Importing Pallets from China

user302243

Does anyone have any recommendations of shipping companies to use to import Pallets from China?

Not sure if it will be FOB or EXW yet but would like the agent to take care of everything for me.

andrewfaulk

Sea freight LCL is generally low margin business for a forwarder, so you would be better going to a co-loader/LCL operator directly

I would recommend putting below info together and contacting a co-loader direct if you want to ship by sea(cheapest)

Collection Point:
Number of Pallets:
Dims of Pallets:
Gross Weight:

Some good LCL operators are:
Horner Agencies in Bray http://hornerd.ie/
IPS Groupage in Swords http://www.ips-group.com/
Shipco in D15 https://www.shipco.com/

Vestiapx

We bring in two to three containers a week. Prices are constantly rising can I ask what the value of the stock per pallet would be ?

user302243

Pallet would be around 5k of stock.

silver2020

40ft container is currently about €8,000 from China to Dublin. That's well below the rate in January of over €10,000, but substantially above the less then €3,500 rate of early last year and most of 2019.

RUDOLF289

silver2020 wrote: »

40ft container is currently about €8,000 from China to Dublin. That's well below the rate in January of over €10,000, but substantially above the less then €3,500 rate of early last year and most of 2019.

Rates are dropping to around Usd 8000.00 on a quay to quay basis. Allowing for local charges on a arrival in Ireland we are at around € 7000.00.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Interested010

I've been quoted €1500 for DDU shipment from shanghai to Ireland by the manufacturer.
Two pallets , gross weight 1995kg, Value $2394.
What are the downsides sides to DDU?
I've contacted a few irish freight forwarders mentioned in this post, waiting for reply.
First time importing , any feedback would be appreciated.

eastie17

Does anyone know if anyone takes away pallets or can you sell them?
I have about 50 collected from various deliveries of animal feed and I have no use for them

Interested010

eastie17 wrote: »

Does anyone know if anyone takes away pallets or can you sell them?
I have about 50 collected from various deliveries of animal feed and I have no use for them

Where are you based? Stick an ad on done deal or adverts.ie, someone will happily take them off your hands.

andrewfaulk

Interested010 wrote: »

I've been quoted €1500 for DDU shipment from shanghai to Ireland by the manufacturer.
Two pallets , gross weight 1995kg, Value $2394.
What are the downsides sides to DDU?
I've contacted a few irish freight forwarders mentioned in this post, waiting for reply.
First time importing , any feedback would be appreciated.

Chances are it's not actually DDU(DAP) terms, and whoever the shipper in China uses for the freight will have extra charges when the shipment arrives to Dublin..
Ask them to confirm all charges before giving them the go ahead to arrange the shipping..

It may also be worth your while to see if you can arrange on FOB terms, and one of the groupage operators I mentioned above should be able to assist you with rates from FOB Shanghai.. Shipping FOB is generally a lot more transparent from China and helps to avoid hidden charges and badly routed cargo(a lot of chinese forwarders would send cargo for Ireland to the UK, which is messy and expensive post brexit)..

And if all else fails, send Rudolf289 a PM..

Interested010

andrewfaulk wrote: »

Chances are it's not actually DDU(DAP) terms, and whoever the shipper in China uses for the freight will have extra charges when the shipment arrives to Dublin..
Ask them to confirm all charges before giving them the go ahead to arrange the shipping..

It may also be worth your while to see if you can arrange on FOB terms, and one of the groupage operators I mentioned above should be able to assist you with rates from FOB Shanghai.. Shipping FOB is generally a lot more transparent from China and helps to avoid hidden charges and badly routed cargo(a lot of chinese forwarders would send cargo for Ireland to the UK, which is messy and expensive post brexit)..

And if all else fails, send Rudolf289 a PM..

Definitely want to avoid the UK at the moment!
I'll check out FOB and wait to hear from the guys you mentioned.
Thanks for your reply, appreciate it.

user302243

Just to follow up in case anyone else is in similar situation, I found emeraldfreight.com to be brilliant.

Very quick with the quotes and for answering questions.

Interested010

I used IPS group as mentioned above, cannot recommend them enough,most helpful! $175w/m. Thanks for the guidance! ��

irishhombre123

Hi All,

New to importing and just discovering CISF, how is it calculated?

Considering switching to FOB and using my own forwarder, but would like to find out more about it.

Kind Regards
IH

RUDOLF289

irishhombre123 wrote: »

Hi All,

New to importing and just discovering CISF, how is it calculated?

Considering switching to FOB and using my own forwarder, but would like to find out more about it.

Kind Regards
IH

Unfortunately there is no fixed way of calculating CISF. It is an entirely fictitious charge!!!
The issue is that the shipper in China gets an extremely low rate that allows him to offer "Free Shipping". However, and here comes the BUT, there is no such thing as "Free Shipping". All forwarders pay the same rate for their groupage containers to within a couple of hundred dollars.
So, what the shipper does not pay in China, is recovered at destination under the guise of the China Import Service Fee.

