Rate request
When making a rate request the reply you expect to receive depends on the information which you provide in your request. The more accurate and complete information you provide the more accurate proposal you will receive. A proposal which will respond fully to your requirements and your budget.
The transportation rate request though possessing many common features in addition have some specific items depending on the type of transportation requested. That is why we have designed several rate request forms depending on the type of the transportation required.
Airfreight Transportation Rate Request
Ocean freight Transportation Rate Request
Road Freight Transportation Rate Request
Here we provide some explanations on each of the fields of the rate requests which will help you to understand why we request this information:
First four fields – Name and Family, Company Name, E-mail, Telephone are mandatory as they provide us with the information for the feedback and an addressee to whom to send the proposal.
Terms of Delivery: It is very important to know what are the terms of delivery under which the shipment is planned to be moved. This outlines the responsibilities of each party – seller/buyer as well as how the liabilities are shared among them for the whole journey from the seller/shipper premises to the warehouse of the consignee/buyer. In some cases the difference between the EXW and FOB terms of delivery can be 20-30% of the transportation cost and it is absolutely necessary to know who pays what. As a merchant – whether seller or buyer, terms of delivery are expected to be known from you and well understood.
Place of loading: This is from where your load will be pick-up. Often place of loading is different from the headquarters address. We have often received the address of the sales person who has sold you the goods which needs to be transported. However the very goods physically can be on hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from that place. We do not care where are the headquarters. We care where load is physically waiting to be pick-up. Please provide at least the city name, post/ZIP code, state if any and the country from where the shipment is to be pick-up. For road transportation this is might be enough but for ocean and air transportation from origins in Asia and Latin America we need the full address in order to provide complete cost of pick-up or export haulage.
Port of Loading: this information relates only to ocean freight rate requests and notifies about the requested port of loading. Knowing of port of loading influences not only the ocean transportation cost but also determines the terminal charges cost.
Airport of Departure: this information relates only to airfreight rate requests and notifies about the requested port of loading. Knowing of airport of departure influences not only the airfreight cost but also determines the airport terminal charges which differ from airport to airport.
Port of Unloading: this information relates only to ocean freight rate requests and notifies about the requested port of unloading. Knowing the port of unloading influences not only the ocean transportation cost but also determines the terminal charges cost.
Airport of Arrival: this information relates only to airfreight rate requests and notifies about the requested port of loading. Knowing of airport of arrival influences not only the airfreight cost but also determines the airport terminal charges which differ from airport to airport.
Place of Delivery: This is where you need your load delivered. Physically. Please provide at least the city name, post/ZIP code, state if any and the country to where the shipment is to be delivered. For road transportation this is might be enough but for ocean and air transportation to destinations in Asia and Latin America we need the full address in order to provide complete cost of delivery or import haulage.
Equipment: For the FTL road freight and FCL ocean freight rates it is very important to know the type of vehicle or container you require to use. Vehicles and containers vary so it is good to know what vehicle you require. Cost for a van and for a MEGA trailer on the same leg differ considerable and so do the costs betwen 20’DV and 40’RF containers. For airfreight, LTL or LCL shipment type of equipment is not that important unless there are some specific, commodity related reasons.
Shipment details: At this filed we need to receive the full information about the load:
– commodity: very important information providing information about the sensitivity of the load, whether it is general cargo or hazardous materia, whether it contains batteries, whether it is vulnerable or not, whether it is foodtsaff or personal effects. The commodity influences the cost of transportation and not providing this information can lead to incorrect pricing proposal;
– gross weight: Normally we need here the total gross weight unless some pieces have some specific gross weight which requires special handling. For the road freight it is recommended to show each piece with unit gross weight over 2500 kilos, for ocean shipments – especially LCL – unit loads over 2500 kilos, for airfreight shipments over 150 kilos (yeap some airplanes, especially narrow bodied, can not load heavier shipments);
– dimensions: it is important to advise the dimensions of the load. All vehicles – whether aircrafts, containers or trailers, have limited compartments which determines limits on loadability of most of the loads on most of the vehicles. Of course for out-of-gauge cargoes there are options for transportation but in this case knowing of the geometric dimensions is even more important. Also dimensions determine the volume which influences charges depending on the volume (volumentric weight charges);
– is load stackable: Loads consume capacity and whether load is stackable or not reflects on the compartment capacity it will occupy hence on the transportation cost;
– special handling and transportation requirements: if your load transportation under special temperature conditions or you want a delivery with lift-tail van here is the place to announce this. Unless it is explicitly advised, we forwarders assume the requirements for transportation and handling of the load are standard. So if you have some specific requirements, do not hesitate but share them, place them, require us to consider them!
– traffic – if you are sure that your load is regular and generates certain traffic – give us this information. You might be surprised from the discounts you can receive if you have regular traffic which generates good volume of loads;
– target rate: if you have expectation of cost or already have a budget based on previous experience, share this with us so that we try to match or even improve your expectations;
– any other information related to the shipment which you believe can influence the cost is welcome;
So now you are ready to submit your rate request. Depending on the type of transportation please follow one of the links below.
For any other request please contact us.