3 Charges You Should Discuss With Transporters

Posted on: 18 April 2018

Do you import heavy machinery frequently and have to hire trucks to bring it to your facility? Read on and discover some of the extra charges which you should discuss with the transporter so that you can reduce your heavy transport container costs.

Flip Fees

You may be paying flip fees without knowing it. Heavy container flip fees refer to the charges which are incurred when lifting equipment is used to remove a container from a ship or cargo train and place that container on the ground before lifting it again to place it on a chassis (truck) which will transport that container to its destination. The flip fee is the cost of the additional handling by the lifting equipment. This cost is usually passed on to the owner of the cargo. That cost can be avoided by making sure that the transporter always has a chassis (truck) to receive the heavy container as soon as it is offloaded.

Chassis Fees

You may also be incurring additional charges in the form of chassis split fees and tri-axle chassis fees. Chassis split fees refer to the cost of transporting a chassis from the yard where it is located to the point where a container will be offloaded for onward transportation by road. Tri-axle fees refer to the charge which may be levied in case your consignment is so heavy that a truck with a third axle (the axle lifted by hydraulic pressure) is needed to transport it to your address. A special fee is normally charged for the use of such a truck. Find a way to negotiate these chassis fees downwards in case you frequently receive heavy containers.

Pre-Pull Fees

What happens when your imported container reaches the point of entry on a holiday or over the weekend? The shipping company usually stores the container and pays a fee for that service. It is usually cheaper for you to ask the transporter to take the container to their storage facility until you can receive it instead of having to incur the cost of storing that container at the point of entry. The fee you pay to have the heavy container kept by the transporter is called the pre-pull fee. Make sure that you agree on a preferential rate for this service so that you keep freight cost affordable.

The best way to identify the different fees which you are incurring for heavy container transportation is by asking the transporter to avail itemised statements for all the costs which you have to meet. You can then analyse that statement of costs and discuss how it can be reduced.

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