Surcharge

Surcharge is a common term in foreign trade transportation, referring to fees charged by carriers (shipping companies, airlines, express delivery companies, etc.) in addition to the base freight rate under specific circumstances. Its use scenarios include fuel price fluctuations (Bunker Adjustment Factor BAF/Fuel Adjustment Factor FAF), exchange rate fluctuations (Currency Adjustment Factor CAF), peak season congestion (Peak Season Surcharge PSS), port congestion (Port Congestion Surcharge PCS), war risk (War Risk Surcharge WRS), low-sulfur fuel (Low Sulfur Surcharge LSS), etc. Notes: Surcharges are usually not fixed and are frequently adjusted with market changes; different carriers may have different names and standards; when quoting, it should be clearly stated whether surcharges are included to avoid cost calculation errors. The difference from the base rate is that the base rate is the core transportation cost, while surcharges are supplementary fees under temporary or specific conditions; the difference from an all-in rate is that the all-in rate already includes surcharges, while surcharges need to be listed separately. Foreign trade practitioners need to specify in the contract which party bears the surcharges and pay attention to their changing trends.