What "Freight $/unit" and "$/unit" mean

On your quote you'll see two per-unit figures. Freight $/unit is just the port-to-port transport cost. $/unit is the all-in cost — port-to-port plus origin, destination, and other applicable charges. The "unit" is either a CBM or a kilogram, depending on how your shipment is priced.

• Freight $/unit — the cost of moving your cargo from the port of origin to the port of destination, and nothing else. It's the pure freight rate.

• $/unit — the total shipping cost per unit. It includes the port-to-port freight and the origin charges, destination charges, and any other fees that applied when the quote was made.

Seeing both lets you compare the raw freight rate against the true landed-per-unit cost.

The unit depends on how the shipment is measured:

• LCL (Less than Container Load) is priced by volume, so you'll see Freight $/CBM and $/CBM. A CBM is a cubic meter of cargo. See FCL vs LCL.

• Air and FCL (Full Container Load) are priced by weight, so you'll see Freight $/KG and $/KG.

For how weight and volume interact when cargo is bulky but light, see Chargeable weight explained.

You ship an LCL consignment of 10 CBM. Your quote shows Freight $/CBM of one figure (the port-to-port rate) and a higher $/CBM that folds in origin handling, destination clearance, and delivery. Multiply the $/CBM by 10 and you have the all-in cost for the shipment.

Both figures come straight from the same quote, so you can always see what portion of your cost is pure freight versus everything else. For how those "everything else" charges show up on the final bill, see How to read your invoice and What's included vs excluded in your pricing.

• How to read your invoice

• What's included vs excluded in your pricing

• Chargeable weight explained

• FCL vs LCL vs parcel

• Freight & shipping glossary