Getting a freight quote is easy. Getting three quotes that describe the same job is the hard part, and it is where most shippers lose money: not by choosing the expensive option, but by choosing the cheap one that turns out to cover less.
The short answer
Give every forwarder identical information, ask them all to quote the same scope on the same Incoterm, and compare all-in totals line by line. A quote is not a price, it is a description of what someone will do. If the descriptions differ, the prices are not comparable.
What to send, every time
Missing information does not produce a vague quote. It produces a confident quote based on assumptions you never saw.
- Exact origin and destination. Full addresses for door service, or named ports and airports. "China to UK" is not a lane.
- Incoterm and named place. This defines where each party's obligations start and stop. See DDP vs DAP vs FOB.
- Piece-level dimensions and gross weights. Per carton or per pallet, measured over the packaging including overhang. Not a single total.
- A real goods description and the HS code. Commodity affects surcharges, restrictions and acceptance.
- Cargo value. Needed for insurance and for customs.
- Stackability and any handling constraints. Non-stackable cargo can double the space it consumes.
- Ready date and required delivery date.
- Dangerous goods, declared upfront, with UN number, class and packing group. Discovering DG after booking is expensive and sometimes disqualifying.
- Temperature requirements, if any, stated as a range rather than "chilled".
- Site constraints at delivery. No loading dock, restricted access, forklift availability, appointment requirements. Tail-lift and non-standard delivery charges are a classic surprise line.
Ask for the quote in a shape you can compare
Request an itemised breakdown, not a single figure. A comparable quote separates:
- Origin charges: collection, export customs, terminal handling, documentation
- Main carriage, and any surcharges applied to it
- Destination charges: terminal handling, import customs, delivery order, inland delivery
- Duties and taxes, or an explicit statement that they are excluded
- Insurance, quoted separately
Then ask five questions that expose the gaps:
- Is anything excluded? Ask directly, in writing.
- How long is the rate valid? Ocean spot rates often hold for two to four weeks, sometimes less.
- What is the free time at destination, and what are demurrage and detention after it? This is frequently the largest avoidable cost on a shipment.
- Is the transit time port to port or door to door? They differ by two to three weeks on ocean freight.
- Is this a direct service or transhipment, and via where?
Where the difference between quotes usually hides
- Different scope. One is port to port, another door to door. This alone explains most large gaps.
- Destination charges omitted. They appear when the cargo has arrived and you have no leverage.
- Customs clearance excluded, or included at origin only.
- Different Incoterm assumed, moving cost between the parties.
- Optimistic chargeable weight, calculated from your estimate rather than measured reality.
- Short free time, which converts into demurrage.
- Duties and VAT shown as included when they are not, or vice versa.
Why the invoice can still exceed the quote
Even a good quote is conditional. The common causes:
- Re-measurement. Cargo is weighed and measured at the terminal, and the actual figures govern. Estimated dimensions are the leading cause of adjustment.
- Demurrage and detention accrued after free time, usually because documents or clearance were slow.
- Surcharge movement between quotation and sailing, where the quote was not all-in fixed.
- Customs inspection charges, which nobody can predict and which the importer pays.
- Failed delivery and re-delivery, typically a site constraint that was never disclosed.
Ask which parts of the quote are fixed and which float. That single question turns a surprise into a known risk.
Comparing sensibly
Line the quotes up on identical scope and compare totals. Then look past price: schedule reliability on the service offered, whether the forwarder has real experience on your lane, how quickly and specifically they answered your questions, and what their trading conditions say about liability. Two of those cost nothing to assess and predict the experience better than the rate does.
A word on the cheapest quote. It is sometimes genuinely the best, and it is sometimes missing a charge. The way to tell is the line-by-line comparison, not instinct. If it is far below the others with no explanation, treat it as one of the warning signs.
