GUIDE · SEA
What CFS means in ocean freight
CFS (Container Freight Station) is a freight terminal inside a port or next to it, where consolidated cargo from different shippers is loaded into a single container before the voyage and stripped again after arrival. Every LCL shipment passes through a CFS twice: in China at consolidation and at the destination port at deconsolidation. A separate charge is levied for this handling — the CFS charge — calculated per cubic metre or per freight tonne, and in some price lists it sits outside the freight rate. FCL container shipments do not pass through a CFS: the container is sealed at the factory or the warehouse and moves via the container yard, CY.
How CFS differs from CY and from an ordinary warehouse
Three different things that are often confused.
CFS (Container Freight Station) is a terminal that works with cargo piece by piece. Boxes and pallets are received, checked, measured and physically stowed into a container together with other people's cargo. The output is a sealed container and a separate bill of lading for each shipper.
CY (Container Yard) is a container yard. It works not with boxes but with whole containers: receiving, storing and handing them over to the vessel. Nobody looks inside.
A consolidation warehouse is our warehouse in Guangzhou, Beijing, Yiwu or Hong Kong, where suppliers deliver the goods. Here cargo is received, the number of packages is checked, and where required it is inspected, repacked and labelled. A CFS does none of this — it only loads into the container whatever was brought to it.
The practical difference: everything that needs to be done with your goods — counting, photographing, compacting, applying labels — is done at the consolidation warehouse before the CFS. After the CFS the cargo is already inside the container.
Carriage terms: CFS/CFS, CY/CFS and the rest
A bill of lading always carries a pair of values — the point where the cargo is received and the point where it is released. This is not a formality: the pair determines who pays for loading and unloading the container.
| Term | What it means | Typical case |
|---|---|---|
| CFS / CFS | Cargo received piece by piece in China, released piece by piece at the destination port | Classic LCL consolidated cargo |
| CY / CY | A sealed container received, a sealed container released | Standard FCL |
| CFS / CY | Consolidation in China, release as a container at the destination port | Several suppliers, but a full container's worth of volume |
| CY / CFS | Container loaded at the factory, stripped piece by piece at the destination port | One shipper, several consignees |
For an importer in Ukraine the first two rows are the most common.
What happens to the cargo at a CFS, step by step
Receipt at the terminal
The cargo arrives from our warehouse at the terminal and goes through receipt: counting the packages, checking against the packing list, control measurement and weighing.
Stowage planning
The terminal plans the stowage: heavy at the bottom, light on top, hazardous separately or not accepted at all.
Loading and sealing
The container is loaded, the cargo is secured, the container is sealed and handed over to the CY.
Issuing bills of lading
A separate bill of lading is issued for each shipper.
Deconsolidation at the destination port
The container is moved to the CFS, opened and the cargo is sorted by consignee.
Customs clearance
Each consignment then goes through customs clearance separately.
The most vulnerable points are the first and the fifth. That is where the cargo is handled manually, and that is where weak packaging turns into damage.
What it costs and why rates are hard to compare
The CFS charge is not the only fee. Alongside it, the destination port usually generates:
- THC (Terminal Handling Charge) — handling of the container at the terminal;
- D/O fee (Delivery Order) — issuing the release order for the cargo, a fixed amount per bill of lading;
- storage beyond the free period at the terminal.
This is why two rates showing the same number can cost different amounts. An example for a 5 m³ consignment:
| Offer A | Offer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Freight | $95 per m³, charges included | $70 per m³ |
| CFS charge | — | $18 per m³ |
| D/O fee | — | $50 per bill of lading |
| Total for 5 m³ | $475 | $490 |
Rate B looks a quarter cheaper and ends up more expensive. That is why the right question is not "what is your price per cubic metre" but "what is included in the rate up to the point where the cargo is at the terminal and ready for customs clearance".
In our consolidated sea shipments the cargo is handled before the CFS — at our own warehouse in China, where it can be counted, photographed, compacted and labelled. We quote the rate as a single figure up to the point where the cargo is ready for customs clearance, so that no charges nobody warned you about appear on arrival.
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