Freight quote FAQ: short answers to the questions forwarders and customs brokers ask most about quoting, with links to the full guides.
A forwarder reads the request (lane, cargo, Incoterm, delivery address), takes the buy rate for the main freight leg, adds its margin, then adds the origin and destination charges the Incoterm puts on the customer, plus delivery and clearance if asked.
An all-in rate is a single price that bundles the base ocean or air freight with surcharges such as BAF, PSS and sometimes origin charges, instead of listing each one.
A spot rate is a one-off price for a single shipment at current market rates, as opposed to a contract rate agreed for a period. Spot quotes are short-lived, often valid for days, not weeks.
Reply fast, confirm what you understood (lane, cargo, Incoterm, dates), price every charge on its own line with a total, state validity and exclusions, and ask for anything missing instead of guessing.
Reply first, make the quote easy to accept, and follow up. Customers usually ask several forwarders, and a complete, clear quote that arrives first is the one they act on.
A freight rate sheet (or tariff) is the forwarder's table of prices: freight rates by lane and equipment, plus origin, destination, delivery and clearance charges, with currencies and validity dates.
Yes. AI can read a customer's quote-request email and attachments reliably. The safe way to use it is to let the AI read the request and let fixed rules price it from your own rate sheet, so every number is traceable.
A door-to-door quote covers pickup at origin, origin charges and export clearance, the main freight, destination charges, import clearance and delivery to the consignee's address.
As fast as you can make it complete. Customers comparing forwarders often book the first clear, complete quote, so same-hour replies win more jobs than next-day ones. See how to get quote replies under an hour.
The shipment details you priced on, every charge line grouped by origin, freight and destination, the Incoterm, the total and currency, whether tax is included, validity, and exclusions. The quote reply template shows the layout.
Origin and destination, cargo description, number of pieces with weights and dimensions, Incoterm, cargo-ready date, and the delivery address if door delivery is needed. For dangerous goods, also the UN number and SDS.
It's the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight; volumetric weight is length × width × height in cm ÷ 6,000 for most airline cargo. Try the free freight calculator.
Per revenue tonne (W/M): the greater of cubic metres and tonnes, usually with a minimum of 1 revenue tonne. See how to calculate an LCL quote.
No longer than the buy rates behind it: often to the end of the carrier's rate period for sea freight, and a week or less for air. See freight quote validity.
BAF covers fuel cost changes, PSS is a peak season surcharge, and THC is the terminal handling charge at origin or destination. See ocean freight surcharges explained.
Most add a markup per line or on the total, with a dollar floor per shipment so small jobs still pay. See how to set margins on freight quotes.
Yes. The slow part is reading the email and assembling the reply; that can be automated while prices still come from your own rate sheet and a person checks before sending. See freight quote email automation.
Email-based tools like Laneworks work beside CargoWise without connecting to it; quoting happens in the inbox and the booked job goes into CargoWise as usual. See the CargoWise quoting add-on.
From around US$45–85 per user per month for small-forwarder TMS platforms to US$1,000+ per month for AI inbox tools; Laneworks is A$1,500–7,500 a month by quote volume (150 to 1,500 requests), with unlimited users. See the 2026 comparison.
Check what the vendor keeps and for how long. Laneworks only receives what you forward, uses an AI provider whose commercial terms exclude training on your data, and deletes your data within 30 days after you leave. See data and security.
Forward a real quote request to try@getlaneworks.com and get the priced draft back in about two minutes.