In short: The weight-or-measure rule, how minimums dominate small shipments, and two worked examples into Melbourne with sample rates.
LCL quotes cause more back-and-forth than FCL because the customer can't check the arithmetic. They see a rate "per W/M", a minimum, a CFS charge and a delivery order fee, and the total doesn't match what they expected from the per-cubic-metre number. Getting the calculation right, and showing it, avoids most of those emails.
LCL ocean freight is charged per freight tonne, also called a revenue tonne or W/M (weight or measure). One cubic metre is treated as equal to 1,000 kg, and the shipment is charged on whichever is greater: its volume in cubic metres or its weight in tonnes (Marine Insight, what is CBM rate in shipping).
So 3 cbm weighing 800 kg is charged as 3 W/M. 2 cbm weighing 2,600 kg is charged as 2.6 W/M. Most general cargo is volume-heavy and charges on cubic metres. Machinery, tiles, stone and steel often charge on weight.
Volume is length x width x height in metres, per piece, times the number of pieces. Use the dimensions of the pallet as packed, including the pallet itself, not the carton sizes on the commercial invoice. A pallet listed as 1.20 x 1.00 x 1.10 m is 1.32 cbm. If the cartons overhang the pallet, measure the overhang.
Get dimensions in centimetres where you can. "Approx 4 cbm" from a supplier is a starting point, not a measurement, and the CFS will remeasure on arrival. Quote on the customer's figures and say that the final charge is on the CFS measurement. Check your consolidator's tariff for how it rounds W/M.
Most LCL tariffs have a minimum chargeable quantity on the ocean freight, often 1 W/M, and many destination charges have a flat minimum as well. For a small shipment, the minimums are most of the price. A 0.4 cbm consignment at a 1 W/M minimum pays for 1 W/M of ocean freight, and the per-bill fees are the same as on a 10 cbm shipment.
That's why the honest way to quote small LCL is as an all-in figure with the minimums shown. Customers who see "A$45 per cbm" and then an invoice for several hundred dollars feel misled even when every line was in the tariff.
At destination, an LCL shipment has to be unpacked from the consolidator's container at a container freight station (CFS) before you can collect it. Destination charges usually fall into two groups:
Some consolidators also add per-piece surcharges for single pieces over a set weight or length. Check the tariff and ask about heavy or long pieces before you quote.
Origin charges follow the Incoterm. On an FOB quote the supplier pays origin CFS and export clearance; on EXW you add pickup, origin CFS and export clearance yourself. See Incoterms 2020 for forwarders for which charges belong in each.
If the customer wants clearance, add your brokerage fee and the government charges at cost. In Australia the ABF import processing charge for an electronic declaration is $50 for consignments valued over $1,000 and under $10,000, and $152 at $10,000 or more; the biosecurity full import declaration charge for sea cargo is $71 (ABF, import processing charge). A full breakdown is in what goes into a customs brokerage quote in Australia.
LCL delivery from the CFS is usually priced by pallet or by weight and zone, not per container. Say whether the price assumes a tailgate truck, whether the site has a forklift, and how long the driver waits before waiting time starts.
FOB Shanghai to Melbourne, 4 pallets at 120 x 100 x 110 cm, 450 kg each, cleared and delivered to a Melbourne metro postcode. Commercial value A$18,000. All forwarder rates below are example rates, not a tariff; the government charges are the published amounts above.
Volume: 4 x (1.20 x 1.00 x 1.10) = 5.28 cbm Weight: 4 x 450 kg = 1,800 kg = 1.80 t Chargeable: greater of 5.28 and 1.80 = 5.28 W/M Ocean freight 5.28 W/M x AUD 45.00 (min 1 W/M) ........... AUD 237.60 Destination CFS 5.28 W/M x AUD 95.00 (min AUD 190) ........ AUD 501.60 Delivery order / documentation, per bill ................ AUD 120.00 Customs clearance (brokerage) ............................ AUD 160.00 ABF import processing charge (at cost, value >= $10,000) .. AUD 152.00 Biosecurity full import declaration, sea (at cost) ........ AUD 71.00 Delivery 4 pallets, metro zone, tailgate .................. AUD 260.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL .................................................. AUD 1,502.20
Same lane and rates, 1 pallet at 80 x 60 x 80 cm, 150 kg, value A$4,000.
Volume: 0.80 x 0.60 x 0.80 = 0.384 cbm Weight: 0.15 t Chargeable: 0.384 W/M, below the 1 W/M minimum, so 1 W/M Ocean freight, minimum 1 W/M .............................. AUD 45.00 Destination CFS, minimum .................................. AUD 190.00 Delivery order / documentation, per bill ................ AUD 120.00 Customs clearance (brokerage) ............................ AUD 160.00 ABF import processing charge (at cost, $1,000-$10,000) .... AUD 50.00 Biosecurity full import declaration, sea (at cost) ........ AUD 71.00 Delivery 1 pallet, metro zone, tailgate ................... AUD 110.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL .................................................... AUD 746.00
The ocean freight is 6% of that total. That's normal for small LCL, and it's exactly what the customer needs to see before they book, not after.
Add the same closing lines as any import quote: which lines carry GST, what's excluded (duty, import GST, storage after free time at the CFS, inspection if directed, waiting time), and a validity date. Show the volume and weight you priced on, so if the CFS remeasures, the change is easy to explain.
If you want to see this layout produced from an email, there's a sample Laneworks draft on the site.
To work out CBM and revenue tonnes for a real shipment, use the free freight calculator (LCL tab).
Laneworks reads the customer's email and packing list, works out W/M and minimums from your rate sheet, and drafts the reply with the calculation shown. Forward a real LCL request to try@getlaneworks.com and a draft comes back in about two minutes, priced from a sample tariff until you send yours.
Forward a quote request