Free Carrier (FCA) is an Incoterm where the seller delivers goods, cleared for export, to a carrier or other party nominated by the buyer at a named place. Risk transfers from seller to buyer once the goods are handed over at that point. FCA works for any transport mode (road, rail, air, sea, or multimodal) and is one of the most flexible Incoterms in the 2020 rules.
How it works
The named place matters. If delivery happens at the seller’s own premises, the seller loads the goods onto the buyer’s collecting vehicle. If the named place is somewhere else (a terminal, a forwarder’s warehouse), the seller delivers the goods ready for unloading on their arriving vehicle, and the buyer handles unloading. In both cases the seller clears the goods for export and the buyer arranges and pays for the main carriage.
Why it matters
FCA cleanly splits responsibility: the seller handles origin-side logistics and export formalities, the buyer controls the freight contract and carries risk during transit. Buyers often prefer FCA over the older FOB term for containerized goods, since FOB assumes risk passes at the ship’s rail, which does not match how containers are actually handed over at a terminal.
Example on a quote
Suppose a US Shopify merchant sells 500 units to a buyer in Germany. Quoting “FCA Chicago (seller’s warehouse)” tells the buyer the price covers goods loaded and export-cleared in Chicago, and that freight and insurance from there are theirs. Stating the Incoterm and named place on the quote line prevents disputes later.
When you build B2B quotes in Shopify, spell out the Incoterm, the named place, and what is or is not included, rather than leaving shipping “to be confirmed.” See the B2B quoting glossary for related delivery terms like FOB, CIF, and DAP.