Freight, explained without the jargon.
Short, practical guides written by our ops team. Open any article to read — no login, no gate.
Incoterms® 2020 in plain language
Incoterms allocate cost and risk between buyer and seller. The three you'll meet most in freight: FOB (Free on Board — risk transfers when goods are on the vessel), EXW (Ex Works — buyer collects), and DDP (Delivered Duty Paid — seller pays everything, including import duty).
The common mistake: assuming the Incoterm controls the carrier contract. It doesn't — it only splits obligations between the two trading parties. Always confirm which terminal is the handoff point and who books the main carriage.
Demurrage & detention: the bill nobody reads
Demurrage is charged when the container stays at the terminal past free time; detention when it's outside the terminal (with you or the carrier's depot) past free time. Both accrue per day and per container — and the tariff is set by the shipping line, not the terminal, not your forwarder.
How to avoid surprises: know the free days at both ends before booking, plan customs docs before the vessel arrives, and track the countdown. In NEX One, every shipment shows a demurrage/detention countdown when free time is running.
Air cargo dimensional weight, in one paragraph
Air freight is billed on chargeable weight = the larger of gross weight and dimensional weight. Dimensional weight is (length × width × height in cm) ÷ 6,000 for most carriers. A light, bulky box gets billed as if it were heavy — because it occupies the same aircraft space.
Practical tip: for soft goods and e-commerce, re-packaging can halve the billable weight. Our right-size audits at origin routinely find −20% chargeable weight on qualifying lanes.
Customs documentation: the 6 documents that matter
Most clearance delays are missing fields, not missing documents. The core set: commercial invoice (with correct HS codes and value), packing list (counts that match the invoice), bill of lading or AWB, certificate of origin, import license or permit (where the commodity requires it), and for some goods a health/SPS certificate.
Rule of thumb: description must be specific enough for a stranger to classify ("plastic toy car" beats "toys"; "LED module for TV" beats "electronics"). If the description could describe a million different products, it will be held.
Why your tracking says "partial data"
Right after booking, a shipment may show only pre-carriage events (booking confirmed, gate-in). The full event feed arrives once the carrier acknowledges and starts reporting — usually within 48 hours. This is normal, not an error.
If the status stays partial beyond 48 hours, or flips to stale (no update for the expected interval), our ops desk chases the carrier manually. You can always email ops@nexfreight.com with the reference for a manual check.
How we calculate emissions on your quote
Emissions follow the GLEC Framework / ISO 14083: per mode, per leg, using distance × weight × emission factor. Where the carrier publishes primary fuel data, it replaces the default factor. Ocean uses vessel fuel type and load factor; air uses aircraft type and segment; rail and road use traction and vehicle class.
Figures on this demo site are illustrative. Production quotes print the calculation basis next to the number so your CSRD or customer disclosure has a defensible source.
Need a human answer? Ask the ops team or your local office — we answer in business hours, usually within one.