Country Codes in International Shipping and Logistics

Country Codes in Logistics

International shipping relies heavily on standardized country codes for routing, customs clearance, and regulatory compliance. Multiple code formats are used across the logistics chain.

Which Code Format Is Used Where

System	Code Format	Example
Customs declarations	Alpha-2 or Alpha-3	GB or GBR
UN/LOCODE (port codes)	Alpha-2 prefix	US NYC (New York), DE HAM (Hamburg)
Carrier APIs (FedEx, UPS, DHL)	Alpha-2	US, GB, JP
Harmonized System (HS)	Numeric (for origin)	840 (US origin)
Incoterms	Alpha-2	FOB US, CIF JP
Shipping labels	Alpha-2	Printed on labels as "US", "DE"
AES/EEI filing (US exports)	Alpha-2	Required for all export declarations

UN/LOCODE

The United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations combines the alpha-2 country code with a three-letter location code:

US NYC  — New York, United States
DE HAM  — Hamburg, Germany
CN SHA  — Shanghai, China
SG SIN  — Singapore
JP TYO  — Tokyo, Japan
NL RTM  — Rotterdam, Netherlands
AE DXB  — Dubai, UAE
GB LHR  — London Heathrow, UK

Customs and Trade Compliance

When filing customs declarations, the country of origin, destination, and transit countries must be specified using ISO codes:

Country of Origin:      CN (China)
Country of Export:      CN (China)
Country of Destination: US (United States)
Transit Countries:      JP (Japan), — (if applicable)

Carrier API Integration

Major carriers use alpha-2 codes in their APIs:

{
  "shipment": {
    "origin": {
      "country_code": "US",
      "postal_code": "10001",
      "city": "New York"
    },
    "destination": {
      "country_code": "DE",
      "postal_code": "10115",
      "city": "Berlin"
    },
    "customs": {
      "country_of_origin": "CN",
      "harmonized_code": "6110.30",
      "declared_value": 150.00,
      "currency": "USD"
    }
  }
}

Restricted and Sanctioned Countries

Shipping systems must check country codes against sanctions lists:

• OFAC (US Treasury) — Comprehensive sanctions list
• EU sanctions — Restrictive measures by country
• UN sanctions — Security Council resolutions

An export compliance check validates the destination country code before allowing shipment processing.