Trade units are usually cartons containing a number of retail units. However, a trade unit may be any standard package by which the product is ordered and invoiced. Other terms used for trade units are: case packs and cartons.

Symbologies used in the trade unit identification  are:

EAN-13, the standard for the retail unit,

ITF-14, the for difficult print surfaces,

GS1 - 128, the standard for logistical units.