Anatomy of a cartage invoice

A cartage invoice is a stack of pass-through charges with the transport in the middle. Here is what each line is, and which ones you can check against a published schedule.

The fixed landside lines

Before a container moves a metre, it attracts terminal access charges (TAC) from the stevedore, empty-park notification fees, and vehicle booking system (VBS) fees. These are levied on the transport operator and passed straight through to you. They are published, which means you can check them.

The variable lines

Then come the moving parts: the cartage itself, any detention if the box ran past free time, and fuel or congestion surcharges. Detention is the line most worth checking, because it is the one built from the carrier's tiered schedule and the dates on your job.

What to check first

Match the TAC on the invoice against the current published figure for that terminal and port. Match any detention against the line's tiers and your available and dehire dates. If either does not reconcile, you have a specific, dated question rather than a vague feeling that the invoice looks high.

01What is the terminal access charge on my cartage invoice?

A stevedore charge for landside access to the terminal, levied on the transport operator and passed through to cargo owners. It is published, so it can be checked against the current schedule.

02Which invoice line should I check first?

The TAC and any detention. Both are built from published figures, so both can be reconciled against a dated source.

KEEP READING

Current terminal access charges →Landside pass-through calculator →Compare TACs and detention →Glossary: pass-through →

LAST REVIEWED JULY 2026 · A REFERENCE GUIDE, NOT LEGAL ADVICE