Revealing the Dark Secrets of Ocean Freight Agents: You Might Be Being Exploited

When Mr. Zhang first handed over ceramic handicrafts worth 500,000 yuan to the ocean freight agent, he thought that he only needed to pay the freight and then he could rest easy. It was not until the goods were detained at the port of destination for two weeks and an additional 30,000 yuan of container detention charges were incurred that he realized - the water in ocean freight agent exports is deeper than the Pacific Ocean.

Ms. Li's clothing export order once suffered a 12% loss due to a "sudden" bunker adjustment factor. Later, she found out that this was a common industry practice. Common hidden cost traps of ocean freight agents include:

• Temporarily added war risk surcharges
• Suddenly increased terminal handling charges during peak seasons
• Tariff fines caused by ambiguous customs declarations

The operation director of Zhongshitong, who has been in the industry for 20 years, revealed that "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" also applies in the shipping industry:

• Locking in shipping spaces 45 days in advance can avoid 80% of peak - season surcharges
• Requesting the agent to provide a BCO contract price instead of an NVOCC quotation
• Buying port congestion insurance is more cost - effective than accepting the agent's "all - inclusive price"

The latest shipping big data shows that shippers using the intelligent booking system save an average of 19% in costs. However, what machines cannot replace are:

• Emergency contacts for coping with sudden customs inspections
• The experience of craftsmen in lashing and reinforcing special goods
• The "lubricant" for gray customs clearance at the port of destination

The next time the agent says "This price is the same across the industry", you might as well ask:

• Can you provide settlement statements of other customers for comparison during the same period?
• Are you willing to link the surcharges to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange Index?
• Dare you sign a stepped delay compensation clause?