How do freight forwarders set margins on quotes?

Most add a markup per line or on the total, with a dollar floor per shipment so small jobs still pay, and keep separate buy and sell rates in the rate sheet.

Markup and margin aren't the same number: a 20% markup is a 16.7% margin. Track margin by lane against win rate, and raise it on the lanes you win most.

Full guide: How to set margins on freight quotes.

Three common methods

• Percentage markup on cost: simple and consistent; weak on very small or very large shipments.
• Fixed amount per container or per shipment: predictable profit per job; easy to undercut on high-value lanes.
• Percentage with a floor: a markup with a minimum dollar margin per shipment, so a 0.5 W/M LCL job still pays for the work.

Margin versus markup

A 20 percent markup on cost is a 16.7 percent margin on the sell price. Mixing the two up is one of the most common pricing errors. Our margin calculator converts between them.

Whatever the method, write it down per mode and per customer group. If two people quote the same request and get different prices, the rule isn't written down.