Get Your Spot Rate

Generally speaking, a spot rate is a one-off rate for shipping goods. Spot rates fluctuate and can be higher or even lower than standard rates, depending on market conditions.

At Hapag-Lloyd, we provide spot rates with additional guarantees. When you choose a Hapag-Lloyd spot rate, you will get guaranteed equipment and fulfillment, including loading, for your chosen vessel and route. Once you submit your booking, you will also receive instant confirmation.

The price is available for three hours, as long as you stay in the web application. Once the time is up or you close the application, the price is no longer valid and you need to submit a new request.

Your booking will be confirmed instantly by email.

Yes. However, if you decide to cancel your Quick Quotes Spot booking, a cancellation fee or a no-show fee will apply.

The cancellation fee per container will be equal to 5% of the amount resulting from sea freight (“SEA”) plus the Marine Fuel Recovery surcharge, with a cap of USD 1,200 / EUR 1,200 / GLP 1,200 per container and a minimum of USD 50 / EUR 50 / GLP 50 per container.
The no-show fee per container will be equal to 10% of the amount resulting from sea freight (“SEA”) plus the Marine Fuel Recovery surcharge per container, with a cap of USD 1,200 / EUR 1,200 / GLP 1,200 per container and a minimum of USD 100 / EUR 100 / GLP 100 per container.

Once your booking is confirmed, changes are not allowed – in almost all circumstances. The only exception are “soft amendments.” These include changes to your customer reference, cargo description, or container pick-up location. It is also permissible to change the specified weight of permissible cargo up to +3 TON (the weight change only applies to the extent that it does not trigger a heavy-lift surcharge that is different from the one set forth in the rate confirmation and that is subject to the tonnage limit as per standard rules). Please note that soft amendments are allowed only once per confirmed booking.

In the unfortunate event that we need to cancel or amend one of your bookings, you are entitled to compensation in certain cases. You will receive 5% of the sea freight plus the Marine Fuel Recovery surcharge with the same cap and minimum of the cancellation fee whenever one of the following cases applies:

a) In the event that Hapag-Lloyd does not provide the guaranteed equipment on the date and at the location specified in the booking confirmation due to reasons within our control.

b) In the event that your container is rolled to another seagoing voyage at any port of loading or in a subsequent transshipment port due to reasons within our control or, in the case of feeders at destination, your cargo is not loaded on the next available vessel after arrival at the transshipment port.

c) In the event of a delay of more than 10 days to the vessel’s departure compared to the original ETD stated in the first booking confirmation.

• Subsequent or multiple rollings of a container will not increase the compensation.
• If the container is transported with an alternative sailing within two days before or after the roll, no compensation is due.
• Despite the compensation, Hapag-Lloyd will make reasonable efforts to load the rolled container in the subsequent available sailing on the same liner service.
• Compensation does not apply in the event that Hapag-Lloyd cancels any inland on-carriage services booked for a Quick Quotes Spot shipment.

Quick Quotes Spot rates have a shorter validity – use Spot when you are ready to book and need to guarantee fulfillment, even if it comes at a premium price. You will also get an instant booking confirmation, so you can get on with your day.

Our standard Quick Quotes rates give you extra time to review quotes with customers before deciding to book and you can use it multiple times within the validity period. For added reassurance, they can be purchased with an additional Shipping Guarantee.

Quick Quotes Spot is currently available for Freight All Kinds (FAK) and in certain trades. It is also available for commodities. For now, commodities are only available for standard containers.  

Quick Quotes Spot is not available for dangerous goods or cargo with special handling, including but not limited to: flexitanks, wet hides, blue, lithium batteries, scrap metal, logs/timber, military cargo, food grade, active carbon, carbon black and charcoal.    

Yes, Quick Quotes Spot is available for all customers worldwide.

Containers for dry cargo – 20 STD, 40 STD, and 40 HC – operating reefer cargo containers (Freight All Kinds) and non-operating reefers are covered by Quick Quotes Spot. Special equipment (in-gauge or out-of- gauge) are currently excluded.  

Quick Quotes Spot is currently available for Freight All Kinds (FAK) and in certain trades also for commodities. For now, commodities are only available for standard containers.

Quick Quotes Spot is not available for Dangerous Goods nor for Special Handling cargo, such as, but not limited to: Flexitank, Hides – Wet, Blue, Lithium Battery, Metal Scrap, Logs/Timber, Military Cargo, Foodgrade, Active Carbon, Carbon Black and Charcoal.

Yes, it is available for inland at origin and destination.

No, a Quick Quotes Spot rate confirmation is valid for a specific departure and cannot be used to place further bookings. 

A loading guarantee is valid for your booked voyage or within two (2) days before or after the ETD as confirmed in the booking confirmation. Hapag-Lloyd guarantees the loading of containers at any seaport of origin as stated in the booking confirmation and guarantees loading at destination on the next available sailing after the arrival of the containers at the relevant port of discharge.

Yes, you can select equipment from a predefined list of depots in Quick Quotes Spot.

We offer our regular on-carriage services without any delivery or capacity guarantees at destination. However, we will make every effort to prioritize Quick Quotes Spot shipments.

Yes, a Quick Quotes Spot shipment can be combined with one or more Quick Quotes Spot shipments into one bill of lading, and it will be charged with an amendment fee. 

Yes, split bookings are allowed and will be charged with an amendment fee. 

The standard free-time allowance applies for Quick Quotes Spot bookings. However, you may purchase Additional Freetime packages, which are available in our Online Business Suite and subject to the product’s terms and conditions.

In the event that the cargo is transported from/to Territories of the United States, it is required to comply with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) regulations. Depending on the booking party figure, the following cases are possible:

• If the booking party is the cargo owner, nothing additional is needed.
• If the booking party is an NVOCC with a registered FMC license, the FMC license number must be provided to Hapag-Lloyd.
• If the booking party is a freight forwarder who acts as an agent of a cargo owner or as an agent of an NVOCC, a Letter of Authority (LOA) is required.

For more details, please read our Terms and Conditions.

You are entitled to book a maximum of 20 containers per booking, subject to a maximum of 100 TEU per voyage.

Only FAK commodities are allowed for Quick Quotes Spot shipments. For commodity exceptions for Operated Reefer containers please refer to the General Information page in our tariff section.

You can find more information on our reefer cargo page.

No, Controlled Atmosphere (Special Atmosphere), Cold Treatment and HL LIVE Reefer as optional reefer services are not part of Quick Quotes Spot for now.

Yes, inland pre-carriage offers are limited to the application of gensets to ensure safe transportation.