Freight is the line item buyers negotiate last and lose money on first. The container maths is simple, and getting it right usually saves more than the price negotiation.
Container maths by family
| Family | Loading unit | 20GP | 40HQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3D mesh | rolls of 50 m | 260-320 rolls | 620-760 rolls |
| Oxford | rolls of 100 m | 130-170 rolls | 320-400 rolls |
| knitted fabric | rolls of 25-30 kg | 380-460 rolls | 900-1100 rolls |
| basswood | sets per carton, 12-20 sets | 1100-1400 sets | 2600-3200 sets |
| paulownia | sets per carton, 12-20 sets | 1400-1700 sets | 3200-3800 sets |
| PVC slats | sets per carton, 15-25 sets | 1500-1900 sets | 3500-4200 sets |
These are planning figures; confirm against the packing list. The number that moves most is not weight but packing efficiency, and a 10 % change there moves per-unit freight more than a 5 % change in unit price.
Volume, not weight
Most of what this factory makes is volume-constrained. paulownia ships as compressed cartons possible, corner protectors, moisture barrier; basswood ships as individual poly sleeve + carton, corner protectors, moisture barrier. The packing decision is therefore a freight decision, and it is usually taken by someone who is measured on material cost rather than on landed cost.
The claims that repeat
Damage in transit clusters around moisture and compression. Slats show dents and marks after a season of cleaning and use. It is attributed to the material and it is often a container condition: heat, condensation, or stacking beyond what the carton was designed for.
The incident log
One page per shipment: container number, seal number, loading date, weather, carton count, and photographs of the door end before closing. When damage arrives, the log answers the first three questions a forwarder asks and moves the claim from disputed to paid.
The five lines of a landed cost
| Line | Typical share | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Goods | Invoice value | The line everyone negotiates |
| Freight | 8-15 % of goods | Volume-driven for most of this factory’s output |
| Duty | 0-12 % | Set by tariff line, which is a specification decision |
| Port and clearance | 2-4 % | Fixed per shipment, so it hurts small orders |
| Inland delivery | 1-3 % | Often quoted separately and forgotten in comparison |
This table is not a scoring system. It is a set of follow-up questions, because the first answer in each row is the one that sounds best and reveals least.
Related detail
Family specifications start from the fabric overview or the wooden blinds overview. Our documentation and testing regime is on the quality control page, and commercial terms are on the logistics page.
Questions buyers ask before ordering
Can you quote against a specification I write myself?
Yes. Send it as written and we will respond line by line, including where we would deviate and why. That is more useful than a price against a document we have silently reinterpreted.
What do you need to start?
End use, quantity per colour, destination market and the date you need the goods. With those four we can quote; without them we are guessing.
Failure modes worth a clause in the purchase order
Claims rarely come from a batch that was obviously wrong. They come from a abrasion figure that sat inside the quoted band and outside what the product needed.
| Failure | What triggers it | Test to demand on the production lot |
|---|---|---|
| Cold cracking | High glass transition PU, or too much filler. | Peel strength — ISO 2411; acceptance >= 6 N/50 mm |
| Colour transfer | Excess pigment on the surface and insufficient topcoat. | Hydrolysis (ageing) — 70 C / 95 % RH, 7 days; acceptance no tackiness, >= 80 % peel retained |
The other two, with acceptance numbers attached, are in the full failure analysis for PU leather. A supplier who cannot name the mode he sees most often is describing a catalogue, not a process.
Seven lines that turn a quotation into a specification
Most post-delivery arguments are not about quality. They are about a document that never said which figure would be measured, on which instrument, at whose cost.
- Cold flex (-20 C, 30 000 cycles): fix the value per shipment, and state who pays for the re-test if a lot lands outside it.
- Surface finish: release paper / cast / embossed is not an answer on its own. Ask for the last three lots’ actual readings and the spread behind them.
- Colour fastness to rubbing: agree the test method with the number. Two labs, two methods, two answers, one argument.
- Thickness (0.5-1.5 mm): state where in the band this order sits. The middle of the band is not what a tolerance is for.
- Deviation rule: anything outside the agreed bands is reported before shipment, not after arrival.
- Packing and marking: shipping mark, roll or carton count and the tolerance on quantity, since a short shipment is a claim too.
- Who inspects: third-party, in-house or none, decided in advance, with the AQL level written down.
The same question, asked of basswood
The two lines fail differently, so the wording that protects you differs too. On basswood the recurring modes are these, caught with a different test.
| Failure | What triggers it | Test to demand on the production lot |
|---|---|---|
| basswood: Warping and bowing | Moisture content outside 8-12 %, or slats packed before equalising. | Moisture content — oven-dry method / pin meter; acceptance 8-12 % |
| basswood: Colour mismatch between slats | Stain bath drift and mixing slats from two production days. | Warp — 48 h at 23 C / 50 % RH; acceptance <= 1.5 mm per 1 m |
Send the five inputs and get a quotable answer.
Send the end use, the quantity and the destination market, and we will come back with a specification that meets it, a price at your volume and the test reports that back it up. Samples are free for qualified programmes; we charge the courier only.
Related reading
- How to Vet a Textile and Window Covering Supplier
- Inspecting Textile and Window Covering
- How to Write an RFQ for Textile and Window Covering That Gets a Quotable Answer
Sample cut with your values on it · Neutral packing and private label · Consolidation, documents and lead times
