International shipping container liner freight rates are determined by liner conferences and liner operators. They are closely related to operating costs and remain relatively stable over a certain period of time.
(1) Calculation of LCL freight rates.
Depending on the different commodities, liner freight rates are usually divided into the following types:
① Freight is charged based on the actual weight of the goods, which is called weight ton (Weight Ton), and is represented by “W” in the freight rate table.
② Freight is charged based on the volume/capacity of the goods, which is called measurement ton (Measurement Ton), and is represented by “M” in the freight rate table.
③ Freight is charged based on the higher of weight or volume, that is, the shipping company chooses the higher one as the charging standard, and is represented by “W/M” in the freight rate table.
④ Freight is charged based on a certain percentage of the FOB price of the goods, which is called ad valorem freight, and is represented by “AV” or “Ad.Val.” (Latin Ad Valorem, meaning “from the price”) in the freight rate table.
⑤ A certain percentage is charged according to the weight, volume or FOB price of the goods, that is, the highest standard is selected from weight tons, size tons and ad valorem freight, which is indicated by “W/M” or “AV” in the freight rate table.
⑥ Calculated according to the weight or volume of the goods, plus ad valorem freight, that is, first calculate according to the higher of the weight tons or size tons of the goods, and then add a certain percentage of ad valorem freight, which is indicated by “W/M plus Ad.Val.” in the liner freight rate table.
The calculation steps of freight are as follows:
①Select the relevant freight rate book;
②According to the name of the goods, find the freight calculation standard and grade in the goods classification table;
③In the basic rate part of the grade rate table, find the corresponding route, port of departure, and port of destination, and find the basic freight rate according to the grade;
④Find all the surcharge items and amounts (or percentages) and currency types that should be receivable (paid) from the surcharge part;
⑤Calculate the actual freight rate based on the basic freight rate and surcharge;
⑥Freight = freight rate x freight tons.
[Example] The company exports 1,000 boxes of goods to a certain country, each box has a volume of 40cm x 30cm x 20cm, and a gross weight of 30kg. After investigation, the billing standard of the goods is W/M, the grade is 10, and the freight rate per ton is 200 Hong Kong dollars. We also found out that the country would add a 20% port surcharge. Question: How much freight should the company pay to the shipping company?
Solution: Total volume of goods = (0.4 x 0.3 x 0.2) x 1000 = 24m3
Because the billing standard of this commodity is W/M, total weight > total volume, the freight ton is based on W, i.e. 30FT.
Ocean freight = basic freight + port surcharge
Basic freight = freight rate x freight ton = 200X30 = 6000 (HKD)
Port surcharge = 6000 x 20% = 1200 (HKD)
Ocean freight = 6000+1200 = 7200 (HKD)
(2) Calculation of full container freight.
According to the current situation, there are basically two methods for calculating the ocean freight of full container loads: one is similar to the calculation method of general cargo liner freight, which determines the corresponding basic rate according to the grade of goods for specific routes and calculates the freight according to the prescribed billing standard; the other is to calculate the box freight according to the route with each container as the calculation unit.
Box Rates are the lump sum fees for different routes of full container loads determined by shipping companies based on their own conditions and using different types of containers as billing units. Box rates can be divided into two categories: one is to calculate the basic freight based on the billing standard considering factors such as routes, cargo grades and box types, also known as commodity box rates (CBR); the other is to set a unified basic ocean freight for containers based on routes and box types regardless of the type of goods or the quantity of goods, also known as freight for all kinds (FAK).
Container shipping surcharges usually fall into the following categories.
Overweight surcharge: only charged for LCL cargo, if the container delivery form is FCL-LCL or LCL-FCL, it will be charged at 50%.
Extra-length surcharge: only charged for LCL cargo, if the container delivery form is FCL-LCL or LCL-FCL, it will be charged at 50%.
Fuel surcharge: refers to the surcharge levied due to the increase in fuel prices in the international market. Containers are levied according to different calculation standards for LCL cargo and FCL cargo. For example, a certain number of yuan will be levied for a 20ft or 40ft box for a FCL cargo.
Currency depreciation surcharge: refers to the fee charged by the shipping company to the shipper to make up for the economic losses caused by the depreciation of the currency used to collect freight. Generally, it is charged at a certain proportion of the basic rate as the currency depreciates.
Port congestion surcharge: in container transportation, it mainly refers to the surcharges collected due to port congestion or imbalance in container inflow and outflow, which leads to long waiting times for ships or backlog of containers in the port.
Port selection surcharge: Only full container loads are charged for container transport. Since LCL cargo involves different consignees, shipping companies usually do not accept port selection requests. The full container load port selection surcharge is charged per container (20ft / 40ft).
Change of discharge port surcharge: Only full container loads are charged. Since LCL cargo involves different consignees, shipping companies usually do not accept changes in discharge port requests. The full container load port change surcharge is charged per ticket.
Empty container transfer fee: A surcharge levied due to the transfer of empty containers.
Peak season surcharge: A surcharge levied due to insufficient space of shipping companies during the peak season of container cargo supply.
Port surcharge: The situation in some ports (including basic ports and non-basic ports) is more complicated (such as ships need to pass through gates to enter and exit), the loading and unloading efficiency is low or the port fee is high. In this case, the carrier’s transportation operating costs will be increased. The carrier will charge additional surcharges to make up for the losses in this regard.
Transshipment surcharge: The ocean carrier transships the containerized cargo from the base port to the non-base port (the port of destination designated by the shipper), and incurs additional transshipment costs. In this case, the ocean carrier needs to charge the shipper a transshipment surcharge.