Due to various reasons such as ships, goods, ports, and other factors, the shipowner incurs additional expenses or economic losses during the transportation of goods. In order to compensate for these expenses or losses, the shipowner sets additional fees in addition to the basic rate, which are called surcharges or additions.
There are various types of surcharges, and as some situations change, new surcharges may be cancelled or formulated. This article is a brief summary of the commonly used ocean freight surcharges currently available, hoping to help everyone better understand ocean freight surcharges.
01 Comprehensive rate increase surcharge GRI
The full name of GRI is General Rate Increase. Usually used on South American and American routes. Due to various reasons such as ports, ships, fuel, goods, or other factors, the transportation costs of shipping companies have significantly increased. In order to compensate for these increased expenses, shipowners have added a comprehensive rate increase surcharge.
02 Peak Season Surcharge PSS
The full name of PSS is Peak Season Surcharge. This fee is usually charged by many shipping companies during peak season when freight is busy, similar to the price increase in China's Spring Festival shipping. April November is generally the peak season for global freight transportation.
03 Emergency Fuel Surcharge EBS
The full name is Emergency Bunker Surcharge, which means Emergency Fuel Surcharge. EBS is an additional fee for ocean freight, which, like ocean freight, is generally settled in US dollars. If it is an FOB term, this cost should be borne by the recipient, not the shipper, as EBS is not a local FOB cost. This fee can be paid on delivery or prepaid.
EBS is usually a temporary additional fee charged by shipping companies to compensate for the rapidly rising costs of international crude oil prices, when they feel that the price exceeds their capacity and the market is not favorable and it is not convenient to increase shipping costs in a timely manner.
04 Terminal operation fee THC
The full name of THC is Terminal Handling Charge. It can be further divided into OTHC Origin Terminal Handling Charge and DTHC Destination Terminal Handling Charge.
05 Origin receiving fee ORC
The full name is Original Receiving Charge. This cost is quite complex and has both differences and connections with the terminal operating fee THC. ORC is only available in ports in southern China, mainly in Guangdong, while THC is available in all ports (including those in Guangdong). ORC and THC only charge one of them - if ORC is charged, THC will not be charged again. If THC is collected, ORC will not be collected again.
ORC is specifically designed for shipping from various ports in southern China, with destinations on ocean routes such as North America, Central and South America, Europe, and North Africa. Ports in South China that go to other destination ports, such as Southeast Asia, are subject to THC only, just like ports in other regions.
06 Port Congestion Surcharge PCS
The full name is Port Congestion Surge. When the port is congested or particularly busy, the waiting time and schedule of ships may be extended, and berthing fees such as tugboat fees may also increase, resulting in a significant increase in transportation costs. In order to compensate for this cost loss, shipping companies will charge port congestion surcharges to shippers.
07 Container Unbalanced Surcharge CIC
The full name of CIC is Container Imbalance Charge, sometimes also known as Container Imbalance Surcharge. This fee is an additional fee charged by the shipping company to compensate for the cost of transporting empty containers due to the imbalance of trade volume or seasonal changes resulting in an imbalance between cargo flow and containers.
08 Destination delivery fee DDC
The full name of DDC is Destination Delivery Charge. In terms of DDU, DDP, etc., this fee is only borne by the seller/shipper, otherwise it is paid by the buyer/consignee. For example, CIF terms - the buyer/consignee bears all costs and risks of the goods crossing the ship's rail at the loading port, so all costs at the destination port, including DDC, are borne by the buyer/consignee.
09 Overweight Surcharge HLA
The full name of HLA is Heavy Lift Addition, also known as Surge For Over Weight. A surcharge charged to compensate for increased operating costs when the weight of a single piece of cargo exceeds a certain standard (which may vary among different freight forwarders or shipowners), requires special equipment (such as heavy-duty cranes) or special operations (such as bundling or reinforcement with padding, reinforcement materials, and manual labor), is difficult to load and unload, or requires special handling on the ship's load.
Generally, exceeding 2 tons, 3 tons, or 5 tons is considered overweight. The overweight surcharge is charged based on the weight, and the larger the weight, the higher the surcharge. If there is a need for transshipment, an additional fee will be charged for each transshipment.
10 Currency depreciation surcharge CAF
The full name of CAF is Currency Adjustment Factor. Also known as CAS Currency Adjustment Surcharge. When the currency for calculating freight charges depreciates significantly, shipping companies will suffer significant losses due to currency depreciation. In order to compensate for the losses, shipowners will pass on the losses to shippers/shippers by charging currency depreciation surcharges.
11 Extra Long Surcharge LLA
The full name of LLA is Long Length Additional, also known as Over Length Additional or Surge For Over Length. A surcharge charged to compensate for increased operating costs when the length of a single piece of cargo exceeds a certain standard (which may vary depending on the freight forwarder or shipowner), requires special equipment or operations, makes loading and unloading operations difficult, or requires special handling during ship loading. Generally, if it exceeds 9 meters, it is considered extra long. For container cargo, it is generally stipulated that if it exceeds 6 meters, it is considered extra long. The rate increases according to the length grading.
