What are Port Charges?

If you are shipping “from port” or “to port” rather than door-to-door, you will need to determine whether you are paying the fees that apply for the port handling.

What origin or destination charges you are required to pay will depend on what point ownership of the goods is transferred from the seller to the buyer (otherwise known as Incoterms).

However, in any situation, it is critical to be aware of what your supplier is covering; if they overlook key charges, you will have to pay them, and freight forwarders are allowed to hold shipments before delivery  - at your expense - until all payment has been received.

The following is a more in-depth breakdown of when and how you’d be required to add port charges to your quote.

Origin Port Charges (when origin is a port)

Suppliers will often times suggest shipping your goods FOB, which stands for Free on Board. In short, that means that the supplier (i.e. your factory) is responsible for your goods until they are loaded onto the vessel at the port of origin, and will handle all related charges until that point.

When you are shipping loose cargo (i.e. not a full container), your goods must go through a CFS (Container Freight Station) to be consolidated into a container.

You must communicate with your supplier to see whether or not they are covering those charges as they are not always included in an FOB agreement.

If not, you should keep the option of including port charges checked yes, so that there is no delay later on.

After that, your responsibility for FOB will start with the overseas transportation; your quote will include that freight cost, the bill of lading fees, unloading the cargo at the arrival port, and transporting the cargo to its final destination.

Destination Port Charges (when destination is a port)

Another common shipping option/ Incoterm is CFR (Cost and Freight) or CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight), which means that the seller covers all of the costs at the origin plus the international freight charge. The responsibility for the goods only shifts to the buyer once the goods arrive at the destination port.

At the destination port, your LCL shipment must once again pass through a CFS, but this time to be deconsolidated from the container.

If you are the supplier (factory) / exporter, then be sure you have clearly communicated with the buyer of goods (importer) as to who is covering these charges; vice versa if you are the importer/ buyer, make sure you communicate with the supplier/ exporter.

We recommend keeping the box to include these charges clicked yes to ensure that there are no delays, misunderstandings, or fines down the road.