The First Thing You Need to Know About Air Freight Volumetric Weight If you ship anything by air, your cost is dictated not by what your cargo actually weighs on a scale, but by which number is larger: the actual…
The 30-Second Answer: What Chargeable Weight Is and Why It Dictates Your Air Freight Bill If you ship by air, your invoice is almost never based on what your cargo actually weighs on a scale alone. Chargeable weight is the…
What Are Port Handling Charges? (And Why They’re Not Ocean Freight) Port handling charges—often labeled terminal handling charges (THC)—are the fees a marine terminal or port operator charges for the physical receipt, stacking, lifting, and loading or unloading of containers…
What Sea Freight CBM Actually Means (and Why It’s Just m³) If you’re staring at a freight quote wondering why the line item says “CBM” instead of “cubic meters,” here’s the straight answer: CBM and m³ are exactly the same…
If you’re asking how to measure CBM for shipping, the straight answer is: capture the true external length, width, and height of every packed unit in meters, multiply those three figures (L × W × H) to get cubic meters…
Why the Political Risk Premium in Emerging Markets Is No Longer a Quarterly Guess If you run treasury, procurement, or operations for a firm with exposure to developing economies, the political risk premium in emerging markets is the extra return…
Customs value is assessed by starting with the price actually paid or payable for the goods (the transaction value) and then legally adjusting it for international freight, insurance, assists, royalties, and certain other costs to reach the assessable value that…
What to Put as Customs Value When the Sale Price Isn’t the Whole Story The shortest answer to “what to put as customs value” is this: declare the price actually paid or payable for the goods plus mandatory additions such…
What Are DAP Shipping Terms? (And Why Importers Underestimate Them) If you’re staring at a quote that says “DAP Chicago”, the plain answer to what are DAP shipping terms? is this: Delivered At Place means the seller contracts and pays…
The Straight Answer: Who Pays Duties Under DDP? If you’re staring at a shipping quote and wondering who pays duties under DDP, here’s the unambiguous answer: the seller does. Under the Incoterms 2020 rules published by the International Chamber of…