The international shipping world is overwhelming, complicated and expensive for a traveller who only needs to get his car shipped to the other side of an ocean. Forced to find a quote in a professional market where terms like THC, B/L and BAF are bandied about as if it’s all about the weather, the traveller is left confused about what he has to pay, and to whom.
Which Parties Get a Share of Shipping Costs?
Car shipping costs consist of two main elements: the ocean freight, which is paid to the shipping line, and the handling and clearing costs at the ports of loading and unloading – fees paid to port authorities, freight forwarders as well as the shipping line.
Shipping Quote Terminology
Shipping companies and freight forwarders use different terminologies to give a breakdown of their estimates, seemingly for no other reason than to create endless and incomprehensible lists of charges and surcharges. Shipping quotes can be assigned to one of the following categories:
- Fees at the port of departure.
- Ocean freight – the actual transport of the container.
- Fees at the port of destination.
Some shipping jargon is commonly used and likely to be found in any shipping quote:
- Ocean freight is the large bulk – the actual price for the container.
- CAF, Currency Adjustment Factor – allows for changes in exchange rates during the journey.
- BAF, Bunker Adjustment Factor – a charge covering possible fuel price fluctuations.
- Congestion charges at busy ports.
- Customs Clearance fees – fees to stamp a Carnet de Passage or to arrange a Temporary Import Document for the car.
- THC, Terminal Handling Charges – port charges at both departure and destination ends.
- B/L or BOL is the Bill of Lading fee – the official legal document representing ownership of the cargo and specifying the terms of delivery. For the car owner this is the most important shipping document – without it, it will be impossible to retrieve the car!
- Wharfage – a fee charged for the time the container sits on, or passes through the wharf.
- Lashing charges – to lash the car to the container floor.
- Surcharges, such as peak season surcharge, security surcharge and so on.
Even though it is wise to demand a breakdown of the prices – to weed out unnecessary costs such as cleaning the container, field supervision, stuffing charges, etc. – always ask for the bottom price. This way one avoids the unpleasant surprise of [creatively invented] additional fees when receiving the bill.
Practicalities of Shipping Costs
- Shipping costs are usually calculated and quoted in US dollars.
- Any destination and import charges accrued through the port of destination are ultimately the car owner’s responsibility – regardless of what has initially been quoted.
- Different costs apply to shipping a private vehicle in case of immigration. Importing a vehicle with the purpose of travel is a question of transit and not of import! No import duties should be paid.
Shipping Jargon to Understand a Vehicle Shipping Quote
Any traveller who has any experience in shipping a car overseas will agree that the international shipping world is a tough one and all parties involved will try and strip a customer of as much as they can. To assure a fair shipping rate, take the time and be persistent in requesting a breakdown of shipping quotes in order to eliminate all unnecessary posts.
Karin-Marijke Vis - Karin-Marijke Vis is a bilingual writer (Dutch-English) who has been traveling in Asia and South America since 2003.
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