regions. The U.S. interior region is bounded by the Rocky Mountains. Except for the nine western states adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, the areas east of them fall within the applicable scope of O.C.P. The O.C.P. transportation process involves shipping goods exported from China to U.S. West Coast ports (e.g., San Francisco, Seattle), unloading them, and then transporting them eastward to designated inland destinations via land routes (mainly railways).
　
　　O.C.P. transportation is a special form of international transport. Although it utilizes both sea and land transport, it is neither categorized as nor constitutes international multimodal transport. International multimodal transport involves a single carrier responsible for door-to-door transport; however, for O.C.P. transportation, the sea and land segments are documented separately by two carriers, and liability and risk are borne separately for each segment. Therefore, it does not align with the definition of international multimodal transport but rather represents an international joint transport service. In summary, O.C.P. transportation is "the carriage of goods constituting the pick-up and delivery service performed under a single-mode transport contract and shall not be regarded as international multimodal transport." (United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods)
　
　　O.C.P. is a well-established international shipping practice. According to the U.S. O.C.P. transportation provisions, goods destined for interior regions via designated U.S. West Coast ports and shipped under these provisions can enjoy discounted freight rates for inland transport, known as the Overland Common Points Rate (O.C.P. RATE), which is approximately 3%–5% lower than the local rate. Additionally, ocean freight rates are about $3.50 per measurement ton lower than rates for shipments directly to U.S. East Coast ports. Inland transfer fees, dock charges, and loading/unloading fees are already included. Therefore, adopting O.C.P. transportation benefits both importers and exporters.
　
　　O.C.P. transportation applies only to the interior regions of the United States or Canada. Hence, the final destination of the goods must fall within the O.C.P. territory. When signing the trade contract, this should be clearly specified in the transport clause, along with the containerized nature and the O.C.P. transport mode. Goods must be transshipped via U.S. West Coast ports, and the price terms should be CFR/CIF U.S. West Coast ports. To facilitate documentation and settlement, the letter of credit should stipulate: "From XXX (port of loading) to XXX (U.S. West Coast port) O.C.P. XXX (inland destination)," in English as: "Shipment from XXX to XXX O.C.P. XXX."
　
　　In O.C.P. transport documents, the term "O.C.P." must be explicitly indicated. Taking the unloading port of Seattle, USA, with the final destination of Detroit as an example, the bill of lading should show the port of discharge as "Seattle O.C.P." and the place of delivery as "O.C.P. Detroit." The cargo description, marks, and packaging should also state "Seattle O.C.P. Detroit," and "O.C.P. Detroit" should be added in the blank space of the bill of lading for easy identification during loading/unloading and transshipment.
　
　　When using O.C.P. transport, even if final destinations are scattered across several locations in the U.S. interior region, as long as all cargo items are listed on a single bill of lading with "O.C.P. Land Common Points" noted in the final destination, the carrier will consolidate charges including handling, warehousing, dock fees, and inland transfer, arrange inland transfer of the maritime segment goods, and the consignee can pick up the cargo at the specified destination, greatly facilitating receipt.
　
　　In actual letter of credit operations, some L/Cs clearly state the O.C.P. clause requiring the bill of lading to indicate "O.C.P. XXX." However, some L/Cs do not explicitly stipulate this, yet bills of lading often mark "O.C.P. XXX," and the negotiating bank will not typically reject payment for discrepancy.
　
　　In conclusion, a thorough and correct understanding of O.C.P. benefits both import/export businesses in expanding trade and carriers in arranging transportation rationally.