A China–US sea freight quote: ask for the charging unit and delivery scope
Build a comparable sea freight brief with final packages, CBM, the quoted charging basis and responsibilities through US address delivery.
Reviewed 2026-10-07 · 4 min readGive the quotation team a final load description
A useful China–US sea freight enquiry starts with the goods and their finished transport packaging. List the product description, SKU quantities, package count, outer dimensions, gross weight and total cubic metres, commonly written as CBM. State whether the goods are loose cartons, crates or pallets, whether they can be stacked and when they will be ready. Link the package list to the supplier order and goods owner so later changes can be checked against the same shipment.
Measure the load after protective packing and any pallet assembly. For rectangular packages, cubic metres are calculated from dimensions expressed in metres; add the volume of each package, allowing for repeated packages only when their measurements match. Keep irregular goods separately described for review. A product catalogue's dimensions do not establish the packed transport volume. If a supplier revises the packaging, update the load description before requesting a revised quote.
Ask what the quoted unit means
When a proposal gives a rate per kilogram, cubic metre or another unit, ask what quantity will actually be charged and which part of the journey the rate covers. Request a worked calculation using your measured load, including the applicable minimum and rounding method. Obtain the proposed channel's written charging rule before applying a dimensional formula to an LCL quotation. Keep any preliminary planning calculation separate from that confirmed charging basis.
Record the rate, charging quantity, currency, minimum, validity period and source of the measurements together. If two offers use different bases, convert each into a total for the same shipment using the rules confirmed by that provider. Do not simply multiply both rates by the supplier's estimated weight. Ask what happens if the receiving measurement differs, whether repacking changes the basis and who approves any resulting cost revision before the goods move onward.
Break the journey into included activities
Build a charge and responsibility list from the supplier's location to the agreed US receiving point. Include collection if requested, Guangzhou receiving or consolidation, export preparation, origin handling, main sea transport, destination handling, clearance arrangements and final delivery. For each line, mark included, separately quoted, not required or awaiting confirmation. Record the paying party and responsible contact. A phrase such as door to door should lead to that list, not replace it.
Keep import taxes and goods-specific work visible in the discussion. Ask who supplies the reviewed information used for clearance and who handles a request for additional documents. If a trade term appears on the supplier order, ask the responsible trade adviser and transport team to reconcile it with the actual purchase and shipping contracts. This article provides a preparation method; it does not assign tax liability or reinterpret an Incoterms rule for your transaction.
Define the final US delivery point
Confirm the exact delivery address, receiving contact and type of receiving facility. Identify whether the plan ends at a port, depot, warehouse entrance or another agreed point. Ask about receiving hours, appointment references, vehicle access and unloading responsibilities. A quote for movement to a US port leaves different work outstanding from a quote for delivery to US partner warehouse stock receiving. Make the intended endpoint explicit before comparing amounts or estimated arrival dates.
For replenishment that will become US customer stock, define the next warehouse activities separately: receiving, quantity checks, storage, preparation and order dispatch. Those tasks may start after freight delivery has ended. Retain the freight reference and the warehouse intake reference together. If the arriving load will be split across several destinations, provide the allocation list early and ask for the transport and handling scope at each destination rather than assuming one delivery price covers all onward movements.
Put every time estimate against a milestone
Ask what starts and ends each quoted time estimate. Goods ready, warehouse receipt, booked departure, sailing, port arrival and address delivery are different milestones. Record the supplier's readiness date and the transport team's assumptions about booking and document completion. A single number in a supplier message may describe only one stage. It should not become a customer delivery promise until the responsible parties have reviewed the complete plan and its unresolved dependencies.
Maintain an update record with the last confirmed milestone, evidence reference, next expected activity and contact responsible for checking it. If the departure or receiving arrangement changes, update both the timing assumptions and the cost review. A verified port arrival does not establish customs completion or warehouse availability. Use the actual milestone names when communicating with purchasing and sales teams so each can plan against what has happened and what still needs confirmation.
Approve the scope and keep changes traceable
Before release, collect the current quote, load description, supplier readiness confirmation, required documents and delivery brief under one shipment reference. Mark outstanding questions and obtain the necessary approvals. Keep the authoriser, approved amount or scope, and version date. If the load grows, packaging changes or the final address moves, ask for a revised assessment. A quoted total based on the original load should not silently become the approval for a different shipment.
For Jeton Express enquiries, identify whether collection, Guangzhou consolidation and final US delivery are requested. The confirmed sea route uses Shenzhen Yantian or Guangzhou Huangpu for origin departure; the US destination port and onward delivery are agreed for the shipment. Bring the final package measurements and a clear activity list when reviewing LCL or FCL options. The result should be a quote whose unit, limits and delivery endpoint another colleague can understand and approve.