Terminal Handling (THC), Chassis Splits & Clean Truck Fees Decoded
β‘ Executive Briefing: The Ancillary Drayage Minefield
- The Ocean Freight Mirage: The base ocean freight rate on your booking confirmation represents as little as 50% to 60% of total maritime port transit costs. The remainder is billed as ancillary destination port fees.
- Double-THC Billing: Terminal Handling Charges exist at both ends of the voyage: Origin THC (OTHC, paid in China) and Destination THC (DTHC, paid at the destination port). Inexperienced importers on CIF terms are regularly double-billed for origin port crane work.
- The $150 Chassis Split Penalty: When an ocean terminal has no empty chassis available on-dock, your drayage trucker must drive to a third-party equipment pool miles away, hook up a chassis, and drive back, triggering an unavoidable “Chassis Split” charge.
- Mandatory Clean Air & Traffic Fees: At major gateways like Los Angeles and Long Beach, local government regulations levy mandatory environmental assessments: the Clean Truck Fund (CTF) fee and PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fees (TMF).
1. Terminal Handling Charges (THC): Origin vs. Destination
Terminal Handling Charges (THC) are fees assessed by marine container terminals for the physical work of handling your container between the quay crane, the yard gantry, and the drayage truck chassis.
THC is split into two geographically distinct charges:
- OTHC (Origin Terminal Handling Charge): Incurred at Chinese loading ports (Shenzhen, Ningbo, Shanghai) to lift the container from the terminal gate into the yard stack and aboard the container ship. Under FOB terms, the factory must pay OTHC.
- DTHC (Destination Terminal Handling Charge): Incurred at destination ports (Los Angeles, New York, Rotterdam, Felixstowe) to lift the container off the vessel, mount it onto a terminal chassis, and gate it out to your drayage driver. The importer pays DTHC unless booked under an all-in DDP rate.
2. The Chassis Split: Why It Appears on Your Trucking Bill
Unlike European ports where container chassis are provided standard by drayage carriers or terminals, the United States maritime infrastructure operates on a decentralized “chassis pool” leasing model (DCLI, TRAC, Flexi-Van).
When an ocean terminal releases your container for pickup, your drayage trucker arrives with their tractor bobtail.
If the marine terminal is experiencing a chassis deficit (common at LAX/Long Beach APM Terminals or NY/NJ Maher Terminals), the terminal crane cannot mount your container onto bare ground.
The driver is forced to perform a Chassis Split:
- Drive to a secondary off-dock chassis depot (often 5 to 15 miles outside the port).
- Inspect, hook up, and check out a leased chassis.
- Drive back into the congested terminal gate to collect your container.
Because this extra leg consumes 1.5 to 3 hours of the driver’s federally regulated Hours-of-Service (HOS), drayage companies bill a mandatory Chassis Split Fee of $100.00 to $185.00.
β οΈ Long Beach Drayage Operations Dispatch: The “Flip Fee” Surcharge
If your trucker arrives at an off-dock chassis yard and the only available equipment is a private carrier chassis (e.g., an ocean line proprietary chassis) that cannot legally be used for your specific steamship line, the yard operator must use a top-pick crane to lift your container off the wrong chassis and “flip” it onto an approved chassis. This triggers a surprise $100 to $150 “Flip Charge” that terminal operators pass directly to the importer.
3. US Port Mandates: Clean Truck Fund & PierPass (TMF)
If your cargo discharges through Southern California (Port of Los Angeles or Port of Long Beach), your drayage invoice will carry non-negotiable municipal environmental charges:
Clean Truck Fund (CTF) Fee
Implemented under the Clean Air Action Plan to incentivize zero-emission drayage trucks, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach assess a mandatory fee on all loaded container moves:
- $10.00 per TEU ($10 for a 20ft container; $20.00 for a 40ft or 40ft HC container).
- Billed to the beneficial cargo owner (BCO) prior to gate departure.
PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF)
Established by the 12 marine terminal operators in San Pedro Bay to reduce daytime metropolitan freeway congestion, PierPass charges a flat Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF):
- Current Rate: $34.21 per 20ft container and $68.42 per 40ft container across all peak and off-peak gates.
- Must be paid via the centralized PierPass online merchant portal before the terminal will issue an automated gate appointment.
Ancillary Port Surcharge Reference Matrix
| Fee Line Item | Typical US / EU Cost | Billing Entity | CINA DDP Protection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Destination THC (DTHC) | $350 β $650 / Container | Ocean Carrier / Terminal | 100% Included in fixed rate |
| Chassis Rental (Per Diem) | $35 β $55 / Day | Chassis Leasing Pool | Included in contracted drayage |
| Chassis Split Fee | $100 β $185 / Move | Drayage Trucking Carrier | Absorbed by operations network |
| Clean Truck Fund (CTF) | $20.00 / 40ft Container | Port Authority (LA / LB) | Prepaid & Cleared automatically |
| PierPass (TMF) | $68.42 / 40ft Container | PierPass Terminal Operator | Prepaid & Cleared automatically |
| Dry-Run Surcharge | $150 β $300 / Occurrence | Drayage Trucking Carrier | Avoided through automated gate tracking |
How to Insulate Your Business from Ancillary Surprises
1. Never Accept “Ocean Freight Only” Quotations
When evaluating forwarding options, an ocean freight quote of “$1,800 Ningbo to Los Angeles” is incomplete. Require the forwarder to provide a written, binding rider listing all ancillary arrival fees, including DTHC, PierPass, Clean Truck, chassis daily rates, and terminal documentation charges.
2. Utilize Street-Turn Chassis Triangulation
Work with drayage partners that maintain established interchange agreements with all three major chassis pools (DCLI, TRAC, and Pool of Pools). Drivers can “street-turn” empty containers directly to export packing facilities without dropping the chassis at an off-dock depot, saving $150 in split fees.
3. Lock in Fixed-Rate DDP with CINA Logistics
Under CINA’s fixed-rate DDP model, ocean transit, destination terminal handling, PierPass, Clean Truck assessments, chassis daily fees, and direct warehouse delivery appointments are consolidated into a single transparent per-KG or per-CBM price. If our driver incurs a chassis split at the port, we absorb the cost.
Audit Your Destination Drayage Invoices
Send our destination desk your latest freight invoice or drayage rate sheet. We will audit it for redundant THC markups and bogus handling surcharges at zero cost.