What is the difference between CY and CFS terms?

There are 3 main cargo handover methods currently used in container shipping, namely CY-CY, CY-CFS and CFS-CFS.

Let's take a look at the 2 delivery locations of containerized cargo.

1: Container terminal yard Container Yard, CY. generally by the consignor or container freight station is responsible for loading and transported to the container terminal yard full container cargo.

2: Container Freight Station Cargo Freight Station, CFS. as the shipping company's agent to accept LCL cargo, and assume the work of unpacking and transport to the container terminal yard.

CY-CY

In CY-CY delivery mode, the carrier is in the form of a full container with the delivery of goods. The consignor is responsible for packing and transporting the heavy box to the port of origin terminal yard, the carrier accepts the goods in the yard (heavy box). After the goods arrive at the destination port and unloaded to the yard, the carrier delivers the goods to the consignee in the yard, and the consignee picks up the heavy box and is responsible for unpacking.

Under this delivery method, the shipping company's responsibility is from entering the yard at the port of origin to leaving the yard at the port of destination. According to the cost pricing principle, the shipping company's cost and tariff composition is: the port of origin yard (wharf) service charges (including acceptance of goods, yard storage, handling to loading and unloading under the bridge and related documentation costs), loading costs, unloading costs, destination port yard service charges (including from unloading under the bridge to the yard, storage and delivery costs and documentation costs). If the use of the container is provided by the shipping company, should also include from the consignor to pick up the empty box to unpack the empty box after the return of the specified period (free use period) of the container and equipment use and insurance fees (hereinafter referred to as the container use fee). In most ports, the yard service fee and loading and unloading fees are charged in the form of port handling package fee. In our port lump sum fee, it also includes loading port yard unloading fee and unloading port yard loading fee.

CY-CFS

Under the CY-CFS delivery mode, the carrier delivers the cargo in the form of full container, arrives at the destination port and delivers the cargo at the CFS. In this mode of delivery, the shipping company's cost and tariff components are: port of origin, destination port yard service charges and loading and unloading costs, sea transportation costs, container usage fees and destination port CFS unpacking service fees (including yard to CFS heavy box handling fees, unpacking costs, goods stored in the CFS warehouse and storage fees, delivery costs and related documentation costs and empty boxes back to the yard handling fees).

CFS-CFS

Under the CFS-CFS delivery mode, the carrier accepts and delivers the goods in LCL form. Container shipping tariff composition: port of origin CFS packing service fee (including acceptance and storage, storage costs, yard to packing site empty box handling fees, packing costs, heavy boxes to the yard handling fees and related documents production management fees), yard service fees, loading fees, sea transport fees, destination port unloading fees, destination port yard service fees, unpacking service fees and container usage fees.

The shipping companies generally use the tariff book to explain the price of each route, some tariffs include packing fees, such as not the carrier packing, the ship should return this part of the cost to the actual packer. Some tariffs also provide for loading and unloading costs, including the cost of collecting or sending back the box from the designated place of the carrier, so the shipper should be familiar with the meaning of the charges in the tariff in advance to avoid overpayment or underpayment.

Container transport belongs to the liner tariff category, liner tariff consideration of the main factors in addition to the cost of transport, but also consider the international shipping market competition, due to the need for competition, the company's tariff does not always remain at the level of the tariff book description. In recent years, the container transport market supply is greater than demand, many shipping companies use the price reduction (explicitly or implicitly) means to fight for cargo sources, container freight prices fluctuate greatly, to which both the carrier and the trustee should give full attention.

At the same time, it should also be noted that the various container operators, the low price is not the only means to obtain the source of goods. Due to the suitability of the box of goods on the relatively high affordability of the price, a considerable number of cargo owners in the choice of carriers are not only concerned about the high and low price of container shipping, but also the quality of transport, service levels (especially safe, reliable, fast, convenient) and other comprehensive consideration after the choice. Many large companies in the higher price level still have a large number of stable sources of goods has fully proved the fact. In the situation of fierce competition, the companies should be careful about the development and adjustment of tariffs, which has a significant impact on the healthy development of the container transport market and the survival and development of the companies.

What is the difference between CY and CFS terms?

CY=Container Yard, is the area where the port or container terminal or waterless port stores FCL (full container) containers.

In the case of import is after unloading from the ship, in the case of export is before loading onto the ship, the container will be stored in CY.

In CY/CY shipment, at the time of export, the customer will deliver the goods to the designated CY at the port according to the shipping line's request, and from then on, the container will be in the hands of the shipping line until the container arrives at the CY at the port of discharge. the buyer will collect the entire container from the CY at the port of shipment.

In the meaning of CY/CY, the first CY indicates that the shipping company is responsible for the container at the CY of the loading port and the second CY indicates that the shipping company is responsible for the container at the CY of the discharging port.

Depending on the contract of carriage with the customer and the port of operation, some shipping companies may prefix the loading port CY and/or the discharge port CY with the name of the port, e.g. Hamburg CY, so that the beginning and the end of the shipping company's contractual obligations in the container yard of the designated port are clearly visible.

CY area is shown below:

CFS = Container Freight Station, is a warehouse where goods belonging to various exporters or importers are consolidated (grouped) or split (ungrouped) before re-export or import.

Depending on whether it is an LCL shipment or a Groupage shipment, a CFS may be operated by a shipping line or a container operator.

The customer delivers the cargo to a designated CFS for packing in the case of export, or receives the cargo from a designated CFS after the import cargo is packed.

In the case of LCL shipments, the bill of lading issued will be the shipping line bill of lading (not the master bill of lading) and will be marked with the term CFS/CFS. This means that the shipping company's responsibility begins at the CFS at the port of loading and ends at the CFS at the port of discharge.

In the case of Groupage shipments, the bill of lading issued will be the consolidator's bill of lading, which will also be marked with the term CFS/CFS. This means that the consolidation company's responsibility starts at the CFS of the loading port and ends at the CFS of the discharge port.

In the case of Groupage shipments, the master bill of lading issued by the shipping line to the consolidation company will be a CY/CY bill of lading.

Although it is rare (almost never), certain shipping lines handling LCL cargoes also issue bills with CY/CFS or CFS/CY, which indicates

CY/CFS - one FCL shipper => multiple LCL consignees

CFS/CY - multiple LCL shippers => one full container consignee