Trade & Incoterms
CPT (Carriage Paid To)
An Incoterm for any transport mode where the seller contracts and pays for carriage to the named destination, but risk transfers to the buyer when the goods are handed to the first carrier.
In depth
CPT is the any-mode equivalent of CFR and carries the same split between cost and risk. The seller arranges and pays carriage to the named place of destination, but risk passes much earlier — at the moment the goods are delivered to the first carrier, which may be a trucker at the seller's own factory. Buyers frequently misread this, assuming that because the seller paid the freight the seller also carries the risk. Neither party is obliged to insure under CPT, so a buyer who arranges no cover is exposed from the first carrier onward on a journey they did not book.
Key points
- Any transport mode; the equivalent of CFR for containers and air
- Seller pays carriage to destination
- Risk passes at handover to the first carrier, not at destination
- No insurance obligation on either side — the buyer should arrange cover