All forwarders and consolidators know the way this works. Nothing leaves China without the supplier having been paid. Therefore they Chinese forwarders and consolidators know that you are committed to taking the shipment. If you don't pay, you will not get release of the shipment here in Ireland. Complaining to the shipper falls on deaf ears (although they will say sorry, but nothing we can do, you need to negotiate with the agent at destination or words to that effect)

If you check my posts on this subject, my advice is always to work on FOB incoterms and arrange the shipping through an Irish based forwarder. That will avoid any surprises.

Let me know if you need any assistance. On the shipment subject to CISF there is unlikely that anything can be done, but I will do my best to get some mitigation.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

irishhombre123

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Unfortunately there is no fixed way of calculating CISF. It is an entirely fictitious charge!!!
The issue is that the shipper in China gets an extremely low rate that allows him to offer "Free Shipping". However, and here comes the BUT, there is no such thing as "Free Shipping". All forwarders pay the same rate for their groupage containers to within a couple of hundred dollars.
So, what the shipper does not pay in China, is recovered at destination under the guise of the China Import Service Fee.

All forwarders and consolidators know the way this works. Nothing leaves China without the supplier having been paid. Therefore they Chinese forwarders and consolidators know that you are committed to taking the shipment. If you don't pay, you will not get release of the shipment here in Ireland. Complaining to the shipper falls on deaf ears (although they will say sorry, but nothing we can do, you need to negotiate with the agent at destination or words to that effect)

If you check my posts on this subject, my advice is always to work on FOB incoterms and arrange the shipping through an Irish based forwarder. That will avoid any surprises.

Let me know if you need any assistance. On the shipment subject to CISF there is unlikely that anything can be done, but I will do my best to get some mitigation.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Thanks Rudolf,

I haven't accepted the shipping yet, they want me to agree the BL before they ship.

So what you are saying is the price could be anything, should the manufacturer be able to give me a price?

I should say i have purchased through Trade Assurance on Alibaba, if that makes a difference.

With regards FOB, is it acceptable to undo the CIF at this stage and go for FOB?

I plan to import more of the same items, so looking to get this right first time.

Regards
IH

RUDOLF289

irishhombre123 wrote: »

Thanks Rudolf,

I haven't accepted the shipping yet, they want me to agree the BL before they ship.

So what you are saying is the price could be anything, should the manufacturer be able to give me a price?

I should say i have purchased through Trade Assurance on Alibaba, if that makes a difference.

With regards FOB, is it acceptable to undo the CIF at this stage and go for FOB?

I plan to import more of the same items, so looking to get this right first time.

Regards
IH

Glad to hear it has not shipped yet.

There are a few options open to you.

1. Ask your supplier to confirm the charges payable on arrival in Ireland. The forwarder or consolidatot should be able to confirm these charges to them. Do not ship until you have these costs!

2. Ask your supplier for an FOB price. It would be interesting to see what they come back with. If they say there is no difference in the CIF price (not a correct incoterm ....) or FOB price then you can take it almost as read that you are paying the freight charges through the CISF.

3. Ask for the details of the shipment. You would need the number of pieces, weight and dimensions. With that information check what rates you can get from Irish forwarders. That puts you in a position to compare the CIF + CISF cost versus FOB + freight costs from an Irish forwarder.

I can assist you with the freight cost from FOB to Ireland.

Hope this assists you and avoids the CISF trap.

Cheers,
Rudolf289.

irishhombre123

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

Glad to hear it has not shipped yet.

There are a few options open to you.

1. Ask your supplier to confirm the charges payable on arrival in Ireland. The forwarder or consolidatot should be able to confirm these charges to them. Do not ship until you have these costs!

2. Ask your supplier for an FOB price. It would be interesting to see what they come back with. If they say there is no difference in the CIF price (not a correct incoterm ....) or FOB price then you can take it almost as read that you are paying the freight charges through the CISF.

3. Ask for the details of the shipment. You would need the number of pieces, weight and dimensions. With that information check what rates you can get from Irish forwarders. That puts you in a position to compare the CIF + CISF cost versus FOB + freight costs from an Irish forwarder.

I can assist you with the freight cost from FOB to Ireland.

Hope this assists you and avoids the CISF trap.

Cheers,
Rudolf289.

Hi Rudolf,

Yes i would be interested in getting a quote from you, how do i contact you?

Regards
IH

andrewfaulk

irishhombre123 wrote: »

Hi All,

New to importing and just discovering CISF, how is it calculated?

Considering switching to FOB and using my own forwarder, but would like to find out more about it.

Kind Regards
IH

As Rudy said, it’s not calculated on a per W/m or anything.. it’s just a heap of charges billed from China to Ireland with little or no explanation to be recovered from the consignee..

