UN/LOCODE
UN/LOCODE (the United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations) is a global standard, maintained by UNECE, that assigns a unique five-character code to ports, airports, inland freight terminals, and other locations relevant to international trade and transport. The code combines a two-letter ISO country code and a three-letter location code — for example SGSIN (Singapore), AEJEA (Jebel Ali), NLRTM (Rotterdam) and USNYC (New York).
UN/LOCODE gives trade and logistics a single, unambiguous way to refer to places across systems, documents and messages — essential when a place name may be spelled many ways or duplicated worldwide. It is used extensively in EDI messages, bills of lading, manifests, customs declarations and shipping systems to identify ports of loading and discharge, places of receipt and delivery, and routing points. With tens of thousands of codes covering virtually every country, UN/LOCODE is a foundational reference for data exchange and system integration in freight and shipping. Mapping locations to UN/LOCODEs is a common requirement when connecting logistics systems and exchanging shipment data.
“Springfield” exists in dozens of countries and a port can be spelled five ways — UN/LOCODE removes that ambiguity with one standard code per location, which is why it is embedded in EDI, bills of lading, manifests and every logistics system that exchanges data. Mapping places to UN/LOCODEs is a routine, foundational step in integrating shipping systems.
How is a UN/LOCODE structured?
Five characters: a two-letter ISO country code plus a three-letter location code — e.g. SGSIN for Singapore, NLRTM for Rotterdam.
Where is UN/LOCODE used?
In EDI messages, bills of lading, manifests, customs declarations and shipping systems, to identify ports and locations unambiguously.