FOB vs EXW for China sourcing

An EXW quote looks cheaper because it is smaller. Add inland trucking, export documentation and terminal charges, and the two can converge — or reverse, because a factory with volume gets better inland freight rates than a small buyer does.

1. Which port is named, and is terminal handling included?
2. Is export documentation and customs clearance included?
3. What is the inland freight from factory to port, per container?
4. What is the quoted validity period, and what triggers a re-quote?

Supplier records on this site state a price basis explicitly. Where a factory cannot state one, the record shows "on request" — we do not publish a price that cannot be compared with another price.

1. Write the unit down: per piece, per set or per carton —a price without a unit is not a price.
2. Write the order quantity down: the same product at 5,000 and 50,000 pieces carries the same tooling across different volumes.
3. Write the basis down: FOB with a named port, or EXW at the factory.
4. Convert one to the other before comparing, then compare against the band for the sub-category.
5. Keep the freight and duty question separate —the basis decides who pays them, not how much they are.

• EXW: inland freight to the port.
• EXW: export clearance and documentation.
• EXW: terminal handling at origin.
• EXW: loading on board the vessel.
• FOB: none of the above —the seller carries them to the rail.

Two conclusions follow. Ocean freight is the largest single line inside the EXW-to-FOB gap, and it swings weekly: the same container cost US$3,997 or US$9,726 depending only on the destination port. And a quote that does not name the port cannot be compared, because the spread between Los Angeles and New York is wider than most factories' entire margin.

The duty figures above are the general rates only. Section 301 measures on Chinese-origin goods, and any other trade measure in force, are additional and are not included; confirm the applied rate for your entry before you build a landed-cost model on it.

Under CIF the seller must insure at a minimum of 110% of the contract price on Institute Cargo Clauses (C) cover. That is a floor rather than a recommendation, and clause (C) is the narrowest of the three standard sets: it excludes theft, water damage and non-delivery. A buyer who cares about the cargo usually insures it separately.

1. Two suppliers quote 8% apart and both are telling the truth, because the scopes differ.
2. A buyer compares an EXW number with an FOB number and rewards the wrong factory.
3. Freight is added twice, once by the factory and once by the forwarder.
4. The landed-cost model is built on a number that was never a landed cost.