THC and port charges: what you are actually paying for
Almost every freight dispute we see about an unexpected invoice comes down to the same three letters. THC — terminal handling charge — looks like an add-on the carrier invented, so the instinct is to argue it away. It is not, and you cannot. Understanding what it actually buys, and where the Incoterm puts it, turns the most common billing surprise into a line you planned for. See also Incoterms 2020.
What THC actually covers
| Item | What it is | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| The lifts | taking the box off the truck or the rail car and putting it on the ship, and the reverse on arrival | the crane move itself is the visible part, and the smallest part of the bill |
| Yard moves | stacking, restacking, repositioning the box inside the terminal until it is called | invisible to you, and the reason a terminal charges per box rather than per lift |
| Weighing and checks | weighing, security screening, seal and documentary checks at the gate | mandatory work that has to sit in somebody’s tariff |
| Terminal overhead | cranes, straddle carriers, yard software, maintenance, staff and local taxes | this is what you are really buying: access to a working terminal, not a single crane movement |
Read that table and the logic becomes clear: THC is not the price of one crane movement. It is the price of a terminal being able to receive your box, hold it, find it again and put it where it needs to go — machinery, yard software, maintenance, staff and local taxes included. That is why it is charged per container rather than per lift, and why it barely moves when your cargo is light.
OTHC and DTHC: the same charge, twice
The terminal at the load port does this work, and so does the terminal at the discharge port. Hence two charges: OTHC at origin and DTHC at destination. They are not duplicates of each other — they are two different terminals doing two different pieces of work, and neither will waive theirs because the other one was paid.
The composition differs slightly at each end. Origin handling can absorb security screening and a little early storage if the box arrives before its stowage window. Destination handling covers the discharge itself, the stack moves while your container waits, the pull for a customs inspection where that applies, and the final lift onto your truck or rail car. That last lift is the one you see; everything before it is the part you are actually paying for.
Why you cannot negotiate it away
THC is set by the terminal operator, not by the shipping line — the line collects it and passes it through. This matters for two reasons. First, arguing about it with your carrier’s sales contact is arguing with someone who cannot change the number. Second, a quotation that shows a suspiciously low all-in rate has not abolished THC; it has hidden it, and it will surface later as a separate invoice. A rate that itemises the terminal charge is not more expensive — it is more honest.
Where it meets the container release
This is the practical link that catches importers out. As covered in how to get a container out of the port, the line issues the Delivery Order only once it has been paid in full — and destination charges are part of that full. So an unpaid DTHC is not merely an outstanding invoice: it is a container that will not be released, sitting in a terminal where storage accrues daily. The cheapest way to pay THC is early.
How to read a quotation
Ask for the charge list, not the total. A workable quotation names the terminal charge at each end separately, states the currency and the unit — per container, and which size — and says explicitly what is excluded. If a quote gives you one number and the phrase “all inclusive”, the useful question is not whether it is cheap but what the word “all” was defined to mean.
The second question worth asking: on which Incoterm was this priced? A rate quoted against CIF and a rate quoted against FOB are not comparable numbers, because they describe different halves of the same journey. Comparing them side by side is the most common way to pick the more expensive option while believing you saved money.
Who bears it, by Incoterm
| Incoterm | Who bears the terminal charge | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| EXW | the buyer carries practically everything, origin and destination alike | the cheapest-looking price on the invoice and the most expensive to actually execute |
| FCA | depends entirely on the named place — seller’s premises or the terminal | the classic dispute: name the place precisely or expect an argument |
| FOB | the seller delivers on board, so origin charges normally sit on the seller side | normally — but practice varies by trade and some carriers bill the buyer anyway; fix it in the contract |
| CFR / CIF | the seller pays the main carriage and usually the origin terminal charge; destination is on the buyer | this is where most buyers meet DTHC for the first time |
| DAP / DDP | the seller carries through to destination, so the destination terminal charge is theirs | the buyer sees one price — which is exactly why the seller prices the risk in |
Note the hedged wording in the FOB row — it is deliberate. In principle the seller bears costs up to the ship’s rail, which puts origin handling on the seller. In practice some carriers and some trades bill it to the buyer regardless, and both parties then produce a rulebook proving they are right. The fix is not a better argument; it is one sentence in the sales contract naming who pays OTHC. See FOB vs CIF and DDP vs DAP.
What THC does not cover
This is the section worth keeping. These arrive as separate invoices, and none of them is included in a standard terminal handling charge:
- Storage and demurrage beyond free time — a different meter entirely
- The customs inspection itself — the terminal may charge the pull, but the examination is billed on its own
- Reefer plug-in and monitoring — per day, and it starts on arrival
- Out-of-gauge and hazardous handling — surcharges on top, sometimes substantial
- Container cleaning or repair — assessed on return, which is why the EIR matters
- Documentation and B/L fees — the line’s own admin, unrelated to the terminal
- Lift-on/lift-off at an inland depot — a separate operation at a separate site
Development prospects
The direction of travel is towards more disclosure. Digital customs and terminal systems are making the charge list visible earlier in the booking rather than at invoicing, and both Georgian ports are investing in gate and yard automation that shortens the handling cycle. Neither trend makes THC disappear — terminals still have to be paid — but it does make the number knowable before you commit, which is the part that actually costs money today. See Georgia’s transit bottlenecks.
How ABU JORJIA helps
We quote with the charge list open: terminal charges at each end, what is excluded, and which Incoterm the price assumes. Because we also run the road leg out of Poti and Batumi, the terminal settlement and the truck at the gate are the same conversation rather than two suppliers discovering each other while storage accrues.
Summary
THC buys the terminal, not the crane. It is charged at both ends because two terminals do the work. The Incoterm decides who bears it, and the FOB boundary is worth pinning down in writing before it becomes an argument. And because the line will not release your container until destination charges are settled, THC is the one invoice where paying late costs more than the invoice. ABU JORJIA quotes it itemised — ask us for the full charge list.
Get a quote with charges itemised