international maritime freight generally can be divided into two types: tramp freight and shipping rates. Among them, the former rate levels depending on the shipping market, supply and demandFluctuations in the relationship. During the market boom, does not regularly shipping rates will rise when the market is in a slump, it will fall. The latter determined by the liner and liner shipping operators, theyClosely related to operating costs, have remained relatively stable for a certain period.

because most of maritime container transport is liner operating organization management, container shipping freight rates are essentially a liner tariff purposes. Container sea freight accountMethods and regular liner shipping calculation methods are the same, are billed according to the rates prescribed rates and calculated shipping costs and basic freight and additional freight costs.

, principles of international container shipping freight

typically, liner, or liner operator of liner freight rate determined by its fundamental principles is not open to the public. However, in General, the traditional “ Hong Kong a Hong Kong ” or “ Jun Jun ” transfer mode determination of sea freight, often based on the following three basic principles.

1． Cost of transport services

principle of so-called costs of transport services (The Cost of Service) refers to liner operators in order to ensure continuous liner transport services. There are rules, transport service consumes all costs and reasonable profits for certain benchmarks to determine the liner freight rates. Determined in accordance with the principles of freight revenue of liner freight rates can ensure that the liner is not lower than the actual cost of transport services. This principle is widely used in development of international shipping rates.

2． Transport services value

transport services pricing principles (The Value of Service) is from the demand point of view, transport service based on the amount of value created by price. It refers to the owner according to the transport services can create value for its level and are willing to pay the price. Transport services level reflects the value of the owner on the freight capacity. If the freight cost exceeds the value of its services, shippers will not deliver the goods shipment, because higher shipping costs would make their goods lose competitiveness on the market. Therefore, if the price is set by the cost of transport services of liner freight rates lower, then, in accordance with the principles of freight transport services value is its ceiling, for horizontal liner transport services value tariff ensures that shippers in certain reasonable gains after selling their goods.

3． “ transport sustainability ” principle

This is a very old, is also in the past used more general tariff principles. Taking into account the enormous effects on the liner shipping market supply and demand,“ transport sustainability ” principle (“ What the Traffic Can Bear”) pricing methods are goods at high prices and high rates of compensation for low rates for low-price commodities, so as to achieve the objective of stable supply. In accordance with this principle, carrier shipping low price goods may be at a loss, however, such losses can be obtained by charging higher rates on expensive goods profits compensate.

, high value goods lower tariffs might be higher than the value of the goods price many times, but from the freight of goods terms of share price, expensive goods is much lower than that of low-price goods. According to UNCTAD statistics, low-price goods price 30%~50% per cent of the goods FOB prices, and high freight accounted for l%~28% of the goods FOB price. Therefore, despite from a kind of significance Shang said, transport bear capacity pricing principles on high commodity is is unlikely to fair of, but this pricing method elimination or reduced has different value commodity in commodity price and freight Zhijian of larger differences, to makes low price commodity not due to freight high lost competitiveness and abandoned transport, achieved has stability supply of purpose, thus for liner company,, this a pricing principles has is important of significance.

there is no doubt that the pricing principles in traditional grocery prices of maritime transport system does play a very important role in the process. However, with the emergence of container transport, how to determine a reasonable shipping price, but is a new subject for container liner shipping companies. In the past, due to the fragmented and a wide variety of groceries, the actual unit cost calculations are more complicated, thus the sustainability principle than the transport cost of service principles more generally accepted by the liner conferences or shipping companies. However, the use of standardized container unit transportation cost calculations simpler, especially in view of the increasingly fierce competition, the carrier now adopts the principles to develop freight transport service cost more. Of course, specific pricing process, should be based on the cost of transport services, combined with the level of considering the value of transport services and transport bear ability, comprehensive use of these pricing principles. If using a principle in isolation, is unlikely to make science the price reasonable.

as container transport has entered the mature stage, process standardization so that the shipping company for transport reached a uniform level of transport services, especially as container ships are large, growing profit and loss balance point of shipping, increase their market share, to quickly break through the profit and loss balance point, form the basis of container shipping company profits. Therefore, maintaining a certain level of service, reasonable reduction in unit transportation cost, low price penetration strategy for rapid expansion in market share, are important prerequisites for rational development of container shipping freight rates.

second, the basic forms of international container shipping freight

at present, the international container transport by sea, there are several different forms of tariffs, which mainly include: uniform rate (FAK), case rate (CBR) and volume discount rates (TVC).

1． Uniform rate

uniform tariffs (Freight for All Kinds Rates, referred to as FAK) refers to the unified rate charges on all goods. It is the basic principle of what cargo container shipping and freight regardless of receivable. In other words, all of the same range of goods of the same rate, regardless of its value. It is actually the carrier will total cost-sharing is expected to be shipped to each container on the average of the results of basic rates.

this form of tariff theory is logical, because ships are container shipping and port handling rather than cargo and container cargo hold and the area is occupied by the same. However, this form of freight, transport will have a negative impact on the low-value commodities, because of low rates of goods can be difficult to get compensation from the higher rates of goods. For commodities at the rate of consignors may be difficult to accept. For example, the container liner shipping bottled water and bottled wine shippers unified charging the same price, while bottled wine shippers do not care about this, but bottled water's owner can refuse to accept this situation and, ultimately, shipping companies have been forced to both goods were charged different rates. Therefore, in most cases, goods are actually divided into uniform rate 5~7 rate levels.

