The price on a quotation is rarely the price you pay. A food-packaging buyer comparing two suppliers on ex-factory unit price alone can easily pick the more expensive option once ocean freight, duty, port charges and the way the cartons fill a container are counted. Disposable packaging is a volume-bound product: a container is full long before it is heavy, so freight cost per piece is driven by how efficiently trays, lids and cups nest and pack, not by their weight. This guide shows how to turn a factory quote into a real delivered cost per piece, and which decisions change that number the most. It builds on the process overview in our guide to sourcing food packaging from China.
Why the Ex-Factory Price Misleads
Two quotes for visually similar 24 oz salad bowls can differ in landed cost by more than their unit prices suggest, for three reasons. First, carton efficiency: a bowl that nests tightly may pack two to three times as many pieces per cubic metre as one that does not, which changes freight per piece directly. Second, Incoterms: one supplier may quote FOB and another CIF or DDP, and the numbers are not comparable until you add the missing legs. Third, what is excluded: lids, inner polybags, printed cartons, pallets and export documents are sometimes priced separately. Always normalise quotes to the same basis before comparing.
FOB vs CIF vs DDP: Who Pays for What
Incoterms define where cost and risk move from seller to buyer. The four you will meet most often when buying packaging from a Chinese factory:
| Term | Seller covers | Buyer covers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Goods ready at the factory gate | Everything else, including export clearance and inland trucking in China | Buyers with an experienced forwarder who want full control |
| FOB (named port) | Goods loaded on the vessel, export clearance | Ocean freight, insurance, import duty, destination charges | Most importers with their own forwarder; easiest to compare across suppliers |
| CIF (destination port) | FOB scope plus ocean freight and minimum insurance to your port | Import clearance, duty, port charges, delivery | Buyers who want a simple port-to-port quote |
| DDP | Delivery to your door with duties paid | Little beyond receiving the goods | Small, infrequent orders; check who is the importer of record |
For repeat programs, FOB with your own forwarder is usually the cleanest basis: freight is quoted by the party that actually books it, and you can shop the rate. With CIF the seller's freight margin is built in and you cannot see it. Whichever term you choose, name the port explicitly (for example "FOB Shenzhen") and confirm which Incoterms edition applies.
Container Loading Math: How Many Cartons Fit
Container planning for packaging comes down to cubic metres. Approximate internal volumes are about 33 CBM for a 20GP, 67 CBM for a 40GP and 76 CBM for a 40HQ. Real usable volume is lower because cartons are rigid boxes that do not fill every corner, so planners commonly work with roughly 85–90% of the nominal figure for uniform cartons and less for mixed sizes. Treat these as planning numbers and let the forwarder confirm.
To estimate pieces per container, work from the carton: carton volume = length × width × height in metres; cartons per container = usable CBM ÷ carton volume; pieces per container = cartons × pieces per carton. As an illustration only (not a specific SKU), a 60 × 40 × 35 cm carton is 0.084 CBM. At about 68 usable CBM in a 40HQ that is roughly 800 cartons; at 500 pieces per carton that is around 400,000 pieces. Change the carton size or the nesting and the figure moves substantially.
Case packs on our stocked lines run from 300 to 1,000 pieces per carton depending on tray size (see for example the six frozen trays listed in our frozen food tray buying guide). Ask any supplier for carton dimensions, pieces per carton, carton gross weight and cartons per 20GP and 40HQ for every SKU, so you can check the maths yourself.
Packaging almost always cubes out (runs out of space) before it weighs out (runs out of payload). If a quote assumes weight-based freight for lightweight trays, it is probably wrong. Ask for the CBM per thousand pieces instead.
FCL vs LCL: When Consolidation Makes Sense
FCL (full container load) gives you a whole container at a fixed rate; LCL (less than container load) charges per CBM and shares space with other cargo. LCL usually has a higher per-CBM cost, extra handling at both ends and more risk of carton damage, but it lets you ship quantities that do not justify a full container, for example an initial trial order across several SKUs. As a rough guide, once a shipment reaches the 15–20 CBM range, quotes for a 20GP are worth requesting alongside LCL, because the FCL rate often wins on cost per CBM. Mixed-SKU orders can still ship FCL: stocked sizes from different categories can be consolidated into one container at the factory, which is one reason a single supplier covering trays, clamshells, cups and boxes simplifies logistics.
Duty, Customs and Other Destination Costs
Duty is calculated on the declared customs value using the tariff rate for the product's HS classification and country of origin. Plastic food packaging typically falls under Chapter 39 headings, but the exact subheading depends on the article and material, and rates, as well as any additional tariffs applying to goods of Chinese origin, change over time. Do not rely on a figure from an old article, including this one. Have your customs broker confirm the classification and current rate for each product family before you finalise pricing.
Beyond duty, budget for: customs brokerage and entry fees, port and terminal handling, container unloading or drayage, inland delivery, cargo insurance if you ship FOB, and any inspection or testing fees. For food-contact products also confirm that the documentation set required at your destination is ready before the container ships; see our FDA compliance guide for US-bound goods and our EU compliance guide for the EU.
A Simple Landed Cost Formula
Use one spreadsheet row per SKU and normalise everything to cost per 1,000 pieces:
- Product cost: ex-factory or FOB unit price × 1,000, including lids and any inner bags or printed cartons you are buying with it.
- Ocean freight per 1,000 pieces: container freight ÷ pieces per container × 1,000. Add origin and destination terminal charges.
- Insurance: a small percentage of cargo value if not already included.
- Duty: customs value × the duty rate your broker confirms.
- Brokerage, port and inland delivery: per-shipment charges divided across the pieces in the shipment.
- Landed cost per 1,000 = the sum of the above; divide by 1,000 for cost per piece.
Run the same sheet for each supplier and for each carton configuration. The cheapest unit price frequently loses once pieces per container are applied.
Seven Ways to Lower Landed Cost Without Cutting Quality
- Choose nestable designs where the application allows. Nesting depth is the biggest freight lever for trays, bowls and cups.
- Standardise sizes across brands or product lines so you can fill a container with fewer SKUs and larger lots.
- Optimise carton dimensions to your pallet and container, not just to the product.
- Ship lids and bases in matched cartons so cartons are not left part-empty at the end of a run.
- Consolidate categories from one factory into one FCL instead of several LCL shipments.
- Plan production windows early so you are not paying for air freight or expedited slots.
- Review the specification: a gauge that is thicker than the application needs costs resin and cube. Ask for a sample at the lighter gauge and test it.
What to Ask For in Every Quotation
A quote that lets you calculate landed cost should state: the Incoterm and named port; unit price and what it includes (lids, polybags, printed cartons, pallets); pieces per carton and carton dimensions and gross weight; cartons per 20GP and 40HQ; production lead time; payment terms; and validity period. For custom or printed items add tooling cost, tooling ownership, and the MOQ per colour or design. Our custom branding and printing guide explains how MOQ varies by decoration method.
Our factory operates under ISO 9001:2015 and BRCGS Packaging certification, with SGS third-party test reports available on request, so the documentation side of a shipment can be prepared alongside the quote rather than after it.
Buyer FAQ
Is FOB or CIF cheaper?
How many pieces fit in a 40HQ container?
Do lightweight packaging orders ever hit the weight limit?
When should I choose LCL instead of FCL?
Who pays import duty?
Can different product categories share one container?
Want a landed-cost-ready quotation?
Send your SKUs, quantities, destination port and preferred Incoterm — we will reply with unit prices, carton dimensions and cartons per container so you can run the numbers yourself.
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