The transport contract
The different types of transport contracts |
The transport documents | The pricing rules
Only
the air, maritime and road carriers have prices that follow international
rules. Rules for inland waterway or rail transport rates change from a country
to the next. They will therefore only be studied generally.
It is common knowledge that the pricing of transport is almost always, either
related to the weight or to the volume of the goods. Once again, we recommend
paying attention to the problem of packaging.
A well designed package can allow a company to make considerable savings.
Sea transport
1.
Scheduled Lines
Maritime
conferences 
determine the rules of pricing. There are no real collective rules
as to how these prices are calculated. The principles are, however, more or
less the same.
For
Bulk Break deliveries
(sacks, crates ...) freight is often carried for a specified journey as
Paying Units
.
(PU) This paying unit is the cubic metre at the carrier's advantage. (For
maritime transport, the pricing basis is
1
ton = 1 m³).
The
expression "at the carrier's advantage", means that, above
the basic rate, you will pay the sum of the mass in tonnes multiplied by the
volume in cubic metres. In this way, a delivery of 5m³ and weighing 4
tonnes will pay 5PU and a delivery of 3m³ and weighing 4 tonnes will pay
4PU. It's possible to say that the goods are travelling
"light" in the first case and "heavy" in the second.
In
virtually all the conferences, there is a minimum tax on all small parcels and
specific rules for certain goods which are taxed as a single entity and not as
a PU (cars, animals,...)
2.
Chartered Vessels
In
principle, the basic freight rate is negotiated freely. These rates never cover
the loading and unloading charges of the freight and the carrier's risk.
Moreover it's sometimes necessary to add the charges resulting from a
larger boat to which it is authorised to be immobilised. (The owner of the boat
limits his immobilisation time to twenty four hours for loading and unloading,
so as to prevent his boat from staying for too long in port because of the
carrier) This compensation is known as "Demurrage"
Air
transport
- The
General Tariff
:
This is calculated via an airport- given airport. It is separate to the nature
of the goods and is divided into price bands (less than 45kg, between 45 and
100kg, from 100 to 300kg) Taking into account the different prices, it could be
helpful to apply the rule of
"Paying
For"
an
amount
greater than
the
actual weight. Moreover, if the tariff fixes a price of 5 Euros for between
45-100kg and a price of 4 Euros between 100-300kg, a carrier needed to
transport 85kg would prefer to pay for 100kg because: 85 x 5 =425 EUR but 100 x
4 = 400 EUR. The company will automatically opt "the rule of paying
for" ... but it is seldom remarked upon that the company could have
simply found another 15kg in order to make up the 100kg! For bulky goods, the
basic rate is the sum of the weight and the volume, bearing in mind that for
air transport,
1
tonne = 6 m³
(the real volume is divided by 6 to calculate the fictitious weight used as the
basis for pricing).
Transporting light-weight goods will be more "favourable" by air
than by ship. Indeed, for a dispatch weighing 1 tonne with a volume of
5m³, the sender will pay 1 PU against 5 PU by ship. But the PU cost is, of
course, higher by plane.
- The
ULD rate
(Unit Load Device) with which each loading unit has a minimum price. The ULD
rate is fixed for certain journeys. To this rate corresponds, what we call a
" pivot " weight. If the weight exceeds the set weight,
extra kilograms will be charged at a very favourable rate. The capacity itself
is not charged if it is an International Air Transport Organisation (IATA)
cargo unit.
- Special
rates or Corates (Specific Commodity Rates)
are preferential rates calculated depending on the type of goods sent at a
minimum weight. Reductions connected to the general tariff can be very
important. Specialist Intermediaries prepare a list a goods profiting from
Corates on the given lines.
To
this charge, it is necessary to add related costs such as removal fees,
cartage, fees for making out documents, customs reports, transferring, or
premiums for hazardous goods, according to the specifications of the
Forwarding Agent.
Road
transport
Regarding
price structures for international road haulage, the general rule is that
pricing can be very flexible.
In
the road transport sector, competition is very fierce, and, for groupage and,
above all, full loads, the cost of freight on a particular route can vary quite
dramatically, from one haulier or forwarding agent to another.
Whoever says: "Cheapest Estimation", is not necessarily saying
"Lowest quality service". Indeed, some hauliers allow you to
benefit from attractive prices, in cases where your goods will be delivered in
groupage along with other products, or the lorry will not return empty once the
delivery is completed. It can be surprising that for the same service, the
price can vary from single to double. It is useful to make enquiries to the
haulier or forwarding agent to know the reasons which justify this difference
in price.
However,
in the case of groupage, the price is often proposed by the forwarding agent.
Typically, it is calculated by delivery area. Most often, the price is
independent of the type of merchandise. The volume is frequently worked out on
a basis of the relationship between weight and volume of
1
ton = 3 m³
.
Rail
transport
The
CIM agreement, did not prepare for a common pricing agreement in the
participating states. However, pricing regulations can vary from one country to
another. Therefore, three alternatives come to light:
- absence
of common pricing : principle
of joint national pricing, the global transport price is calculated by applying
fair calculation rules to each country, by referring to previous operations.
For locations further afield, it could be worthwhile examining many
destinations, a roundabout route could be worth attention ;
- existence
of bilateral pricing (two countries) or multilateral (more than two countries) :
This
type of tariff applies to, in the first instance, all varieties of goods, and
in the second a particular type of product. Recently, pricing of this nature
has become more simple because it calculates a price regardless of the internal
prices within the countries crossed and mileage within each of them. Only the
complete mileage comes into play.
Inland
waterway transport
The
pricing structures vary from country to country. As a general rule competition
for this type of transport is very strong, and very low freight charges can
often be obtained, making this type of transport competitive.