Container & Landed-Cost Economics for Garment Stocklots
The number that decides a stocklot deal is landed cost per sellable piece — FOB lot price plus freight, duty, clearance and inland costs, divided by sellable units. Headline per-piece prices hide half the math; this guide walks the whole calculation line by line.
Part of the buyer journey: Pay, Ship and Clear Customs Without Surprises — stage 3 of 8, with the other guides for this stage.
The landed-cost line items
FOB lot price: what you pay the supplier for the goods at the port of loading. Ocean freight: the container move from Karachi to your gateway. Insurance: modest, and worth having. Duty and taxes at destination: set by your market’s tariff schedule against the goods’ HS classification and declared value. Clearance: broker fees and port charges. Inland: the move from gateway to your warehouse.
Add any inspection cost — a few hundred dollars — and you have the whole picture.
Container choice changes the math
A 20-foot container carries roughly 28,000 kg; a 40-foot roughly doubles the volume for less than double the freight — which is why per-piece freight cost drops sharply at 40-foot scale. Freight is charged per container, so the more sellable pieces you fit per container, the lower the freight share per piece.
That is also why consolidation matters: compatible lots combined to fill a container convert dead freight space into sellable inventory. Knits compress; jeans and heavier wovens cube out faster by weight. Your supplier’s packing data (carton dimensions and weights) tells you which you are dealing with.
Where LCL fits — and its premium
Less-than-container shipment lets smaller buyers participate, but freight and clearance take a proportionally larger bite per piece than on a full container. LCL is the right tool for trial lots and market tests; the per-piece economics improve sharply as you scale to full containers.
Worked example, in structure
Take lot price per piece, add freight per piece (container cost ÷ pieces shipped), add duty rate × declared value per piece, add clearance and inland per piece. Compare that total against your realistic resale rate — not an optimistic one. A deal with a slightly higher FOB price but excellent packing density and clean documents often beats a “cheaper” lot on landed cost every time.
This is also why document quality matters commercially, not just legally: accurate weights and descriptions prevent clearance surprises that erase margin.
What stocklots are available right now?
Reading is step one. Send your requirement and we will check the factory network for current options.
Buyer questions, answered
How do I calculate landed cost for a stocklot?
FOB lot price + ocean freight + insurance + duty and taxes + clearance + inland haulage, divided by sellable pieces. Compare deals on that final per-piece number, never on headline price alone.
Should I ship a 20-foot or 40-foot container?
40-foot when volume justifies it: roughly double the capacity for less than double the freight, so per-piece freight cost drops sharply at the bigger size.
Is LCL shipping worth it for stocklots?
For trial lots and market tests, yes — it is how smaller buyers start. Expect a higher per-piece landed cost than a full container, and scale up as quality proves out.
What role do duties play in stocklot economics?
Duty is charged against the goods’ HS classification and declared value at your market’s tariff rate — sometimes meaningfully different for knits versus wovens. Check your tariff line before comparing lots.
How does packing density affect my cost?
Directly: freight is charged per container, so compressible knits fit more sellable pieces per box than heavy wovens, lowering freight per piece. Ask for carton dimensions and weights before you commit.