The cheapest quote and the cheapest shipment are often not the same thing. The gap between them lives in the lines below the base rate — the surcharges and accessorials that a low headline number leaves off and invoice day puts back on. Here is how to read a freight quote so there are no surprises.
The base rate is the smallest part of the story
The base ocean freight is the carrier’s charge to move the container port to port. It’s the number people compare, and it’s the number that tells you the least, because everything around it is where quotes diverge.
Two things sit right next to the base and move with the market:
- BAF — bunker adjustment factor: the fuel surcharge. It’s separate from the base precisely because fuel prices move. Two quotes with an identical base can total very differently once BAF is in.
- CAF — currency adjustment factor: covers exchange-rate movement, as a percentage of the base.
Rule one: only ever compare quotes all-in — base plus BAF, CAF and every surcharge. A bare base rate is marketing, not a price.
Terminal and origin charges
- THC — terminal handling charge: the terminal’s fee for craning and positioning your box, charged at both origin and destination, per container. Standard and unavoidable — but a suspiciously low all-in rate is often one that quietly left THC for later.
- Documentation / BL fee: issuing the bill of lading.
- ISF filing (US imports): the security filing due before loading. Cheap to file, expensive to miss — up to $5,000 in penalties.
Drayage: the leg with the most moving parts
The trucking move from port to your door is quoted separately, and it’s where accessorials multiply. A transparent drayage quote itemizes:
- Line haul + fuel: the core move and its fuel surcharge.
- Chassis: who supplies the wheeled frame, the daily rate, and any split fee if the chassis and container are picked up in different spots. Overweight loads may need a pricier tri-axle.
- Pre-pull: pulling the box from the terminal early and holding it, to beat a demurrage deadline.
- Drop & storage, tolls, redelivery, flips: situational lines that should be named up front even if they may not apply.
If a drayage quote is a single number with no chassis line, that’s not simplicity — it’s a line that will reappear later.
The two clocks: demurrage and detention
These aren’t quote lines you choose — they’re penalty meters that start running if freight moves too slowly, and they cause more invoice disputes than anything else.
- Demurrage: charged when the container sits inside the terminal past its free time. Per container, per day, escalating.
- Detention: charged when you hold the container outside the terminal — at your dock — past free time.
Neither is really about the rate. They’re about dispatch speed and a clean customs release. Ask how many free days the booking carries and make sure your unloading and empty-return plan fits inside it. That question saves more money than negotiating the base rate ever will.
A quick checklist before you accept a quote
- Is it all-in — base + BAF + CAF + THC + documentation?
- Are origin and destination charges both shown, or only one side?
- Does the drayage line name the chassis and its terms?
- How many free days before demurrage and detention start?
- Are situational accessorials (pre-pull, split, storage) listed, even at $0, so nothing appears by surprise?
Every quote we issue is itemized the same way, so invoice day looks exactly like quote day. Send us a shipment and see the full structure before you commit.