How to Compare Freight Quotes from China

How to Compare Freight Quotes from China

Freight is often the largest single line in a China sourcing budget, and it is the line buyers control least. The reason is rarely the forwarder. It is the request. When ten buyers send ten differently worded emails to the same forwarder, they receive ten quotations that cannot be placed side by side — one includes export documentation, another excludes it, one is valid for a week, another was never given a validity date at all, and one was built on guessed carton weights.

This article sets out a method for Middle East importers: what to put into a request for quotation, what to demand back, and how to compare two quotations honestly. It is not a price list and not a transit-time table. Freight rates and transit times must be asked of the forwarder you appoint — we do not provide freight forwarding, booking, customs brokerage, consolidation warehousing or DDP services. Our role in the logistics chain is limited to preparing export documents on FOB Yiwu terms and coordinating with the forwarder you nominate.

Start with a Complete Request

A quotation is only as good as the information behind it. Before you write to any forwarder, assemble the following in one document.

Cargo readiness date

State the date the goods will be ready for collection, not the date you hope to order. A forwarder quoting against a vague "next month" will build in assumptions you cannot see.

Product and packing description

Describe what is inside the carton, not just the commercial name. "Household storage rack, PP and carbon steel tube, knock-down, each unit in a poly bag with a colour label" tells the forwarder far more than "storage rack". If you are shipping a 10-tier drawer storage rack with small bins or a 3-tier fabric drawer storage unit in KD style, say so — knock-down flat packing changes the volumetric profile, and the forwarder needs to know it.

Weights and volumes

Give gross weight and CBM per carton, and the totals for the shipment. Also state the number of cartons and the number of pallets, and whether the cargo will be palletised or loose. If you do not yet have final figures, say they are estimated and mark them clearly — do not leave the forwarder to assume.

Port of loading and destination

Name the port of loading in China and the destination port or city. If the final delivery address differs from the port, state both.

Incoterms

State which Incoterm you want quoted. Ask for the same term from every forwarder, otherwise you are comparing different scopes of work.

Regulated cargo

Declare whether the goods contain batteries or are otherwise regulated. This matters for products such as a 21V cordless hedge trimmer or a 12V cordless angle grinder, where battery content affects documentation and handling requirements. Declaring it upfront prevents a re-quote later.

Labelling and documents

List any labelling requirements, language requirements, or certificates and test reports your market requires. Certificates are issued by our partner factories and we verify them against your target market requirements such as CE, SABER or NOM; certificates and test reports are available on request.

What to Demand Back from Every Forwarder

Send the same request to each forwarder and require the same structure in reply.

1. A written quotation. Not a phone figure, not a chat message. Under Chinese rules, agreed rates between a liner operator and a shipper or NVOCC must be in written form, and the agreement number must appear on the bill of lading or related documents. A written quote is the baseline for everything that follows.
2. Inclusions and exclusions, itemised. Require the forwarder to list what the figure covers and what it does not. Do not assume any charge line is standard — ask. A quote without an itemised breakdown is not comparable and should be treated as incomplete.
3. Validity. Ask how long the quotation stays valid. Our own guidance to buyers is that a freight quotation is valid for seven days from the date it is issued, and this validity applies across all lanes and all transport modes without exception. Note carefully: this is a commercial validity period for the quotation only — it is not a transit time, not a sailing schedule and not a voyage duration. Ask each forwarder for their own validity window and record it.
4. Variance terms. Ask what happens if actual weight or CBM differs from the declared figures. Get the answer in writing before you commit.
5. Storage and detention. Ask who bears storage or detention charges if documents arrive late, and from which point the clock starts.

Making Two Quotations Genuinely Comparable

Once the replies are in, comparison is a matter of discipline. Four elements must match.

Same scope. Both quotations must cover the same Incoterm, the same port pair and the same service level. If one is door-to-door and the other port-to-port, you are not comparing freight — you are comparing two different products.

Same inclusions and exclusions. Place the two itemised lists side by side. Where one quote includes a line the other excludes, add the missing line to the second quote before comparing totals. This is the single step that most often changes the ranking.

Same validity window. A quote valid for seven days and a quote valid for a month are not equivalent instruments. Align the windows or re-request.

Same declared figures. If one forwarder quoted on estimated weights and the other on confirmed weights, re-request the first on the confirmed figures.

Questions to Ask Before You Commit

• Which charge lines in this quotation are fixed and which are variable?
• If the cargo is re-weighed or re-measured at the port, how is the adjustment calculated?
• What documents do you need from the shipper, and by when?
• If documents are delayed, at what point do storage charges begin?
• Is the rate you have quoted a published rate or an agreed rate, and will the agreement number appear on the transport document?
• Will I receive a Chinese tax invoice for the freight and related charges?

These questions are not adversarial. They close the space in which add-ons appear later, because each answer is on record before the booking is made.

Before You Even Reach the Freight Stage

Freight is the last step. The earlier steps — confirming the goods, the packing and the supplier — determine whether your freight quotation is accurate at all. Two practical tools help here. First, you can book a live video call with us to see the goods and the packing on camera, at the market, in our warehouse or at a partner factory; calls are by appointment, and you send your list of items in advance so we can prepare. This can be done before you book flights. Second, you can verify a supplier's registration, scope of business, annual report and administrative penalty record through China's official enterprise credit information publicity system.

Visits to Yiwu are by appointment. On the day of your visit we can match your requirements to partner factories by material, process and price, source from the local Yiwu market and our partner-factory network, inspect samples and production batches with photo or video records before shipment, prepare export documents on FOB Yiwu terms, and arrange a visit to the partner factory handling your order.

Our quotation basis is FOB Yiwu, tax excluded. Commission depends on order size — contact us for a quote.

Sources

• F-SVC-0017 — Company confirmation (first-hand, verified with staff) — checked 2026-09-16
• F-SVC-0015 — Company confirmation (first-hand, verified with staff) — checked 2026-09-16
• F-LOGI-0005 — The State Council of the PRC (gov.cn) · https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2025/issue_12346/202510/content_7044752.html · https://xxgk.mot.gov.cn/2020/jigou/fgs/202312/t20231204_3961952.html — checked 2026-09-16
• F-LOGI-0002 — Company confirmation (first-hand, verified with staff) — checked 2026-09-16
• F-LOGI-0003 — Company confirmation (first-hand, verified with staff) — checked 2026-09-16
• F-SVC-0014 — Company confirmation (first-hand, verified with staff) — checked 2026-09-16
• F-TRUST-0001 — State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) · The State Council of the PRC (gov.cn) · https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2014-08/23/content_9038.htm · https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/fgs/art/2023/art_78b9a2a2399e4934b288da28e67e66ba.html · https://www.jiangmen.gov.cn/bmpd/jmsscjdglj/ztzl/kbqy/kbqyqjlct/content/post_2895884.html — checked 2026-09-16
• F-SVC-0002 — Company confirmation (first-hand, verified with staff) — checked 2026-09-16