Guide
Remeasurement and reweigh charges
A remeasurement charge appears when a consolidator or carrier measures cargo and gets a different figure from the one the shipment was quoted on. On LCL shipments this is the most common single reason an invoice exceeds a quotation — and it is entirely checkable, provided the measurement record exists.
Why the number changes
Quotes are built on declared figures: what the supplier said the cargo would weigh and measure. The invoice is built on what someone measured at a consolidation facility, generally to the outer extremities of the cargo as presented.
Palletising is the usual culprit. Loose cartons quoted at their own dimensions arrive on pallets, which add height, a footprint, and often overhang. Packaging, shrink wrap and corner protection all count. None of that is anyone behaving badly — but it does mean the chargeable basis, and every charge priced on it, moves.
What the measurement record should show
A remeasurement charge without a measurement record is an assertion. The record does not need to be elaborate, but it needs to answer four questions.
The four questions a measurement record must answer
- Who measured the cargo, and at which facility.
- When it was measured, so the figure can be tied to this shipment rather than another.
- What was measured — the dimensions and weight, per piece or per pallet, not just a total.
- What the original declared figures were, so the difference is visible rather than asserted.
Check the arithmetic, then check the consistency
Work out the freight tonnes from the revised figures yourself: metric tonnes and cubic metres, whichever is greater. Then confirm that the additional freight equals the difference in freight tonnes multiplied by the quoted rate — not a new rate applied to the whole shipment.
Then check that the revised basis was used consistently. If the freight was rebilled on 14.2 cbm but the CFS charge is still on 12.5, one of those two lines is wrong, and the inconsistency is itself the question.
What to ask for
Ask for the measurement certificate or reweigh record, the original declared figures the quotation was based on, and the calculation showing how the additional amount was derived. Send your own packing list alongside the request — if your dimensions match theirs, the charge is probably right, and if they do not, you now have something specific to reconcile.
Common questions
Can a forwarder remeasure without telling me?
Measurement at the consolidation facility is routine and generally provided for in the trading conditions. What is reasonable to expect is that the resulting charge is supported by a record you can see, and that the revised figure is applied consistently across the charges that depend on it.
The certificate shows a larger volume than my packing list. What now?
Compare like for like. Packing lists often state the product's own dimensions while the certificate states the palletised dimensions including packaging and overhang. If the difference is explained by palletising, the charge is probably correct. If it is not, ask how the figure was arrived at.
Should the whole shipment be rebilled at a new rate?
Normally no. The usual approach is that the additional freight tonnes are billed at the quoted rate, not that the shipment is repriced. If the invoice reflects a different rate as well as a different quantity, that is two changes and each needs its own explanation.
A note on what this is
This guide describes how freight charges are commonly evidenced. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not describe the terms of your particular agreement with your provider.