I. Definition of bulk goods
1. If a cargo owner’s cargo is less than one full container, it must be sent to the container freight station (CFS-CONTAINER FREIGHT STATION). The carrier will assemble the goods of different cargo owners, according to their nature and flow direction, which is called LCL-LESS THAN CONTAINER LOAD. )
2. When the goods arrive at the destination, the LCL is sent to the freight station and the cargo is unpacked by the carrier, finally taken by the consignee.
II. Bulk cargo transportation mode
1. According to the different ways about the goods are handed over, The transportation mode of bulk cargo can be divided into the following types:
1) Door to Door handover method.
Door-to-door handover means the transport operator accepts the goods at the shipper’s factory or warehouse and is responsible for delivering the goods to the consignee’s factory or warehouse.
2) Door to CFS handover method.
This means that the transport operator accepts the goods at the shipper’s factory or warehouse, there are responsible for transporting the goods to the container freight station at the port of discharge, or discharge to the freight station in the inland area, after unpacking and receiving the goods.
3) Station to door (CFS to Door) handover mode.
It means that the transport operator accepts the goods at the container terminal of the loading port or inland container freight station (after LCL), the responsible for delivery to the consignee’s factory or warehouse.
4) Station to station (CFS to CFS) handover mode.
Means that the transport operator accepts the goods at the container terminal of the loading port terminal or the container freight station in the inland area (after LCL), the responsible for transporting it to the container terminal and the port of discharge, or Inland. Delivered to the consignee after unpacking.
2. According to the cargo transportation route situation, it can be divided into straight spelling and transfer
1) Straight spelling is usually in CFS. If the goods arriving at the same destination port are enough to install in one container , the container will go directly to the destination port CFS, after that, the container will be released to the consignee.
2) The transfer is based on the fact that the goods collected by Shenzhen CFS are less than one container in the same destination port. In this case, the goods can only be sent to the more big shipping flow port, such as HONG KONG or SINGAPORE, then transfer to the final destination port.
III. Cost calculation for bulk cargo
The costs incurred by bulk cargo basically consist of the following:
1. Shipping fee: It is charged in units of R/T (weight and volume). Except for the US inland transfer 1CBM=363KGS, the other places are based on 1CBM=1000KGS, whichever is greater.
For example, if there is 1400KGS/2.4CBM, if it is shipped to MIAMI (US inland is generally transited by LOS ANGELES or LONG BEACH), the sea freight is (SHENZHEN-LOS ANGELES: unit price X2.4CBM) + (LOS ANGELES-MIAMI: Unit price X1400/363), if shipped to other ports, sea freight is: unit price X2.4CBM; if the goods are 2400KGS/1.2CBM, the cost is calculated according to the unit price X2.4.
2. Document fee – RMB125/BILL
3. Customs fee – RMB320/BILL
4. CFS—- RMB40/RT
5. Other possible expenses:
Trailer fees, quarantine fees, payment fees, depending on the actual situation.
According to the international regular bulk cargo charges, LOCAL CHARGE should also include CFS (including warehouse, loading and unloading, ORC, THC and other additional charges). However, the bulk market in Shenzhen is little bit chaotic, there are many bankers will impose surcharges.
The are separately distributed to the sea freight without separately reporting the fee, which causes many local customers to generally not accept the offer. Therefore, when the customer is quoted, it is decided whether to separately report the fee according to the customer’s situation.