In short: UN number, class and packing group, the SDS, packing and training, the DG declaration, carrier acceptance and surcharges, plus a checklist to paste into your reply.
A dangerous goods request is the one quote where a fast answer can be the wrong answer. The rate you'd give for general cargo may not apply, the carrier may not take the cargo at all, and the paperwork has to be right before anything moves. The fix is a short set of questions you ask before you price. This article goes through them in the order that saves the most time.
Most DG quoting mistakes come from pricing first and checking acceptance later. The customer gets a number, books on it, and then finds out the carrier won't accept that class on that service, or that the packaging isn't right, or that a surcharge was missing. Each of those means a revised quote and a customer who now trusts your numbers less. Asking the questions below first takes a few minutes and avoids most of that.
Start here. IATA explains that, based on its classification and composition, a dangerous substance is assigned a UN number and a proper shipping name (IATA, transport of dangerous goods by air). The UN number is what the carrier checks against its acceptance rules, so a description like "cleaning products" or "paint" isn't enough to quote on. Ask for the UN number for each product in the shipment, not just the main one.
The United Nations assigns dangerous goods to one of nine classes, from Class 1 (explosives) to Class 9 (miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles). Many substances also carry a packing group: Packing Group I for high danger, II for medium danger and III for low danger (IATA).
Class and packing group drive what you can quote. They decide which carriers and services will take the cargo, what packaging is needed, and often which surcharge applies. If the shipment mixes classes, ask for all of them, because segregation rules can change how the cargo has to be loaded.
Ask for the SDS for every product. It's where the shipper's transport information usually sits, and it lets you check that the UN number and class the customer gave you match what the manufacturer says. Read the transport section yourself rather than relying on a summary in the email. If the customer can't produce an SDS, treat that as a reason to slow down, not a detail to fix after booking.
Dangerous goods need the right packaging, marking and labelling. For air freight, CASA says dangerous goods need special packaging and the correct documentation, that some goods must use UN-specification packaging, that packages must be marked and labelled correctly, and that anyone who packs dangerous goods needs to have completed training (CASA, packing dangerous goods).
For sea freight in Australia, AMSA says the IMDG Code is given effect by Marine Order 41, and that shore-side staff who pack dangerous goods or prepare their transport documents must receive general and function-specific training (AMSA, cargo regulations). Ask whether the shipper's packer is trained, and whether you're expected to pack or repack. If you are, that's a priced service and a training requirement on your side.
Every DG shipment needs a declaration. For air, IATA lists filling out the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods correctly along with the air waybill as a shipper step, and says that if the documents aren't filled out correctly, the goods can't be accepted for carriage by air (IATA).
For sea, AMSA's multimodal dangerous goods form (form 250) is used to notify the intention to ship dangerous goods. For consolidated cargo, a copy goes to the consolidator, who passes it to the master. Otherwise it goes to the master of the vessel (AMSA, multimodal dangerous goods form). Your quote should say who prepares the declaration and whether you charge for it.
Get acceptance before you send a price. Send the carrier or consolidator the UN number, class, packing group, quantity, packaging and the route, and ask for written confirmation that they'll take it, on which service, and with which DG surcharge. For LCL, the consolidator's acceptance matters as much as the ocean carrier's, because not every consolidation box can carry every class. Our guide to calculating an LCL quote covers the rest of the LCL lines.
For air, the rules are updated every year. IATA publishes a new edition of its Dangerous Goods Regulations annually and is now on the 68th edition (IATA, Dangerous Goods Regulations). Lithium batteries have their own IATA guidance as well, so check them separately even when the customer calls the shipment "electronics". Price on chargeable weight as usual, then add the DG lines.
Once acceptance is confirmed, the DG-specific lines usually include:
To quote this shipment we need: 1. UN number and proper shipping name for each product 2. Class and packing group 3. Safety data sheet (SDS) for each product 4. Packaging type, quantity per package, and number of packages 5. Who packs, and whether the packer is DG trained 6. Who prepares the DG declaration We'll confirm carrier acceptance before sending the price.
Laneworks reads the request and drafts the reply from your rate sheet. When details it needs are missing, the draft asks for them instead of guessing a price. See a sample draft, or forward a real quote request to try@getlaneworks.com and a draft comes back in about two minutes.
Forward a quote request