All-in freight quotes: what's really included

An ocean freight quote labeled all-in looks like the final price. It is not. The all-in figure covers the voyage from the port of loading to the port of discharge, with the carrier’s surcharges folded in. Every cost after the vessel berths, and several that come up before boarding, falls outside it. Two all-in proposals with the same headline number can end up at very different totals, because terminal handling, warehousing and local charges vary between forwarders and between ports.

The all-in covers the ocean leg and the carrier’s surcharges

An all-in ocean freight quote typically bundles the base freight (ocean freight rate) with the surcharges the carrier bills on the same invoice: BAF or bunker surcharge (fuel), PSS (peak season surcharge, when in effect), ISPS (port security), origin documentation fee and, on routes with a connection, the transshipment charge. These components change with the trade lane and the carrier, but they all relate to moving the container or consolidated cargo between two ports.

So the importer gets the cost of the sea leg in a single figure. That makes one part of the journey predictable. But the sea leg is only one slice of the total cost of getting goods to the warehouse or factory floor. The remaining charges show up later.

What sits outside the all-in quote

The costs outside the all-in happen at the destination port or depend on the importer’s decisions and conditions at the local terminal.

THC (terminal handling charge) is what the port terminal charges to move the container from the vessel to the yard. In Santos, Brazil’s busiest port, THC for a 40-foot container runs between roughly BRL 1,500 and BRL 2,500, depending on the terminal operator. It shows up on the forwarder’s invoice as a destination expense.

Bonded warehousing starts accruing once the cargo gets its arrival notice at the bonded facility. An importer who clears customs within five days pays little. One who waits for a red-channel inspection or a missing document pays by period, and the tariff is progressive: the longer the cargo stays, the higher the rate per period.

In Brazil, AFRMM (Adicional ao Frete para Renovacao da Marinha Mercante) is a federal levy on international ocean freight for imports. The rate for deep-sea navigation is 8% of the freight value, under Law 10.893/2004. The importer pays AFRMM before filing the import declaration (DUIMP) through Siscomex. It does not appear on the forwarder’s quote because the importer collects and remits it directly, but it is calculated on the freight value the importer contracted.

For LCL (consolidated) cargo, the terminal operator or NVOCC charges a deconsolidation fee to separate the importer’s cargo from the rest of the container. This cost is billed per ton or cubic meter, whichever is greater, and varies by facility. In Santos, deconsolidation of a 5 CBM shipment can cost between BRL 800 and BRL 1,500.

International cargo insurance is also outside the all-in, unless the Incoterm is CIF or CIP, in which case the exporter arranges it. Under FOB or CFR terms, the importer arranges coverage separately, and the premium depends on the cargo value, the route and the commodity type.

Customs clearance (broker fees, Siscomex charges, any licensing costs) and inland trucking from the port to the final destination are separate services. Whether they appear in the forwarder’s proposal depends on the scope requested. A door-to-door quote usually breaks them out on separate lines. A port-to-port quote leaves them out entirely.

Costs outside the all-in feed into the tax base

The customs value of an imported good, which is the base for import duty, PIS/COFINS on imports and, in Brazil, ICMS, includes the goods value, the international freight and the insurance, per the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation. When freight goes up, the customs value goes up with it, and every duty and tax calculated on that base follows.

AFRMM has its own calculation base (the freight), but the result is the same: higher freight means higher AFRMM. In 2026, with 40-foot containers on the China-to-Santos route reaching USD 10,000 during peak windows, the 8% AFRMM on that figure amounts to USD 800, compared with USD 160 to USD 240 when freight sat in the USD 2,000 to USD 3,000 range.

Destination costs (THC, warehousing, deconsolidation, trucking) are not part of the customs value, but the importer still pays them. They need to go into the total landed cost calculation for any real comparison between suppliers or between forwarders.

How to compare quotes using the total cost

Two all-in quotes with the same freight figure can produce different totals because THC, estimated warehousing, offered free time and deconsolidation fees vary. Comparing by the all-in number alone means picking by the sea leg and ignoring everything between the quay and the warehouse.

A proper comparison requires each forwarder to itemize every line: freight, surcharges, THC, estimated warehousing (assuming an average clearance time), included free time, deconsolidation fee (if LCL), insurance (if applicable), customs clearance fees (if in scope) and trucking (if in scope). Importers who have already briefed their forwarder on what the proposal should contain, as we discussed in a previous post, will find this step easier.

Quote validity matters too. A proposal valid for seven days can expire before the importer closes the purchase with the overseas supplier. Carrier surcharges move with every GRI announcement, and the forwarder needs to re-quote when the tariff changes. Knowing this cycle helps the importer negotiate timelines and avoid comparing a live proposal with one that has already expired.

How Tier2 Portal shows every line to the business partner

When a forwarder runs Tier2 Cargo, its business partners can see every invoice line for their shipments in Tier2 Portal: freight, surcharges, THC, deconsolidation, broker fees. The invoice comes with the PDF in the forwarder’s layout and a link to the tax document (NFS-e), so each charge can be checked without calling the operator. The free-time countdown per container also appears in the portal, showing the days the forwarder sold and how many remain before demurrage kicks in.

Learn about Tier2 Portal or get in touch.

Next time you get an all-in quote, ask for the full breakdown and add up every line before comparing. The number that actually decides the import is the cost at your warehouse, with everything the all-in left out.