CMR

What does CMR stand for in logistics?

CMR stands for “Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road” in English and “Convention relative au contrat de transport international de merchandises par route” in French.

CMR is also known as CMR consignment note. It is a document used for the regulation of road freight transport, and serves as an international agreement. The document has been adopted by most of the European states with the purpose to regulate legal issues concerning road freight transportation.

The CMR document must have the following information:

• the date and place where the document had been completed
• the name and address of the transport company, as well as the consignee
• the description of the transported goods and the packaging method used
• the weight of the goods
• the charges related to the goods
• the information regarding dangerous goods

History of the CMR

The agreement was concluded in 1956 under the auspices of the UN. The founding states included: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. In the meantime, all European states, several states in Central Asia and the Middle East, and two African countries (Morocco and Tunisia) have joined the agreement.

The term in practice

The term CMR actually refers to the agreement itself, but in practice it is also often used as a synonym for the CMR waybill.