The Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) is a privately controlled US code used to identify vessel operating common carriers (VOCC). It is typically two to four letters long. The

National Motor Freight Traffic Association The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) is a nonprofit membership organization headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Its members are motor carriers operating in interstate, intrastate and foreign commerce. The associat ...

developed the SCAC code in the 1960s to help road transport companies

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

ize data and records.

Description

The Standard Carrier Alpha Code, a two-to-four letter identification, is used by the transportation industry to identify freight carriers in computer systems and shipping documents such as

Bill of Lading A bill of lading () (sometimes abbreviated as B/L or BOL) is a document issued by a carrier (or their agent) to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. Although the term historically related only to carriage by sea, a bill of lading may toda ...

, Freight Bill,

Packing List Packing may refer to: Law and politics * Jury packing, selecting biased jurors for a court case * Packing and cracking, a method of creating voting districts to give a political party an advantage Other uses * Packing (firestopping), the process ...

, and

Purchase Order A purchase order is a commercial document and first official offer issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services. It is used to control the purchasing of products and services from externa ...

. It is also used by the

American National Standards Institute The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...

, Accredited Standards Committee X12, and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

EDIFACT United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT) is an international standard for electronic data interchange (EDI) developed for the United Nations and approved and published by UNECE, the UN Econ ...

for Electronic Data Interchange computer systems. SCACs are commonly used by the automobile, petroleum, forest products, and chemical industries; as well as suppliers to retail businesses, carriers engaged in railroad piggyback trailers, and ocean container drayage. SCACs can be obtained online at http://www.nmfta.org.

Freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...

Carriers who participate in the

Uniform Intermodal Interchange Agreement A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

(UIIA) are required to maintain a SCAC. Certain groups of SCACs are reserved for specific purposes. Codes ending with the letter "U" are reserved for the identification of freight containers. Codes ending with the letter "X" are reserved for the identification of privately owned

railroad cars A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

. Codes ending with the letter "Z" are reserved for the identification of truck chassis and trailers used in intermodal service. SCAC is also used to identify an ocean carrier or self-filing party, such as a freight forwarder, for the Automated Manifest System used by

US Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

for electronic import customs clearance and for manifest transmission as per the USA's "24 Hours Rule" which requires the carrier to transmit a cargo manifest to US Customs at least 24 hours prior to a vessel's departure at port of loading.

Widely used SCACs

The following is a list of widely used SCACs:

References

{{reflist Road haulage Encodings

Description

Widely used SCACs

See also

References