In export negotiation, when the requirements of export commodities are clear, the important condition for the success of the transaction is whether the quotation is reasonable. In the quotation of various indicators, in addition to costs, expenses and profits, there is a very important factor is freight.

Calculation of FCL freight

For the calculation of freight of the container cargo shipped by the whole container: One method is the same as the LCL cargo, according to the actual freight ton billing. Another method, which is commonly used at present, is to charge freight according to the type of container.

In the case of FCL consignment of containerized goods and the containers used are owned by the shipping company, Carriers have provisions for paying ocean freight by "COntainer Minimum Utilization" and "Container Maximum Utilization."

International shipping forwarder freight calculation

Calculation of minimum container utilization

1 What is the minimum utilization

Generally speaking, the liner association only calculates the tonnage of the goods in the container when collecting the container shipping freight, and does not charge for the weight or volume of the container itself. However, there is a minimum requirement for the container loading utilization rate, namely the "minimum utilization rate".

2. The main purpose of the minimum utilization rate

The main purpose of stipulating the minimum utilization rate of container is that if the tonnage (weight or volume) of the cargo does not meet the specified requirements, the freight is still calculated according to the corresponding billing ton at the time of the minimum utilization rate, in order to ensure the interests of the carrier. The weight or volume of the pallet is usually included when determining the minimum utilization of the container. The size of the minimum utilization rate mainly depends on the type and size of the container and the business strategy followed by the container liner. Of course, in the rate table of some liner associations, the minimum utilization rate of container is usually only related to the size of the container, without considering the type of container.

3 The lowest utilization rate of the form of freight collection

At present, there are three main forms of calculating freight according to the minimum utilization rate of container: the minimum loading ton, the minimum freight amount and the mixture of the above two forms.

The minimum loading ton may be weight tons or body tons, or it may be a percentage of the container's loading capacity (load or volume). The minimum tonnage to be loaded in tons of weight or tonnage is usually different depending on the type and size of container, but may be the same in some cases. When the minimum loading tonnage is determined by a certain proportion of the container loading capacity, the proportion is usually the same for the container load capacity and volume capacity, of course, there are also different.

The minimum freight rate is a minimum amount of freight per ton or per container, the latter of which is also referred to as the "minimum pack rate".

As for the mixed form of the above two forms, the minimum container utilization rate is determined according to the following methods:

(1) a certain percentage of container capacity or volume capacity plus a minimum freight rate per unit volume or per container;

(2) Minimum weight tons or body tons plus a certain percentage of container volume capacity.

Calculation of freight of lost case

When the total weight or volume of the cargo in the container does not reach the specified minimum weight ton or body ton, resulting in the container loading capacity is not fully utilized, the shippers will pay the loss of container freight. The loss case freight is actually the freight charged for the underbilled ton, that is, the difference between the minimum billed ton specified and the actual quantity loaded.

In the calculation of freight in the case of loss, usually based on the highest rate of the goods contained in the case as the calculation standard. In addition, when the minimum utilization rate of a container is expressed in the form of "minimum pack rate", if the amount of freight obtained by multiplying the tonnage of goods in the container with the base rate, plus the relevant surcharges, is lower than the minimum pack rate, the latter rate will be charged.

Calculation of maximum container utilization

1 What is the maximum utilization?

The maximum utilization rate of container means that when the body ton of the cargo in the container exceeds the capacity of the container (container volume), the freight is charged according to the stipulated container volume, that is to say, the excess freight is exempted.

2. Freight standard of maximum utilization rate

If there is only one rate for the goods in the case, the rate shall be charged. If there are different classes of goods in the box, the following two methods are usually adopted when calculating freight: one is that all the goods in the box are calculated according to the rate applicable to the highest class of goods in the box; Another approach is to calculate the rate from high to low, until the total tonnage of the cargo is equal to the specified container volume.

It should be noted that if the owner does not make a full declaration of the contents of the container as required by the carrier, the freight charge will be based on the volume of the container, and the rate will be based on the maximum rate applicable to the contents of the container. If only part of the goods in the case is undeclared, the freight of the undeclared part shall be charged on the basis of the difference between the volume of the contents of the case and the freight tons of the declared goods.

3 Purpose of maximum utilization

Shippers are encouraged to use containers to ship goods, and can maximize the use of container volume. Therefore, in the calculation of container shipping freight, shipping companies usually provide a maximum utilization rate according to the container contents for various specifications and types of containers.

For example, a 20ft container has a maximum utilisation rate of 31 cubic metres, while a 40ft container has a maximum utilisation rate of 67 cubic metres. The reason for the calculation unit of the maximum utilization is tonnage instead of tonnage is that each container has its maximum load and excess weight is not allowed during transportation. Therefore, under normal circumstances, there should not be overweight containers, let alone encourage overweight practices.

Calculation of LCL freight

LCL freight calculation mainly adopts the "W/M" mode. Usually freight tons are divided into weight tons (W) and size tons (M). According to the gross weight of the commodity 1000 kg is 1 weight ton; Take 1 cubic meter as 1 size ton; Billing standard "W/M" refers to the maximum billing rate according to the weight ton and size ton of the product. In theory, the default unit rate is fixed, and only the comparison of single variable of freight tons is considered when solving.

However, in the actual business, the LCL rate given by different forwarders is often different according to the weight ton and size ton. In this case, it is necessary to consider the double variable, calculate according to the combination of different rates and freight ton and then compare.

For example, if the weight of a product is 5 tons and the volume is 8 cubic meters, and the "W/M" rate is USD100/60, then the final total freight will not only be based on the comparison between W and M, but 5×100 and 8×60. Finally, $500 will be charged according to the standard of the higher total weight ton.

In calculating the rates of FCL boxes, the order of comparison shall be based on volume size (40 '-20' - LCL). At the same time, we must pay attention to two aspects: First, when it comes to LCL, we should pay attention to the "W/M" is to compare the product of freight ton and rate, and the price is based on the higher LCL freight; Second, when calculating the total freight, no matter FCL or FCL+LCL, it must be calculated according to the lowest total freight price.

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