Is my freight forwarder overcharging me?

Sort the bill into three kinds of charge

Pass-through charges were billed by someone else first: demurrage and per diem from the carrier or terminal, terminal and port charges, exam site fees, duties and government fees. Each should match an original invoice. Some forwarders add a handling fee to these and some bill them at cost; either can be fair if it was disclosed.

Trucking charges come from the drayage: chassis rental, chassis splits, chassis extra days, driver waiting time, pre-pulls, overweight and yard storage. These are where benchmarks help most, because the same fee is billed to many importers at the same port.

Your forwarder’s own fees, such as handling, documentation and customs entry, are its own pricing. The way to test them is a second quote.

Compare each amount with what importers paid

Freight Benchmarks publishes the middle half and the 90th percentile of every fee, nationally and by port. A bill above the 90th percentile is in the top tenth of what importers paid. Across all published ports, 1 in 10 chassis split bills was over $250, 1 in 10 driver waiting time bills over $500, and 1 in 10 storage bills over $605. A high amount can have a good reason, such as a long hold or a multi-container shipment, since figures are per shipment. Ask for the reason before you assume the worst.

Red flags

• A charge that wasn’t in the quote or its terms.
• A pass-through charge with no original invoice behind it, or an amount that doesn’t match it.
• The same charge on two invoices.
• A daily or hourly rate that doesn’t match the one you were quoted.
• A demurrage or detention invoice that misses the FMC’s 30-day deadline or leaves out required details.

When a second quote makes sense

One high fee is a question; a pattern is a reason to compare. If several charges sit in the top tenth for your port, or keep appearing without backup, ask for a quote with every fee in writing and compare it line by line. If you ask Freight Benchmarks for one, we pass your request to one licensed forwarder partner, which pays us a referral fee if you become its customer; see how we make money.