Door to Door Ocean Freight: What Is Actually Included

Door to door sounds like a complete answer and is not one. The phrase describes the geography of the move, not the scope of the price. Two quotes with the same words can differ by a third once the cargo is on the water.

The nine segments of a real door price

1. Collection at the shipper's premises by road freight, including loading time allowance
2. Export customs formalities at origin
3. Origin terminal handling and documentation
4. Ocean freight and its surcharges
5. Destination terminal handling
6. Carrier release and delivery order at destination
7. Import customs entry and any inspection costs
8. Drayage or delivery from the port to the final address
9. Unloading at the consignee, if agreed

A quote covering segments one to eight but not nine is still sold as door to door, and unloading is where arguments start.

The exclusions to assume are there

Duties and taxes. Never included in a freight price. They are assessed by the destination authority against the importer.

Waiting time and access. Free loading and unloading time is limited to the hours stated in the quote, and waiting beyond them is charged. Residential delivery, restricted access, tail lift requirements and inside delivery are all extras.

Storage after free time. If the consignee cannot receive on the planned day, the container or the cargo waits, and demurrage, detention or warehouse storage begins. The clocks are explained in demurrage and detention.

Where door to door earns its money

On lanes with a transshipment, coordination is the product, and it is what gateway logistics exists to provide. Every handover is an opportunity for cargo to sit while two parties wait for each other. A single provider holding the whole chain removes those gaps, and it removes the argument about who caused the delay.

It also simplifies the commercial position with your customer. Selling on a delivered basis lets you quote one landed price, which decides the sale in markets where buyers cannot arrange their own import leg. What you take on is the destination risk, so make sure you understand the free time and the clearance profile of the country you are selling into.

Door to door and Incoterms

DAP and DDP describe delivered outcomes in the sales contract, and they are not the same as a forwarder's door to door price. Under DDP the seller carries import duty and clearance in the buyer's country, which requires an importer of record registered there. Under the US rule in 19 CFR 141.1, duty is a personal debt of the importer, and payment to a broker does not relieve the importer if the broker fails to pay. A seller that cannot act as importer cannot offer DDP. Settle that before quoting.

Who pays which segment

The nine segments split between seller and buyer according to the Incoterm in the sales contract, and the forwarder's door to door price covers only the segments the paying party buys. Three terms mark the range.

How free time and demurrage invoices work

Segments six to eight run against a clock. Free time starts when the container is available at the terminal, and demurrage or detention charges start after it ends. The Federal Maritime Commission regulates the invoice for those charges in 46 CFR part 541, and four of its rules change how you review a door to door bill:

• The invoice must show the bill of lading number, the container number, the port of discharge and the reason the billed party is liable (46 CFR 541.6).
• It must show the free time in days, the start and end dates of free time, the container availability date and the daily rate with its tariff rule (46 CFR 541.6).
• The billing party must issue the invoice within 30 calendar days from the date the charge was last incurred, or the billed party owes nothing (46 CFR 541.7).
• The billed party has at least 30 calendar days from issuance to request mitigation, refund or waiver, and the billing party must try to resolve the request within 30 calendar days (46 CFR 541.8).

An invoice missing a required field eliminates the obligation to pay that charge (46 CFR 541.5). Ask your forwarder to pass through the carrier's invoice in that format, so your free-time counting matches theirs.

Door to door for FCL and LCL

A full container load runs segments one to nine on one container: the truck collects the loaded box at the shipper and delivers the same box to the consignee. An FCL door to door price changes with the container size and the free time on that one box.

An LCL shipment adds two warehouse steps: consolidation at origin and deconsolidation at destination, where the cargo is delivered from the warehouse in the pallet or carton count on the house bill. Each warehouse step carries handling charges per pallet or per CBM, and those lines must appear in the door price.

