What Is a Container Freight Station (CFS)?

What is a container freight station? A definition

What is a container freight station? A container freight station (CFS) is a warehouse where ocean containers are loaded or unloaded and where cargo belonging to different shippers or consignees is consolidated into, or deconsolidated out of, a shared container. In shipping, CFS can refer both to the facility and to the service of handling cargo as loose freight rather than as a sealed container.

CFS facilities exist because many shipments are too small to fill a container. LCL (less-than-container-load) shipping lets several shippers share one box, and a CFS is the place at each end where that box is built and broken down. Without one, LCL shipping would not work.

CFS meaning in shipping: key terms

CFS vs. CY: how the terms work on a bill of lading

Bills of lading and rate quotes often show receipt and delivery terms as a pair, origin first. The pair tells you where the carrier takes custody and where it hands the cargo over.

How LCL cargo moves through a container freight station

A typical LCL import touches two CFS facilities, one at each end of the ocean voyage.

1. 01
   Booking

   The shipper books LCL space with an NVOCC or forwarder, which issues a house bill of lading and assigns the cargo to a consolidation container.

2. 02
   Origin CFS receiving

   The shipper delivers cargo to the origin CFS by a cutoff. The CFS measures, weighs and checks it, since LCL charges depend on volume and weight.

3. 03
   Stuffing

   Cargo from many shippers is loaded into one container, sealed and delivered to the terminal under the ocean carrier's master bill.

4. 04
   Security filing

   For U.S. imports, the importer's ISF is due 24 hours before the cargo is laden on the vessel. For LCL, the container stuffing location and consolidator elements may follow, but no later than 24 hours before arrival in the U.S.

5. 05
   Transfer to the destination CFS

   After discharge, the container moves by drayage from the terminal to the destination CFS, often before individual shipments have cleared customs.

6. 06
   Devanning and tally

   The destination CFS strips the container, counts each house bill's pieces and records any exceptions.

7. 07
   Release and delivery

   Each shipment is released once it has a customs release and a freight release from the NVOCC. The consignee's trucker collects it, or the CFS delivers it.

U.S. customs rules for container freight stations

In the United States, CBP regulates container stations in 19 CFR 19.40 through 19.49, within the same part of the regulations that governs customs bonded warehouses. A container station independent of the importing carrier may be established with an application, the port director's approval and a bond, and CBP charges a fee to establish, relocate or alter one.

The key operational rule is 19 CFR 19.41: containerized cargo may be moved from the place of unlading to a container station, or received there from a bonded carrier after in-bond transportation, before entry is filed. The stated purpose is to break bulk and redeliver the cargo, which is exactly what LCL deconsolidation requires.

Unentered cargo still has a deadline. Under 19 CFR 4.37, unentered merchandise may remain at the place of unlading until the 15th calendar day after landing, and the carrier must notify CBP and a bonded warehouse within 20 calendar days so the goods can be moved to general order storage. If CBP orders a physical exam, the cargo usually goes to a Centralized Examination Station, a privately operated facility under 19 CFR Part 118 that bills its fees directly to users.

CFS charges explained

Destination CFS charges appear on an LCL arrival notice or forwarder invoice. Names vary, but most fall into these groups.

How W/M billing works

LCL and CFS charges use W/M because a container fills up by space or by weight, whichever comes first. One revenue ton equals one cubic meter or 1,000 kg, and the shipment pays on whichever number is larger.

Example: a shipment of 4.5 CBM weighing 900 kg pays on 4.5 revenue tons, because volume is larger. A shipment of 2 CBM weighing 3,200 kg pays on 3.2 revenue tons, because weight is larger. A shipment of 0.3 CBM usually pays the tariff minimum, often 1 W/M.

What is a container freight station compared with a transload facility or bonded warehouse?

Many facilities offer more than one of these services, but each is a different function. For the difference between the two most common container-handling services, see transloading vs. cross-docking.

Who operates container freight stations?

A container freight station can be run by several kinds of companies, and the operator affects how releases and pickups work:

• Independent warehouse operators near major ports, which serve many NVOCCs and freight forwarders from one building.
• NVOCCs and consolidators that run their own CFS, common at origin hubs in Asia where LCL containers are built.
• Logistics providers that combine CFS with trucking and warehousing, so devanned freight can be delivered, transloaded or stored without another hand-off.
• Terminal-adjacent facilities at some ports, where the CFS sits close to or within the port area.

The NVOCC or co-loader chooses the destination CFS, not the consignee. The arrival notice names it, along with the address where pickup happens.

Common misconceptions about CFS

• A customs release means the cargo is free to go. LCL cargo also needs a freight release from the NVOCC confirming charges are paid.
• The CFS is at the terminal. Many destination CFS facilities are off-terminal warehouses near the port, so pickup happens at the CFS address on the arrival notice, not the terminal gate.
• LCL is always cheaper than FCL. Past a certain volume, often well below a full container, the per-W/M charges at both ends make a 20' FCL cheaper.
• The CFS sets every charge. Some destination charges come from the NVOCC or ocean carrier, not the CFS itself.

Learn more

For how CFS services are delivered and how to choose a provider, see container freight station services. For cargo that will wait under bond, read what is a bonded warehouse and in-bond shipments. Container capacities are in shipping container sizes, and terms are defined in our shipping glossary.

For the full import sequence at the nation's largest port complex, see importing through Los Angeles and Long Beach. If you ship LCL through San Pedro Bay, our Long Beach CFS handles containers from both ports.

Frequently asked questions