UN/EDIFACT

UN/EDIFACT (United Nations rules for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport) is the international EDI standard for structuring trade and transport messages, maintained by UNECE and standardized as ISO 9735. It defines message types still heavily used in shipping: IFTMBF and IFTMIN (forwarding instructions), COPRAR and CODECO (container handling at terminals), BAPLIE (bay plan stowage), and CUSCAR (customs cargo). It is older than web APIs; carriers and ports increasingly add DCSA OpenAPI interfaces alongside EDIFACT, but the legacy messages remain in daily port and terminal use.