How to compare two sea freight quotes

A lower ocean freight rate does not necessarily mean a cheaper delivery. First align the service scope, container quantity, dates and currency. Only then compare totals. A quote ending at the port and one ending at your warehouse answer different questions.

All figures below are fictional and demonstrate the comparison method. They are not market rates, agents’ quotations or actual shipment costs. We assume one ordinary container, the same cargo and the same route. Import duty and taxes are excluded from both options.

Establish a common scope

Write down the service start and end points, equipment type and required activities. Check supplier collection, export clearance, terminal delivery, freight, destination charges, agreed formalities and warehouse delivery. Mark every item as included, additional or unconfirmed.

Do not replace “unconfirmed” with zero. “Local charges excluded” means specified destination costs are outside that quoted amount. Request a list and the charging basis. For “subject to” or “at cost”, ask which condition may change the price and who confirms it.

Make currency conversion explicit

Our illustrative comparison uses 1 USD = 0.90 EUR. This is a calculation assumption, not a current or guaranteed settlement rate. For real quotations, check the exchange-rate source, fixing date, possible conversion margin and invoice currency.

Quote A: (1,800 + 200) × 0.90 + 320 + 50 + 450 = 2,620 EUR. Quote B: 1,700 + 290 + 450 = 2,440 EUR. On the common scope, B is 180 EUR lower. Comparing only 1,800 USD and 1,700 EUR would not reveal this difference.

The result applies only to these items and assumptions. If a surcharge is per document rather than per container, a larger shipment needs a different multiplier. If “destination handling” covers different activities, the table is still insufficient for choosing.

Compare charging units, then timing

Record the unit beside each price: container, document, shipment, tonne, cubic metre or day. For LCL, check the charging basis and minimum charges. Do not multiply every item by the container count; one transport document may cover several containers.

Compare validity and the event determining whether the rate applies. This may follow product, booking or tariff conditions. Do not assume the enquiry date or planned sailing date always determines the price. Obtain an explicit confirmation for your dates.

Check routing, transshipments, estimated transit time and cut-offs. A shorter sea passage may involve a less convenient loading appointment or another destination port. Estimated transit time is not a guaranteed warehouse delivery date.

Add event-dependent costs separately

Free time is meaningful only with its scope and counting rules. Establish whether it concerns demurrage, detention, storage or a combined period, which events start and stop it, and where the empty container must be returned. Seven free days in two offers may describe different arrangements.

Compare booking changes and cancellation, truck waiting, additional trips, inspections, storage and other possible events separately. Do not list every contingent charge as inevitable. Prepare a base scenario and another with one clearly defined delay, using confirmed conditions for this shipment.

Request the missing details

I want to compare quotations for the same shipment and scope [from–to]. Please identify included and additional items, with currency, charging unit and any minimum. Confirm the rate-validity basis, currency-conversion rules, free time with start/end events and empty-container return instructions. Mark any items still awaiting confirmation.

Choose on the basis of comparable cost and operational feasibility. Retain quotation versions and assumptions for checking the invoice later. Cargexo can help calculate container charges using your dates; it does not determine the applicable tariff or replace the forwarder’s confirmation.