Overview
Unlike ocean freight, air cargo lacks the standardization of shipping containers. As such, there is no straightforward way to compare two shipments across different freight forwarders.
For Xeneta to provide a benchmark against which all air freight can be compared, a number of requirements are established by which all air cargo is evaluated.
The basic requirement is the airport-to-airport rate, which is measured as a price per kilogram. The price of air cargo is based on the weight break it belongs to, where larger shipments qualify for lower per-kilogram pricing.
Due to a lack of standardization, different air freight carriers have different weight breaks associated with their services. To make prices from various carriers comparable, Xeneta uses its own weight break categories and assigns prices from all carriers into the following weight breaks:
- 0–45 kg
- 46–200 kg
- 201–499 kg
- 500–999 kg
- 1000+ kg
The secondary requirement for benchmarking of air freight are the surcharges associated with the cargo. Xeneta applies only the following surcharges when creating a benchmark:
- Fuel surcharge
- Security surcharge
- Peak season surcharge
- Airline handling surcharge
Lastly, air freight carriers offer a number of options for shipping cargo that influence its price. This includes shipping speed, the number of stops to transport the cargo, and clearance speed, among others. Every carrier offers their own types of premium services that cannot be directly compared. To make comparison possible, Xeneta categorizes carrier servies into Xeneta Service Levels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of cargo do we benchmark?
At this current time, general cargo only.
What conversion do we use for volumetric pricing?
We use the general standard conversion ratio of 6000 cubic cm to 1 kg.