Documents a door to door move needs

Each segment depends on a document, and a missing document stops the segment behind it:

• Commercial invoice: drives export clearance at origin and the customs value at destination. See commercial invoice requirements.
• Packing list: gives the pickup driver, the warehouse and the customs officer the same carton and weight count. See packing list requirements.
• Bill of lading: releases the cargo to the consignee at segment six. See bill of lading types.
• Import entry: filed by the customs broker at segment seven, after the customs clearance data matches the manifest.

The delivery at segment eight is drayage when it moves a container on a chassis from the port to the consignee.

How to read a door to door quote

Take the quote and mark each of the nine segments as included, excluded or not stated. Every "not stated" is an excluded segment until the forwarder confirms it in writing. Then check three numbers: the free hours at pickup and delivery, the free days at destination, and the per-day rate after free days end. A quote that states all three can be compared to another quote. A quote that states none cannot be compared, whatever its total.

For a lane where door to door is sold as a product, the door to door service to the Bahamas describes one lane where Interworld Freight sells the full chain.

What stops each segment

• Segments 2 and 3, origin: a US-bound ocean shipment needs the cargo declaration at CBP 24 hours before loading at the foreign port (19 CFR 4.7), and the importer security filing follows its own deadline. See ISF filing requirements.
• Segment 6, release: the carrier holds the cargo until freight and local charges are settled and the bill of lading condition is met.
• Segment 7, entry: merchandise whose entry is not made in the time the regulations allow, whose estimated duties are unpaid, or whose documents are missing becomes general order merchandise and goes to a general order warehouse at the risk and expense of the consignee (19 CFR 127.1).
• Segment 8, delivery: a consignee that cannot receive on the planned day starts demurrage, detention or storage clocks, billed under the 46 CFR 541 invoice rules above.

Each stop has a cost and a date. Ask which of the nine segments the forwarder watches daily, and which it hands to a subcontractor without a reporting line back to you.

Questions that make the price comparable

• Are duties and taxes excluded, and who is importer of record?
• How much free loading and unloading time is included?
• How many free days at destination?
• Is the import entry included, or is that the broker's separate invoice?
• What happens if the consignee cannot receive on the agreed date?

The full comparison method is in how to compare ocean freight quotes.

FAQ

Does door to door include customs duty?

No. Freight and duty are separate. Only a DDP arrangement puts duty on the seller, and it must be agreed explicitly.

Is door to door more expensive?

The total includes every segment in the quote, because the coordination and the destination charges are priced up front instead of discovered one invoice at a time. Compare it segment by segment against separate quotes.

Who unloads the container at my address?

You do, unless unloading is specifically included as segment nine. Live unload allowances are limited and overtime is chargeable.

Can I use door to door for LCL?

Yes. The cargo is deconsolidated at destination and delivered from the warehouse. See LCL container shipping.

What if my buyer wants to clear customs themselves?

Then you are selling on a port to door or port to port basis. Make the handover point explicit in the contract and on the transport document.

Is a door to door quote a fixed price?

It is fixed for the segments it states and open for the ones it excludes. Waiting time, storage after free time, inspection costs and duties sit outside the quoted total, so the contract price is the total plus whichever excluded lines occur.

How long do I have to dispute a demurrage invoice?

At least 30 calendar days from the issuance date of the invoice to ask for mitigation, refund or waiver (46 CFR 541.8). The carrier or terminal must also issue the invoice within 30 calendar days of the last day the charge was incurred (46 CFR 541.7), or you owe nothing.

Who is liable for duty on a door to door shipment?

The importer of record. Under 19 CFR 141.1 duty is a personal debt of the importer, and paying a broker does not discharge it if the broker fails to pay CBP.

Does door to door change who is on the bill of lading?

No. The shipper and consignee on the bill are fixed by the sales contract and the letter of credit, and the forwarder's door to door price only adds the road and clearance segments around the ocean leg.

Want one price from your dock to your customer's? Send us the route and we will scope it segment by segment.