You were quoted a few thousand dollars for a 40ft from Asia. The invoice arrives with eleven line items, four of them acronyms, and a total that is noticeably higher. Nothing on it is necessarily wrong — ocean pricing is a base rate plus a stack of surcharges, and which ones apply depends on the lane, the contract, and what happened in the market between booking and sailing.

Here is what the common ones are, who bills them, and why none of them belong on your drayage carrier’s invoice.

Why the invoice is built this way

Carriers separate the price of moving the box from costs that move independently of it — fuel, currency, congestion, security, terminal labor — so one input can change without renegotiating the base rate. It also means the headline rate you compare between carriers is not the number you pay. All-in is the only useful basis for comparison: ask which surcharges are included and which are excluded, in writing.

The rate-level surcharges

GRI — General Rate Increase

A broad increase to the base rate on a trade lane, announced in advance for a specific effective date. It is not tied to a cost input; it is the carrier repricing the lane because demand supports it, usually as a per-container figure by equipment size. GRIs can be withdrawn or reduced if the market does not hold, and whether one reaches you depends on your contract — a shipper on a fixed service contract may be insulated, a shipper booking at spot is not.

PSS — Peak Season Surcharge

A temporary surcharge applied while a lane is tight. Historically that meant the run-up to Western holiday retail, but carriers apply PSS whenever demand spikes — ahead of a factory shutdown, during a capacity crunch, or when vessels are being diverted. Unlike a GRI, a PSS is meant to be time-boxed, with a start and an end date. Check that the end date on your invoice has not quietly passed.

The cost pass-through surcharges

BAF — Bunker Adjustment Factor

The fuel surcharge. Carriers use different names and formulas, and the calculation generally references fuel prices on the relevant lane with a lag, so BAF moves after fuel does rather than with it. Low-sulfur fuel requirements added further fuel-related surcharges on some trades. What to check: BAF should be formula-driven and the carrier should be able to show you the formula. A flat number that never moves has stopped being a fuel surcharge and become part of the base rate.

CAF — Currency Adjustment Factor

Covers exchange-rate exposure when the carrier incurs costs in one currency and bills in another, usually as a percentage of the base rate. Often small or absent on dollar-billed lanes. Carriers also apply emissions-related surcharges on certain trades; if you see one, ask which regulation it corresponds to.

The event-driven surcharges

Port congestion surcharge

Applied when a specific port or terminal is backed up badly enough to affect vessel schedules. It is port-specific and should come off when the congestion clears. Watch for it lingering after the problem is gone.

War risk and emergency routing surcharges

When a routing becomes dangerous or a canal or strait becomes unusable, carriers add charges covering higher insurance premiums and the extra fuel and time of a longer route. These are the most volatile items on an ocean invoice, and they carry an operational consequence: a rerouted vessel means a different transit time, which changes your entire inland plan.

Equipment imbalance

Charged when the carrier repositions empty containers into a region to meet demand. Common on lanes with lopsided trade flows.

THC and the destination-side charges

Terminal handling charge covers the terminal’s work moving the container between vessel and yard — crane lift, yard movement, gate handling. There is an origin THC and a destination THC, and which party pays which is set by the Incoterm on the sale and by how the carrier’s tariff treats it. It is one of the most disputed lines on the invoice; we covered the specifics in who actually pays the terminal handling charge. Alongside it you will typically see documentation or bill of lading fees, a security charge tied to port security requirements, and — in the U.S. — chassis charges where the carrier supplies equipment.

Where the ocean invoice ends and the drayage invoice begins

This is where most confusion starts, because both invoices use the word “surcharge” and both may reference fuel. The ocean carrier’s charges cover the vessel move and the terminal’s handling of the box. The drayage carrier’s charges cover what happens once the container moves on wheels: the line haul from terminal to delivery address, plus accessorials for events on the ground — chassis split, pre-pull, yard storage, waiting time beyond free detention, overweight or tri-axle requirements, hazmat, limited-access delivery, and a fuel surcharge on the truck move.

• Demurrage is not a drayage charge. It is billed by the terminal or ocean carrier for the container sitting past free time. Your trucker does not collect it, even when it appears on their invoice as a pass-through.
• A GRI or PSS has no effect on your drayage rate. Separate markets, separate cost structures. If someone raises a truck rate and calls it a peak season surcharge, ask what specifically changed on the truck side.

Our published starting rates for container drayage begin at $500 from PortMiami and $450 from Port Everglades. Those are starting points — actual pricing depends on the move — and they cover the truck, not anything the ocean carrier bills.

How to check a surcharge before you pay it

• Compare the invoice against the rate confirmation or service contract line by line, not on total.
• Confirm each surcharge was in effect on the correct date — for ocean charges, usually the sailing or booking date, not the invoice date.
• Look up the carrier’s published tariff, which governs if you are not on a contract.
• Check that time-boxed surcharges have actually ended.
• Separate the two invoices before disputing, so you argue with the party that billed the charge.

Know which invoice you are reading

Most surcharge disputes are a shipper questioning a truck invoice about a charge the ocean carrier applied, or the reverse. Once you sort the line items by who issued them, the conversation gets short. For a breakdown of the inland side, get a quote from Go Drayage with your container details and delivery address.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a GRI and a peak season surcharge?

A GRI is a general increase to the base ocean rate on a trade lane, announced for a specific effective date and not tied to any particular cost input. A peak season surcharge is a temporary charge applied during a period of high demand and is supposed to have a defined start and end date. A GRI resets the rate level going forward; a PSS is meant to come off when the peak ends.

Are ocean freight surcharges the same as drayage accessorial charges?

No. Ocean surcharges such as GRI, PSS, BAF, CAF and THC are billed by the ocean carrier and relate to the vessel move and terminal handling. Drayage accessorials are billed by the trucking company for work on the ground, such as chassis splits, pre-pulls, waiting time, overweight handling and yard storage. They are separate invoices from separate parties, and a change in one does not justify a change in the other.

Can I dispute an ocean freight surcharge?

You can, and the first step is to check the charge against your service contract or the carrier’s published tariff for the date the shipment sailed. Common carriers publish tariffs and rate rules, so a surcharge that does not appear there, or that was applied outside its effective dates, is worth raising with the party that issued the invoice. Disputes go to whoever billed the charge, which for ocean surcharges is the carrier or the forwarder, not your drayage provider.