When freight forwarders provide your quote, the rate is often subject to GRI (General Rate Increase) and PSS (Peak Season Surcharge).
GRI is a rate adjustment that is applied by ocean carriers regularly, usually at the start of a new year or quarter. PSS, on the other hand, is a surcharge that is applied during peak shipping seasons, such as the lead-up to Christmas. Learn more about these charges here.
Beeontrade’s Business Model:
Our business model is a simple, straightforward markup of their freight costs. The freight rates they pay are set by their underlying carriers and may fluctuate as carriers adjust their rates up or down.
Ocean carriers apply two main types of rate adjustment: General Rate Increase (GRI) and Peak Season Surcharge (PSS). Depending on the timing of your quote request, one or both of these may impact your freight charges.
Inclusion of GRI and PSS in Quotes Beeontrade provides quotes that include the GRI and PSS as long as they are announced for the given period. They believe in transparency and strive to make sure their quotes always reflect the full amount they expect to invoice (except customs duties), including additional fees such as GRI and PSS.
We include GRI and PSS in our quotes as long as they are announced by the underlying carriers. This is to ensure that their quotes are transparent and reflect the full cost of the shipment. We value transparency and aim to ensure that our clients are aware of any additional costs that may be incurred during the shipping process.
What is GRI?
GRI stands for General Rate Increase and it is a rate adjustment that ocean carriers may choose to apply for U.S-bound shipments every month.
U.S. regulation requires that carriers must announce any GRI at least 30 days in advance, usually at the start of a new month. The GRI may vary significantly from month to month, and also between different carriers and trade lanes.
Even though carriers must announce a GRI 30 days in advance, they are free to lower rates at any time, resulting in freight rates that tend to lower from week to week over a given month, then jump back up in the next month as a new GRI takes effect.
What is PSS?
PSS stands for Peak Season Surcharge and it is a variable surcharge that carriers may apply during times of peak demand, such as before the fall/winter holidays and before Chinese New Year.
PSS functions similarly to GRI, carriers announce it monthly as an additional fee on top of the base rate, though it may be canceled or mitigated at a lower rate.
How do GRI and PSS factor into my Beeontrade quotes?
When it comes to Beeontrade, we incorporate GRI and PSS as they are implemented, which means that our rates will always include the actual rate of any applicable surcharges. We do not guess or overcharge, and each quote we share has a marked validity date.
If your cargo ships within that period, then you’ll pay that pre-agreed price. If you ship after the quote's expiration date, our team will create a new, updated quote, which may change to incorporate market GRI, if applicable.