What a Delivered Container Really Costs

The lines in a delivered total

• The container — size, type, grade, and the depot it is drawn from
• Road transport — vehicle, journey both ways, driver's time
• Unloading — tilting off, lifting with a crane, or setting down with a side loader
• Charges on the day — waiting beyond the included time, or a failed delivery
• Site preparation — bearing points, foundation, permits; normally the buyer's side
• Tax — German VAT, EU business treatment, or the export exemption
• Export costs — terminal, documentation and freight, divided by the Incoterm

Road transport: what a haulier charges for

Container transport is priced as a vehicle and driver committed to a job, not as a rate multiplied by kilometres, which is why a simple cost per km rarely produces a usable number. The vehicle is loaded at the depot, drives to you, unloads and returns — usually empty — and all of that time is paid for. To understand or roughly calculate a transport price, think in four parts:

• Fixed costs — loading at the depot, unloading on site, paperwork. They do not shrink on a short trip, so nearby deliveries cost more per kilometre than distant ones.
• Distance, both ways — outbound and return, with fuel and tolls; in Germany goods vehicles pay the truck toll (Lkw-Maut) on motorways and federal roads.
• Time — driving hours, city delivery windows, and the time on site included in the price.
• Vehicle premium — a crane truck or side loader costs more to run than a tilt-bed and is booked further ahead.

Vehicle type: tilt-bed, crane truck or side loader

The site decides the unloading method, and the method is often a bigger variable than distance. Access needs are set out in container delivery; in cost terms:

• Tilt-bed — the container slides off the back. Usually the lowest-cost method, but it needs a long, straight, firm approach: roughly 25 m for a 20ft and 30 m for a 40ft.
• Crane truck (HIAB) — stands alongside and lifts the unit into place. Costs more, and the price follows the lift: a 40ft High Cube at around 3,950 kg, placed at long reach over a fence, needs a far bigger crane than a 20ft at around 2,250 kg set down beside the vehicle.
• Side loader — sets the container down beside the trailer; needs width along the whole vehicle rather than run-off behind it.
• Trailer only — your own rated crane, reach stacker or forklift takes the unit off. Cheaper transport; the lift and its operator are your responsibility.
• Depot collection — you send a suitable vehicle; cheapest if you have one, and the transport risk is yours.

Route, waiting time and failed deliveries

The depot sets the distance, and the nearest is not always the cheapest delivered source. The route matters too: weight-restricted bridges, low underpasses, narrow village streets and city delivery windows can force a detour or a different vehicle, so mention what you know about the approach road. For cross-border deliveries, see delivery in Europe; for German addresses, delivery in Germany.

A delivered price includes a set time on site. If the vehicle waits beyond it — standing position not ready, gate locked, nobody to direct placement — waiting time is charged; ask how much time is included and how extra time is billed. A failed delivery costs more: if the vehicle cannot reach the position or unload, the journey is charged and a second attempt is priced again. Soft ground, overhead cables and branches, parked cars and tight corners cause most of them. An honest access description on the quote request is the cheapest insurance there is.

Site preparation and permits

The standing position is normally the buyer's responsibility and outside the delivered price. A container needs at least four level bearing points under the corner castings; a long-term placement may call for gravel beds, concrete pads or strip foundations — see container foundation and container unloading. If the vehicle has to stand on a public road to unload, the local authority may require a permit or traffic measures. And a container that stays may need a building permit, depending on the federal state, use and duration — see planning permission in Germany.

VAT: domestic, EU and export

Germany. The standard VAT rate is 19% (§ 12 UStG). Business listings are commonly net, while a business offering goods to consumers must show the total price including VAT (§ 3 PAngV).

Business buyers in other EU countries. When goods are sent to a business in another EU country that has a valid EU VAT number, the seller does not charge VAT and the buyer accounts for it at home (Your Europe); a German invoice must show both parties' VAT numbers (§ 14a (3) UStG). This is often loosely called reverse charge — strictly, reverse charge applies to cross-border business services such as separately invoiced transport, while the supply of goods is exempt and taxed as an acquisition in the buyer's country. Either way, give your VAT number with the enquiry, because it changes the quotation.

Private buyers and export. Private buyers in other EU countries pay VAT; which country's rate applies depends on how the sale is made. Exports outside the EU do not bear EU VAT, but the exemption must be evidenced — in Germany normally by the customs exit confirmation (Ausgangsvermerk) from the electronic export procedure (§ 9 UStDV). This is not tax advice; confirm your position with an adviser.

Export: where the Incoterm draws the line

For overseas supply the price stops at a point set by an Incoterm, and everything after it is the buyer's. ICC guidance on Incoterms® 2020 is that containerised goods, normally handed over at a terminal rather than loaded on board by the seller, fit FCA, CPT or CIP; FOB, CFR and CIF are sea and inland-waterway rules for goods delivered on board a vessel (ICC Academy). The older terms still appear on container quotations, so know what each means:

• FCA (Free Carrier) — delivered to the carrier at a named place: loaded onto the collecting vehicle at the seller's premises, or ready for unloading elsewhere, such as a terminal. Risk passes on delivery.
• CPT (Carriage Paid To) — the seller pays carriage to the named destination, but risk passes when the goods are handed to the carrier.
• CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To) — as CPT, plus cargo insurance bought by the seller at the higher cover of Institute Cargo Clauses (A).
• FOB (Free on Board) — delivered loaded on board the vessel nominated by the buyer at the port of shipment; risk passes there.
• CFR and CIF (Cost and Freight; Cost, Insurance and Freight) — the seller pays sea freight to the destination port, but risk passes once the goods are on board at the port of shipment; under CIF the seller also insures, at minimum cover under Institute Cargo Clauses (C) unless more is agreed.

Export costs to check

Whatever term is agreed, check which of these the price includes. If the container is itself shipped as your equipment, see SOC containers; for buying at the quay, buying a container at the port.

• Haulage to the export terminal, and any depot or gate charges
• Terminal handling charges (THC) at the port of loading — and at discharge, where you should confirm who pays
• Export customs declaration and documentation
• Bill of lading or other transport document fees
• Ocean freight and its surcharges
• Cargo insurance — included under CIP and CIF, otherwise yours to arrange
• Import clearance, duties and taxes, and delivery from the destination port

Worked example 1: delivery to a German business

Illustrative, with no money figures: the point is the structure. A business in Bavaria needs one used 40ft High Cube for storage beside a workshop with no straight run-off, so a crane truck is required.

• Line 1 — Container: 40ft High Cube, wind and watertight, from a named depot; CSC status stated, though storage does not need it
• Line 2 — Transport: depot to delivery postcode by crane truck, delivery window stated
• Line 3 — Unloading: crane placement onto the buyer's four bearing points, included time on site stated
• Line 4 — Excluded, and listed: bearing points, any road-use permit, extra waiting time, a failed delivery if access differs from the description
• Subtotal (net), VAT at 19% (domestic supply), total (gross) — with validity date and payment terms

Worked example 2: an export shipment

Again illustrative and without figures: one one-trip 20ft for a buyer in West Africa, quoted CPT to a named destination port. See Africa and worldwide delivery.

• Seller: 20ft one-trip container with current CSC plate; haulage to the export terminal; origin terminal handling, export declaration and transport document; carriage to the named destination port, surcharges stated
• Price basis: CPT named port, Incoterms® 2020, with risk passing when the unit is handed to the carrier; no German VAT on an export, subject to export evidence
• Buyer: cargo insurance, which CPT does not include (CIP would); destination handling, import clearance, duties, taxes and onward delivery, unless the contract of carriage says otherwise