Sourcing glossary
Container freight station
Also known as: CFS, CFS warehouse, Consolidation warehouse
A warehouse near a port where LCL cargo from different shippers is received, consolidated and loaded into shared containers for export, or unloaded and sorted for release on import.
When you ship LCL from China, your supplier delivers the cartons to the forwarder's CFS by the cut-off date. There they are measured and weighed, which sets the CBM you are billed for, and loaded with other shipments. At the destination the container goes to a CFS to be unpacked before your cartons can be collected.
CFS charges are billed at both ends on top of the ocean rate, so compare them across quotes. Make sure the supplier marks each carton clearly with your shipping marks, because unmarked cartons are easily mixed up during consolidation. See LCL vs FCL.
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