12 Emergency Cost Surcharge ECRS
The full name of ECRS is Emergency Cost Recovery Surcharge, also known as "Severe Weather Operation Surcharge" - for example, if adverse weather conditions cause significant increases in ship transportation and operating costs, and so on, this fee must be added.
13 Container Service Fee CSC
The full name of CSC is Container Service Charge, which means container or container service fee.
14 Fuel surcharge FAF
The full name is Fuel Adjustment Factor, which is generally used for Japanese air routes. This surcharge is somewhat similar to the temporary fuel surcharge above - essentially the same, with a different name.
15 Entry Summary Customs Declaration ENS
ENS (Entry Summary Declaration), abbreviated as "Entry Summary Declaration", refers to the European Customs Advance Manifest Rules. Starting from January 1, 2011, the European Union has enforced the "manifest advance declaration" rule for all cargo traveling to (all goods imported into the EU) or passing through (all transit goods, all goods in transit, all goods not unloaded on board the ship, etc.) EU ports, which applies to all EU member states.
16 Suez Canal Surcharge SCS
The full name of SCS is Suez Canal Surcharge. The routes from Asia, Oceania, East Africa and other regions to Europe generally pass through the Suez Canal. When ships pass through the Suez Canal, shipping companies need to pay certain navigation fees to the canal authorities. This cost is collected from customers through the form of Suez Canal surcharges by the shipowner.
17 Panama Canal Surcharge PTF
The full name of PTF is Panama Canal Transit Fee. Similar to the Suez Canal surcharge, shipping routes from the Far East region and the western United States (referred to as the West) to the eastern United States (referred to as the East) generally pass through the Panama Canal. When ships pass through the Panama Canal, shipping companies need to pay certain navigation fees to the canal authorities, and this cost is collected from customers through the Panama Canal surcharge.
18 file fee DOC
DOC=Document. In the freight forwarding industry, DOC has two fees, one is the DOC charged by the shipping company, which is a fixed fee charged in RMB. The other is the DOC charged by the destination port, which is also one of the basic fees of the destination port. The destination port agent charges in US dollars, and each agent charges different fees.
19 Automatic manifest system entry fee AMS
The full name is Automatic Manifest System, which records fees in the automatic manifest system. Used for US Canada routes, unique to the United States - all goods arriving in the United States or transitioning through the United States to other regions must undergo AMS declaration (24 hours before loading). AMS, also known as the 24-hour manifest system/US anti-terrorism manifest system.
20 Temporary Risk Surcharge TAR
The full name is Temporary Additional Risks. This cost is a bit inexplicable, but it can be simply understood as a war surcharge, or another way of saying it is a war surcharge.
21 Automatic manifest system entry fee ACI
The full name is Advance Commercial Information. According to Canadian customs regulations, all goods entering Canada or transiting through Canada to other countries must be declared to Canadian customs 24 hours before loading, similar to Midea AMS.
22 Comprehensive rate increase surcharge GRI
The full name of GRI is General Rate Increase. Usually used on South American and American routes. Due to various reasons such as ports, ships, fuel, goods, or other factors, the transportation costs of shipping companies have significantly increased. In order to compensate for these increased expenses, shipowners have added a comprehensive rate increase surcharge.
23 Cleaning fee CC
The full name is Cleaning Charge, also known as cabin cleaning service fee or cabin cleaning fee. This cost is generally common in the transportation of bulk goods.
24 fuel surcharge
Fuel surcharges (BUNKER SURCHARGE OR BUNKER ADJUSTment FACTOR - B.A.F.) are added when fuel prices suddenly rise.
25 transshipment surcharge
TRANSHIPment SURCHARGE: Any cargo transported to a non essential port that needs to be transshipped to the destination port, with additional fees charged by the shipping company, including transshipment fees and second leg freight.
26 Direct Flight Surcharge:
Direct Additional Fee: The additional fee charged by the shipping company when a certain amount of cargo is transported to a non basic port and the shipping company can arrange a direct voyage to that port without transshipment.
27 Port Surcharge:
Port Additional or Port Surcharge: Additional fees charged by shipping companies in some ports due to poor equipment conditions or low loading and unloading efficiency, as well as other reasons.
28 Port Surcharge:
Optional SURCHARGE: An additional fee charged by the shipowner for the cargo's inability to determine the specific unloading port at the time of shipment and the requirement to choose one of the two or more ports proposed in advance for unloading.
29 Bypass Surcharge:
Deviation Surcharge: The additional fee charged by the shipowner when a vessel must detour to transport goods to the destination port due to the obstruction of normal navigation channels.
30 Change of Discharge Port Surcharge:
Alternative of Discharge CHARGE: The additional fee charged by the shipper to change the originally designated port of discharge of the goods, with the permission of relevant authorities (such as customs) and the agreement of the ship owner.
Source: Souhang Network