What one container really costs: a landed-cost walkthrough from quote to shelf

Most importers can tell you their supplier’s unit price to the cent. Far fewer can tell you what a unit actually costs by the time it’s on their shelf, or how much cash an order swallows before it earns anything back. This walkthrough follows one container from quote to shelf so you can see both.

Everything below is illustrative. The business, numbers, duty rate and timings are invented to show the method. Your own figures — especially duty, freight and timing — will differ. Treat it as a template, then run your real order through the landed cost calculator.

Who is the importer in this example?

Imagine a Brisbane-based wholesaler of kitchen storage products — containers, racks and drawer organisers — selling to independent retailers on 30-day terms and through its own online store. It’s GST-registered, lodges BAS quarterly, and imports three or four containers a year from one factory.

The new order:

• 4,000 units across six product lines
• Supplier price: equivalent to $72,000 for the order, quoted FOB at the origin port
• Terms: 30% deposit on order, 70% balance before shipment
• Production: about seven weeks
• Transit and clearance: about five weeks door to door
• Sell-through: most of the order sold within ten weeks of arrival, with trade customers paying 30 days after invoice

Stage 1: what happens at order?

The owner confirms the order and pays the deposit: 30% of $72,000 is $21,600. Because the supplier invoices in its own currency, the actual cost depends on the rate the owner’s payment provider gives on the day. In this example, we’ll assume the rate matches the quote.

At the same time, the owner does two things that don’t cost much but save a lot later:

1. Sends product specifications to the customs broker to confirm tariff classification and duty rate before production starts.
2. Asks the freight forwarder for a freight quote and free-time terms for the destination port.

The broker confirms the goods fall under a classification with a duty rate we’ll call 5% for this example, and that no concession or anti-dumping measure applies. The forwarder quotes $4,800 for ocean freight on a 40-foot container, plus about $350 for cargo insurance.

Stage 2: what’s due before shipment?

Seven weeks later, production is finished. The owner arranges an independent inspection — about $400, which we’ll put in local charges — and checks the packing list and commercial invoice against the order. Everything matches. The $50,400 balance is paid, and the supplier releases the documents.

The forwarder books the container on a vessel. Under FOB, ocean freight and insurance are the importer’s cost; the owner pays the forwarder $5,150 around the sailing date.

Running total of cash out, including the inspection: $21,600 + $400 + $50,400 + $5,150 = $77,550, and the goods are still at sea.

If you’re wondering how importers handle a balance of that size, our page on paying the supplier balance before shipment covers the options.

Stage 3: what does the border cost?

The container arrives. The broker lodges the import declaration using the commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading. The ABF describes import GST as 10% of the value of the taxable importation — the customs value, plus duty, plus the cost of transporting and insuring the goods to Australia. In our example:

Line	Amount
Customs value (goods)	$72,000
Duty at an illustrative 5%	$3,600
Freight to Australia	$4,800
Insurance	$350
Value of the taxable importation	$80,750
Import GST at 10%	$8,075

On top of duty and GST, the broker invoices its fees and passes on the import processing charge — together about $850 — and the forwarder bills terminal, documentation and delivery charges of about $1,500. With the $400 inspection from Stage 2, local charges come to around $1,900.

Border and local cash out: $3,600 duty + $8,075 GST + $850 broker + $1,500 port and delivery = $14,025 (plus the $400 inspection already paid).

What’s the landed cost per unit?

Now we can add it all up — leaving import GST out, because it’s claimable:

Component	Amount
Goods	$72,000
Freight	$4,800
Insurance	$350
Duty	$3,600
Broker fees and processing charge	$850
Inspection, port, terminal and delivery	$1,900
Landed cost	$83,500
Per unit (4,000 units)	about $20.88

The supplier price was $18.00 a unit. The landed cost is nearly $2.90 higher — about 16% more. If the owner had priced from $18, every sale would have been quietly short of the margin they thought they had. Our guide to pricing imported products shows how to build a price from here.

If the business borrows to fund the order, the cost of that finance belongs in landed cost too. Adding, say, an estimated $200 of finance cost would take the total to about $83,700.

How much cash left before the first sale?

When	Cash out	Running total
Week 0 — deposit	$21,600	$21,600
Week 7 — inspection	$400	$22,000
Week 7 — balance	$50,400	$72,400
Week 7 — freight and insurance	$5,150	$77,550
Week 12 — duty, GST, broker, port and delivery	$14,025	$91,575

More than $91,000 has left the business over about twelve weeks, and not one unit has sold. That’s the number that matters for funding — not the $72,000 on the supplier’s invoice.

Halfway through an order like this is when many importers realise they need help. If you’re at that point, a 60-second enquiry gets a real person looking at your situation, with no credit check to ask.

When does the money come back?

Two streams bring cash home:

1. Sales. Online sales pay within days; trade customers pay 30 days after invoice. In our example, most of the stock sells within ten weeks of arrival, so most of the cash is back around week 26 from the original deposit.
2. The GST credit. The $8,075 of import GST, plus GST on the broker and local charges, is claimed on the next quarterly BAS. Depending on where the arrival falls in the quarter, that can take anywhere from a few weeks to nearly four months.

So the funding gap — the cash tied up before it comes back — peaks at about $91,500 around week 12 and runs for roughly six months in total, tapering as sales come in. If the owner can comfortably put $30,000 of their own cash in, the gap to fund is roughly $61,500 at the peak.

What would change the numbers most?

• A weaker exchange rate before the balance is paid. A 5% movement on the $50,400 balance adds about $2,500 to the goods cost, plus a little more duty and GST. See exchange-rate timing.
• A different duty rate. A classification with a higher rate — or a free trade agreement rate that removes duty — changes both duty and GST.
• Slower sell-through. If the stock takes twenty weeks instead of ten, the funding gap lasts much longer even though the landed cost is identical.
• A delay at the port. Storage and container charges can add hundreds of dollars a week. See demurrage and port delays.
• Deferred GST. If the business lodged monthly and was approved for the ATO’s deferred GST scheme, the $8,075 wouldn’t be paid at the border at all.

How would this importer fund it?

With three or four containers a year and overlapping orders, a revolving import line of credit would fit: draw for the deposit, the balance and freight, and the border bill, then repay as sales and the GST credit come in. For trading businesses, unsecured and line-of-credit options typically run from $5,000 to $500,000, sized on turnover and bank statements. If the business wanted to fund a much larger range expansion, property-secured import finance from $20,000 to $5,000,000 would be the next step.

Run your own container through the numbers

The method is the same for any order: list every payment, put a date next to it, separate cost from cash, and look hard at how long the money is out. Then decide how much of the gap you can carry yourself.

If the answer is “not all of it”, tell us about the order. The enquiry takes about a minute and doesn’t involve a credit check. It isn’t auctioned off to a string of lenders — one real person looks at your container, your timing and your business, and calls you to talk it through. The more accurate your answers on the form, the more useful that first call will be.