2． Box rates

case rate (Commodity Box Rates, known as CBR), or cargo box rates, is to meet the needs of sea containers and multimodal transport development and there's a price. This rate forms are different commodities and different box, provides for different rates for lump sum, the rate unit of measure by “ ton ” (weight ton or volume tons) simplifies to “ box ” dollars. For carriers, this simplifies the calculation of rates, but also to reduce the related management costs.

box rates established by the different cargo grades, class division and classification of cargo transportation of the same (1~20). However, container goods of rates level, generally can is divided into 4 group, as: 1~7 level, and 8~10 level, and 11~15 level and 16~20 level, or 1~8 level j level, and 10~11 level and 12~20 level,, but also has only points 3 a rates level of, used this container rates of has Cosco 6th, freight table under of China a Australia route, and China a New Zealand route, and China a Persian Gulf route, and China a Eastern Mediterranean route, and China a East route,.

3． Volume discount rates

volume discount rates (Time-volume Rates, also known as Time-volume Contracts, Tvc for short) is to meet the needs of container transportation development in the emergence of yet another rate. It is in fact the consignment number of the shipper must fee discounts, namely: large number of consignments, lower freight rates to be paid. Of course, this rate is a uniform rate, or it can be a specific commodity rate. Because this volume incentives is determined according to the number of consignments of freight rates, and owners usually can benefit from it.

at first, this attempt to discount rates were not very successful, because some of the multimodal transport operator and carrier TVC also committed to ship a certain number of container cargo, for example, 500TEU, so as to get a certain rate discounts from carrier, but to contract at the end of their shipping containers did not reach the amount stipulated in the contract, for example, only shipping 250TEU. It is clear that the carrier would consider themselves to have suffered losses. Because of this, makes the so-called “-sliding scale ” become more common. According to this approach, 500TEU container cargo ship, when he checked the first 100TEU container is a paid a price, so he when shipping second 100TEU container is lower than the first price to be paid, and when he checked third 100TEU container is paid a lower price, and so on. Currently, this form of volume discount rates used more and more widely, especially in multimodal transport operators can take advantage of cost savings in this way, however, TVC forms are not profitable. For a new, of course, scale may also be smaller for multimodal transport operators, compared to multimodal transport operators if TVC rates form a disadvantaged situation, this is very limited due to its container transport volume without having to pay moreHigher freight rates.

calculation of three, international container shipping freight

international container shipping freight calculations and ordinary spot round the calculation of freight, is billed according to the rates prescribed rates and calculated shipping costs, there are also basic Distributor, freight rates and surcharges. However, because cargo container freight station (CFS) boxing or boxing FCL shipments by the owner itself, on the freight calculation method varies. Mainly when cargo is the entire container shipping, and when using the carrier of containers, container shipping freight rates charged “ minimum billing tons of ” and “ the highest billing ton ” provisions, in addition, for special cargo freight calculations and calculation of the surcharge has its provisions./p>

1． LCL ocean freight calculation

currently, the ship company on container transport of spell box freight fee of calculation, basically is based on pieces grocery freight of calculation standard,” by by shipping goods of actual freight tons billing, that size large of by size tons billing, weight large of by weight tons billing; also, in spell box goods shipping freight in the also to plus received and container about of costs, as spell box service fee,. Because LCL involves a different consignee, LCL does not accept the elections or changes Kong consignors in Hong Kong for the purpose requested, therefore, LCL ocean freight surcharges and changes was not selected in Hong Kong port surcharge.

2． FCL sea freight calculation

for container freight charge for FCL shipments: one that is the same as LCL, billed according to actual freight tons. Another way, is currently the more popular methods are, depending on the type of container or a case charged shipping costs.

FCL shipping containers used by cargo and container shipping company under all circumstances, carriers have “ minimum utilization of container ” (COntainer Minimum Utilization) and “ container high utilization ” (Container Maximum Utilization) the payment provisions of the maritime freight.

(1) container minimum utilization billing

generally speaking, charge container shipping freight liner are usually only calculate the tonnage of cargo loaded inside the box, charge fees without weight or volume of the container itself, but has a minimum requirements for container load utilization, “ minimum utilization ”. However, on some carriers, or liner, only when using special containers when shipping containers, do not incur freight charges of the container itself, and when using regular shipping container the container weight (with the weight of the goods inside the box) or total volume of collection of maritime freight.

provides minimum utilization of container's primary purpose is, if the number of tons of cargo loaded (weight or volume) do not meet the stipulated requirements, are still billed as the minimum utilization tons of freight, to ensure that the interests of the carrier. When the minimum utilization of container, usually including the weight or volume of shipments on pallets. Minimum utilization depends primarily on the size of the container type, size and container shipping followed by the company's business strategy. Of course, in some liner rate tables, container minimum are usually only boxes of size-related, regardless of the container type. At present, the minimum usage charge container freight there are three main forms: minimum loading tons, minimum amount of freight and mixed forms of these two forms.

minimum loading tons of tons in weight or volume tons, can also be a container loading capacity (weight or volume) of a percentage. Expressed in tons in weight or volume ton minimum load tonnage is usually varies according to the type and size of the container, but in some cases this can be the same. When certain percentage of container loading capacity when determining the minimum loading tons, which is the same for container loading capacity and volume usually, of course, is not the same.

lowest freight amount is per ton or per container provides a minimum amount of freight, the latter of which is also called the “ minimum box freight ”.

of these two forms of mixed forms is based on the following method to determine minimum utilization of container:

① container carrying capacity or a percentage of volume capacity with a container unit volume or amount of minimum freight per container requirements;

② minimum weight tons or tons of volume, plus a percentage of volume capacity of container.