Quick answer: A partial shipment pays only when 11,040 CNY of extra freight is beaten by stockout days; at 900 CNY a day, break-even is day 12.
Table of contents
- A partial shipment decision starts with stockout days
- Where the 23 percent premium comes from
- Dead freight: 12.4 CBM billed as 15 CBM
- The 12-day break-even and the 60/40 split
- FAQ
1. A partial shipment decision starts with stockout days
A 480-unit order fills one 20GP: 0.048 CBM and 12 kg per case come to 23.04 CBM and 5,760 kg, inside the 28 CBM of usable space and far under the 21 t limit. Consolidation holds all 480 units until the last one is packed and berths on day 40. A partial shipment sends 288 units first, arriving on day 28, then tops up with 192 units on day 42. Twelve days separate the two schedules, and the buyer's warehouse feels all twelve.
The gap is production rather than shipping. At 40 units a day the run takes 12 working days, and consolidation leaves 440 finished cases in the dispatch bay.
LCL rates sit above FCL at every volume, and a second booking brings a second set of fixed charges, so a partial shipment starts in the red. The other side of the ledger is a stopped line at 900 CNY a day: 12 days is 10,800 CNY against 11,040 CNY of extra freight, and the two nearly cancel.
| Shipment option | Freight CNY | Arrival day |
|---|---|---|
| One FCL, all 480 units held | 48,000 | 40 |
| Partial, first 288 units | 35,120 | 28 |
| Partial, second 192 units | 23,920 | 42 |
| FCL plus 40 units by air | 66,240 | 7 / 40 |
| All 480 units by air | 218,880 | 6 |
The last row is a reference: 5,760 kg at 38 CNY a kilogram is 218,880 CNY, 4.6 times the sea freight.
2. Where the 23 percent premium comes from
The 59,040 CNY is itemised. The first booking carries 288 units, 13.8 CBM, billed as a 15 CBM slot at 2,240 CNY per CBM for 33,600 CNY. The second carries 9.2 CBM, rounded up to 10 CBM for 22,400 CNY. Each adds a 1,520 CNY fixed charge for customs, the bill of lading and terminal handling. The three lines total 59,040 CNY, which is 11,040 CNY and 23 percent above the 48,000 CNY single booking.
That single booking is 40,320 CNY of ocean freight at 5,600 USD converted at 7.2, 6,800 CNY of trucking at both ends and 880 CNY of declaration, or 100 CNY a unit. Run the same 480 units through two LCL bookings and the partial shipment costs 123 CNY a unit, a 23 CNY premium on every case.
| Freight CNY | Line item | Gap to the FCL |
|---|---|---|
| 48,000 | Single booking: ocean 40,320, trucking 6,800, customs 880 | Base, 100 per unit |
| 59,040 | Two LCL bookings: 33,600 plus 22,400 plus 3,040 fixed | 11,040 more, plus 23 percent |
| 11,040 | The premium, spread over 480 units | 23 per unit |
| 4,390 | Of which dead freight, 1.96 CBM at 2,240 | 39.8 percent of the premium |
| 3,040 | Two sets of fixed charges | 27.5 percent of the premium |
Only 3,040 CNY of the premium is unavoidable; the other 8,000 CNY is the LCL rate and slot rounding.
3. Dead freight: 12.4 CBM billed as 15 CBM
LCL bills slots, not contents. A 258-unit replenishment measures 12.4 CBM, lands in a 15 CBM slot and pays 2,240 CNY per CBM on 2.6 CBM of dead freight: 5,824 CNY that buys no carrying capacity at all. The quote sheet never uses the word.
A 92 percent fill is already good; 258 units sit at 82.7 percent. Counted in days, 5,824 CNY is 6.5 days of a stopped line, more than six days of the allowance.
A partial shipment carries the penalty twice: 1.2 CBM on the first booking, 0.8 on the second, 1.96 CBM or 4,390 CNY. Consolidation pays none.
4. The 12-day break-even and the 60/40 split
11,040 divided by 900 is 12.3 days: at 12 days of stockout the options draw level. Carrying cost at 1.5 percent a month puts 605 CNY on the 480 units held 12 days and 282 CNY on the 192 left behind 14 days, a 323 CNY saving that pulls break-even to 11.9 days. Detention at 120 CNY a day per container, two bookings held two days each, adds 480 CNY and pushes it back to 12.5 days.
The 60/40 split is geometry, not habit. 288 units fill 13.8 of a 15 CBM slot and 192 fill 9.2 of 10: both at 92 percent, both at 116.7 CNY a unit. At 70/30 the first booking becomes 16.1 CBM in a 20 CBM slot, 80.6 percent, and 3.9 CBM of dead freight costs 8,673 CNY, most of what the split set out to save.
| Arrival day | Option | What the ledger shows |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 40 units by air | 18,240 CNY buys 6 of the 34 days |
| 28 | First 288 units arrive | Stockout at zero, 423 CNY of holding on 288 units |
| 40 | The consolidated booking | Saves 11,040, gives back 10,800 in stockout |
| 42 | Second 192 units arrive | Closes the 40 percent gap before it rolls over |
Read the rows in order: whether the gap can wait for day 42, whether day 40 holds, then air freight. A partial shipment sits on the day 28 row and buys 12 days, not a cheaper rate. Forty units by air weigh 480 kg, 18,240 CNY, or 456 CNY a unit against 100 by sea.
Conclusion
The choice comes down to a line at day 12: 11,040 CNY of extra freight against 12 days of earlier arrival, level at exactly 12 days of stockout. Add carrying cost and detention and the line moves to 12.5 days, so an order that stops half a day longer turns a partial shipment from a loss into a gain. The 60/40 ratio keeps both bookings at 92 percent of a slot and cuts dead freight from 3.9 CBM to 2.0 CBM.
Related Reading
- Stacking and pallet planning for cases
- Footprint against the pallet module
- Loading points for full and part truckloads
- The cost case for returning empty cases
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