On the ops desk an FCL shipment moves under one booking and one set of documents, with the container sealed at the shipper's premises or origin point and travelling intact to the consignee. The choice the term drives is whether the cargo justifies booking a full container or should be consolidated with other shippers' freight. FCL is not the same as LCL (less than container load), where several shippers' cargo shares one container and moves through consolidation; an FCL container belongs to one booking end to end.
Glossary
FCL (Full Container Load)
A full container load, a shipment that occupies its own container, booked by and for a single shipper.