FAR 47.208—Report of shipment (REPSHIP).

Advance notice.

FAR 47.208-1 explains when advance notice of shipments is required and why it matters in federal transportation and receiving operations. It focuses on advance notification to military storage and distribution points, depots, and other receiving activities, and notes that civilian agencies may also require it when appropriate. The section identifies the kinds of shipments that typically trigger notice: classified material, sensitive or controlled material, certain protected material, explosives, other hazardous materials, selected shipments subject to movement control, and minimum carload or truckload shipments. Its purpose is operational readiness: advance notice lets the destination arrange transportation control, labor, storage space, and materials-handling equipment before the shipment arrives. In practice, timely notice also helps avoid demurrage and vehicle detention charges by ensuring the consignee transportation office can act before delays occur. For contractors, this means shipment planning must include not just delivery timing but also the required prearrival communications to the receiving activity.

Contract clause.

FAR 47.208-2 tells contracting officers when to include the Report of Shipment (REPSHIP) clause at 52.247-68 in solicitations and contracts. The section is narrowly focused on one implementation requirement: inserting the clause when advance notice of shipment is needed for safety or security reasons, or when the government expects carload or truckload shipments to Department of Defense installations or, when required, to civilian agency facilities. In practice, this means the clause is a logistics and transportation control tool, not a general shipping provision, and it is used to ensure the government receives timely shipment information before large or sensitive deliveries arrive. The rule matters because advance notice can support installation access control, receiving readiness, security screening, traffic management, and safe handling of large shipments. For contractors, it means shipment planning may need to include specific reporting steps before goods move. For contracting officers, it means deciding whether the shipment circumstances trigger the clause and ensuring it is included in the solicitation and resulting contract whenever the rule applies.