THC, DOC, BAF and PSS: checking the extras in a freight quote

A low base freight rate is only useful when you understand the services around it. Expanding an abbreviation helps, but you still need a charging unit, currency, scope and condition. Start by moving every quoted line into one table, including the lines whose price is still unknown.

This is a way to review a quotation, not a port tariff or a list of current rates. Use the documents applicable to your own shipment for the actual amounts.

Start with the service behind the code

THC concerns terminal handling, DOC documentation, BAF fuel adjustment and PSS a seasonal surcharge. Providers use their own codes; read the service description.

Ask the issuer to explain each code in its quotation. Similar wording does not establish identical coverage. Handling at origin and handling at destination take place at different points. Preparing export documents may also differ from providing documentation needed to collect the goods.

Find the charging unit before adding the price

Check whether a line is per specified container type, document, shipment, LCL rating unit or another stated basis. Several containers do not necessarily mean the same number of documents.

Do not multiply a per-document fee by the container count without checking. Equally, do not double a per-container charge merely because a forty-foot container represents two TEU. Establish the tariff basis first.

Mark included, separate and conditional costs

For an included charge, identify the combined price that contains it. Add separate charges to the budget. For conditional items, request the event that creates the charge and the basis for calculating it.

Turn “all-in” into a specific service list with exclusions. Ask about documents, terminals, inland legs and cargo release. A surcharge appearing in a tariff attachment should not automatically be added again: have the provider reconcile that attachment with the quotation.

An absent line is not proof of a free service. It may be outside scope, billed to another party or awaiting a quotation. Mark it “confirmation needed” instead of silently assigning zero.

Keep one agreed version

Save the dated quote, cost attachment and written clarifications. Where names or units conflict, ask for a consolidated version. A total assembled from several emails without version references will be hard to reconcile against an invoice.

Record whether acceptance covers the base rate, the complete breakdown or only availability for a sailing. Put validity and adjustment conditions beside the relevant lines rather than assuming a single expiry date explains every charge.

Present a usable budget

Separate confirmed costs within the agreed scope, items awaiting prices and costs dependent on future events. State currencies and any exchange rate used solely for comparison. The person approving the purchase can then see what is settled.

A time-charge calculator requires the applicable tariff and event dates. It does not establish the coverage of THC or DOC or replace a transport quotation. Review handling charges and time-related charges in their respective categories.

Acceptance checklist

Message to copy

Please complete quotation [reference, date] for [route, equipment, quantity]. For each charge, specify the service, location, unit, currency and chargeable quantity. Identify items included in a combined price, billed separately or dependent on an event. Please also confirm exclusions, currency conversion rules and the document defining the validity of each rate. We will use this breakdown to confirm the order scope.