Incoterms the desk works with
Most cable orders through the desk ship on FOB, CFR or CIF terms from a Chinese port. The Incoterm decides who books freight, who pays insurance and where risk passes, and it should be written on the contract with the named port, for example FOB Ningbo or CIF your destination port. The desk does not offer tariff or duty advice; classification and duties are confirmed by your customs broker.
| Term | Seller arranges | Buyer arranges | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOB Ningbo / Shanghai | Export clearance and loading on board at the named port | Ocean freight, insurance, import clearance | Buyers with their own forwarder or freight contract |
| CFR destination port | Export clearance and ocean freight | Insurance, import clearance, delivery | Buyers who insure under an open policy |
| CIF destination port | Export clearance, ocean freight and minimum cargo insurance | Import clearance, delivery | Buyers who want one landed-at-port figure |
Under CFR and CIF, risk still passes at loading in China even though the seller pays the freight. If you need broader insurance cover than the CIF minimum, say so on the RFQ.
Ports and inland moves
Ningbo and Shanghai are the usual export ports for the clusters the desk works with: Yixing and Guanlin and Wujiang Qidu in Jiangsu are close to Shanghai, Wuwei in Anhui and other inland plants truck to either port, and Wuhan fibre plants can use river or road links to the coast. Ningjin in Hebei and southwest plants may use northern or southern ports instead, set per order. The plant usually trucks the drums to the container yard or loads at the plant, and the desk confirms which in the loading plan so that the inspector is present at the right place.
Loading drums and pallets
Cable drums are loaded standing on their flanges, never lying flat, so that the cable layers do not crush and the drum can be rolled in the direction of its arrow. The number of drums that fit a container is set by drum diameter, width and weight against the container's payload and door height, so it is worked out per order from the drum plan; the desk does not quote standard container counts.
- Weight distribution: heavy drums go over the container floor's centre line and along its length, not all at the door end.
- Chocking: wooden wedges nailed to the floor on both sides of each flange stop drums rolling.
- Lashing: steel wire, chain or polyester straps through the drum centre hole or around the flanges to the container lashing points.
- Bracing: timber between drums and at the door so nothing can move when the container is lifted or the ship rolls.
- Pallets: coils, 305 m boxes and drop cable reels go on pallets, stretch wrapped and corner protected, and can fill the space around drums in a mixed load.
Out-of-gauge MV drums may need flat-rack or open-top equipment, which is booked well ahead. The container loading guide shows the sequence step by step, and packaging and drums covers drum types and lagging.
Documents that travel with the cable
A cable shipment needs commercial and technical papers. The commercial set lets you clear customs and get paid or pay; the technical set lets your engineer or AHJ accept the cable.
- Commercial invoice with construction, quantity in metres and HS reference as advised by your broker.
- Packing list by drum or pack: drum number, construction, length, gross and net weight, dimensions.
- Bill of lading issued by the carrier or forwarder.
- Certificate of origin where your market or contract needs it.
- Test records and inspection report per drum, and for the EU the DoP for construction products.
- Market conformity documents where required, such as a PVoC certificate of conformity for Kenya, a SONCAP certificate for Nigeria or a SABER shipment certificate for Saudi Arabia, arranged with your importer.
HS references commonly used are 8544.49 for conductors up to 1 kV without connectors, 8544.42 with connectors, 8544.60 above 1 kV, 8544.70 for optical fibre cable, 8544.20 for coaxial cable and 9001.10 for optical fibre. Your customs broker confirms the classification.
How the desk runs shipping
- The Incoterm, port and insurance cover are fixed on the contract after your quote request.
- The drum plan and loading plan are agreed, and the booking is made by the seller or by your forwarder.
- Drums are inspected, then loaded, chocked and lashed with photos of each stage.
- Documents are sent for checking before the original set is released under the payment terms in the sourcing process.
Lead time to loading is set per order; see MOQ and lead time.