Prime Freight’s summary of a September 2022 report by The Loadstar. Read the original for the full story.
In September 2022 freight forwarders in Bangladesh raised the delivery order fee they charge on each import bill by 57%, citing sharply higher domestic fuel prices.
The Loadstar reported that the increase followed a government decision in August to raise fuel prices by up to 51.7%, including 42.5% on diesel, which had already led inland container depots to raise diesel-linked charges by 25% and pushed up trucking costs. The president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association said the fee had not changed since 2014 while the cost of doing business had risen many times over.
The new fee would be up to $55 per import bill, as agreed between forwarder and customer, plus $10 per container for sea shipments with more than three containers on one house bill of lading. Garment makers, the biggest users of port services, protested and asked the shipping ministry, customs, the port authority and others to suspend it. Their association said a fee originally fixed at $20 in 2010 had already been raised to $35 in 2013, and claimed members had been overcharged by $189 million over eight years.
What it meant for shippers
Local charges at origin and destination can rise quickly when fuel and operating costs jump, and they often fall on the importer. Checking the full landed-cost breakdown, not just the ocean or air rate, avoids surprises.