If you have booked a container in the last few weeks, you have probably stared at a quote that looked almost reasonable — until the footnotes arrived. Peak season is when carriers stop selling a single number and start selling a stack: base ocean, then FAK, then GRI, then PSS, then bunker, then contingency, then whatever else fits on the page.
This guide walks through what those acronyms actually mean, how they stack in practice, and how to model all-in landed freight before you commit cube to a sailing.
Start with the base — then assume it will move
A base ocean rate is the headline number procurement often remembers from last month's contract call. In a calm market, that number is most of the story. In a peak-season or geopolitically noisy market, it is only the first line.
Carriers use three common levers to lift what you actually pay without rewriting the entire contract:
| Lever | What it is | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| FAK | Freight All Kinds — a published "catch-all" rate band by lane and equipment | Often set for a sailing window (e.g., July 15–31) |
| GRI | General Rate Increase — a scheduled uplift on base/contract rates | Announced with an effective date (often mid-month) |
| PSS | Peak Season Surcharge — a seasonal add-on on top of freight | Effective for a defined peak window or "until further notice" |
None of these is automatically "included" in the number your spreadsheet cached two weeks ago. Treat each as a separate cost layer until your contract or booking confirmation says otherwise in writing.
FAK: the published floor you will hear about first
FAK (Freight All Kinds) is a carrier's published rate for mixed or general cargo on a lane — a reference level rather than a custom commodity deal. When Drewry or trade press report that a carrier is "pushing FAK to $7,000/40ft Asia–North Europe," they are describing a published band, not every shipper's negotiated deal.
Why it matters:
- Spot and short-validity bookings often float toward FAK when space is tight.
- Longer contracts may still sit below FAK — until the carrier uses GRI/PSS to close the gap.
- FAK announcements are a clean signal of where carriers want the market, even if your account pays something different tomorrow.
Action: When a FAK notice hits your inbox, update your all-in model for that sailing window. Do not wait for the next Drewry print to tell you the market moved.
GRI: the scheduled raise that shows up mid-cycle
A General Rate Increase is a carrier's announced uplift — often $1,000–$3,000 per 40ft on major East–West lanes during peak season. GRIs are calendar events. Miss the effective date and last week's "locked" quote can become this week's starting point plus the increase.
Common GRI patterns:
- Announced 1–2 weeks ahead with an effective loading date.
- Applied on top of existing base or FAK references.
- Sometimes rolled back if cargo softens — but do not budget on the rollback.
Action: Put GRI effective dates on the same calendar as sailings. If your cargo can ship before the GRI date without inventory risk, that is often cheaper than arguing about the increase after the fact.
PSS: the seasonal sticker that looks small until it isn't
Peak Season Surcharge is the add-on carriers attach when demand is (or is expected to be) strong. Amounts vary widely by carrier and lane — from a few hundred dollars per TEU to multi-thousand-dollar per-40ft layers in aggressive peaks.
PSS is easy to underestimate because:
- It is often labeled as a temporary surcharge.
- It can sit outside the base freight line your ERP imported.
- It may apply only to deals with validity longer than 30 days, or to all cargo — read the notice.
Action: Ask your forwarder for the PSS amount, applicability rules, and end date in one line. If the answer is vague, treat PSS as fully additive until proven otherwise.
How the stack looks on a real booking
Illustrative Asia–US or Asia–Europe peak-season build (numbers are examples of structure, not a live quote):
| Layer | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base / contract ocean | $5,200 / 40ft | What procurement remembered |
| FAK reference (if spot) | $7,000 / 40ft | Published band for the window |
| GRI (effective mid-month) | +$2,000 / 40ft | Calendar-driven |
| PSS | +$1,000–$3,000 / 40ft | Seasonal layer |
| Bunker / BAF | Variable | Moves with fuel indices |
| Contingency / war-risk / ETS | Variable | Geopolitics and compliance |
Your true compare-apples number is the sum of every layer that applies to your booking terms — not the first number in the email subject line.
A simple checklist before you say yes
- List every named surcharge on the quote (PSS, GRI, FAK band, BAF, THC, ETS, contingency).
- Mark effective dates against your cargo ready date and cut-off.
- Convert to cost per pallet / per CBM using the load plan you will actually ship — not the theoretical max.
- Re-run the model if a new FAK/GRI/PSS notice lands before the vessel sails.
- Write the all-in number into the PO or booking file so finance is not surprised at invoice time.
Where load planning fits
Surcharge stacks punish half-empty boxes harder than calm-market freight does. If your all-in cost per 40ft jumps by $2,000–$5,000 in a month, every unused cubic foot and every poorly stacked pallet is a larger share of margin.
Before you accept the next peak-season quote:
- Confirm cube and weight against the equipment you booked.
- Prefer a full, stable load plan over rushing an under-utilized sailing "to beat the GRI."
- Use a planner (like Palletizr) so the cost-per-unit math matches the box you are actually filling.
Bottom line
FAK tells you where carriers want the market. GRI is the scheduled raise. PSS is the seasonal sticker. Read them as a stack, date them against your sailing, and convert the total into cost per unit shipped. In peak season, the shippers who win are not the ones who remembered last month's base rate — they are the ones who modeled this week's footnotes.