The highest I have seen is €1700 for 4 pallets, about 8CBM of haz goods 18 months ago before the freight prices went nuts, which would have paid for a 20ft at the time

RUDOLF289

irishhombre123 wrote: »

Hi Rudolf,

Yes i would be interested in getting a quote from you, how do i contact you?

Regards
IH

PM Sent.

irishhombre123

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

PM Sent.

Thanks Rudy,

For the purpose of this thread and to help others, i contacted my manufacturer and they checked with the shipping agent and they confirmed there would be no CISF fee.

Can this confirmation this be trusted? if not, can it be used in the Trade Assurance protection with Alibaba?

Regards
IH

RUDOLF289

irishhombre123 wrote: »

Thanks Rudy,

For the purpose of this thread and to help others, i contacted my manufacturer and they checked with the shipping agent and they confirmed there would be no CISF fee.

Can this confirmation this be trusted? if not, can it be used in the Trade Assurance protection with Alibaba?

Regards
IH

I am not sure, I have seen different terms being used for the China Import Service Fee. I would recommend that you ask the supplier to confirm what the charges will be that you have to pay on arrival. They should be able to get that information from their forwarder / consolidator in China.

I would also ask for pricing based on FOB and source transport costs through local Irish forwarders. That way you will have a clear picture of what your landed cost will be in both cases, i.e. supplier arranging the shipping and you arranging the shipping.

As to whether Alibaba Assurance Protection covers the charges payable on arrival in Ireland, I have no idea. I think the assurance only applies to the product you buy, not the shipping costs (or in your case the charges payable on arrival). Not sure where you could go to check this out.

Bear in mind, the Chinese forwarder or consolidator dictates to their agent at destination what level of charges they HAVE TO (!) collect as part of these charges payable on arrival are claimed and remitted back to the forwarder or consolidator at origin to cover the freight charges that the shipper has not paid. We have a saying where I come from; "If it doesn't come out of the length, it has to come out of the width" In this case the shipper is the length and you will be the width ......

As I said before, do not allow the goods to be shipped until you know exactly what all the charges are, including the charges on arrival.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

irishhombre123

RUDOLF289 wrote: »

I am not sure, I have seen different terms being used for the China Import Service Fee. I would recommend that you ask the supplier to confirm what the charges will be that you have to pay on arrival. They should be able to get that information from their forwarder / consolidator in China.

I would also ask for pricing based on FOB and source transport costs through local Irish forwarders. That way you will have a clear picture of what your landed cost will be in both cases, i.e. supplier arranging the shipping and you arranging the shipping.

As to whether Alibaba Assurance Protection covers the charges payable on arrival in Ireland, I have no idea. I think the assurance only applies to the product you buy, not the shipping costs (or in your case the charges payable on arrival). Not sure where you could go to check this out.

Bear in mind, the Chinese forwarder or consolidator dictates to their agent at destination what level of charges they HAVE TO (!) collect as part of these charges payable on arrival are claimed and remitted back to the forwarder or consolidator at origin to cover the freight charges that the shipper has not paid. We have a saying where I come from; "If it doesn't come out of the length, it has to come out of the width" In this case the shipper is the length and you will be the width ......

As I said before, do not allow the goods to be shipped until you know exactly what all the charges are, including the charges on arrival.

Cheers,
Rudolf289

Thanks Rudy,

Very helpful.

Kind Regards
IH

tomasobroin

Evening all, very informative thread. I haven't imported before but I am building a house currently and stocking a home gym so I will have a few pallets of various items over the next 9 months.

The stuff I want to order for the home right now is small. 2 No. 24kg Adjustable dumbells (Total is only €130 + import vs €400 to buy on irish market. I will add €3k of kit in 9 months time when i have the room but not now.

The question I have is import fees likely higher for such a small package or will it operate just as per a half/full pallet situation. I don't mind paying a bit extra for inconvenience of a small load but will it be uneconomical? I don't want to be wasting peoples times either so I am here asking before ringing around. Or am I best sitting on it until I order the 3k of gym stuff them thats the advice i need etc

I would use FOB shipping + irish based forwarder as it seems easiest (@rudolf289 I have read many of your posts tonight!)

Thanks in advance

RUDOLF289

Good morning, latest information according to the CEO of Boskalis (Dutch salvage operators) is that it will likely take days possibly weeks to refloat the Ever Given, stuck in the Suez Canal.
In the middle of the canal the dept is 25 meters, coming up to 15 meters upto 11 meters, probably higher again at the edge of the canal. The vessel's dept is 15.7 meters. Not only has the stern wedged itself into the canal bank, it has also hit the bottom on either side of the canal. A team of 10 salvage experts arrived this morning around 04.00 and are on board to asses the situation.
They are checking how much ballast and oil is in the ship. They will need to pump this out in an effort to refloat the vessel. They also may have to take containers off. Once the assessment is completed they will need to bring in equipment, which as the Boskalis CEO Peter Berdowski explained is "not around the corner"
This is not going to resolve itself quickly in my opinion.