Do you know the terminal handling charge(THC)?

When the goods are exported, the terminal handling fee will be involved in the port. Do you know the terminal handling charge(THC)? Today we will talk about it to you.

What are Terminal Handling Charges(THC)?

The full English name of the terminal handling charge at the port of departure is Origin Terminal Handling Charges, abbreviated as OTHC or OHC. Sometimes the terminal handling fee at the port of departure is also called the terminal loading and unloading fee at the port of departure. The full English name is Loading Port Terminal Handling Charge, abbreviated as LTHC.

The OTHC is the service fee paid by the carrier to the port, terminal or loading and unloading company, including all the costs of handling the container from the yard to the cabin. Generally, there are container translation fees, lifting fees, equipment usage fees, tractor usage fees and low chassis vehicle fees, etc

This fee is controversial among carriers, shippers and terminals. In general, the OTHC is collected by the carrier, that is, the shipping company, from the shipper, and then the shipping company and the terminal conduct subsequent settlements. But in fact, according to the relevant provisions of the "Port Charges Regulations of the Ministry of Communications of the People's Republic of China (Foreign Trade Part)", this fee is only the loading and unloading fee paid by the carrier to the terminal operator, that is, the terminal, port or loading and unloading company and other third parties, rather than the fee charged by the carrier to the shipper.

Therefore, some cargo owners believe that this fee is purely to increase the income of the shipping company and to increase the annual turnover of the shipping company year by year. Although, the vast majority of port terminals will charge terminal handling fees, which has also become a practice in the shipping industry. However, in some countries this fee is prohibited.

There is a terminal handling fee at the port of departure, there must be a terminal handling fee at the destination port. The full English name of the terminal handling charge at the port of destination is Destination Terminal Handling Charge, and the English abbreviation is DTHC. The both handling fee are collectively referred to as the terminal handling charge, abbreviated as THC.

Because this fee is charged by the shipping company, the terminal handling fee cannot actually be determined by the terminal, but by the shipping company, so the THC charged by each shipping company will be different. The THC for different containers are also different.

Depending on the place of departure and the route, the charging standard will also be different, and the THC will be updated from time to time.