Landed cost at the destination warehouse is the correct basis for comparing options, not the quoted rate for any single leg.
Rate versus landed cost
A low rate on one leg is often offset further along the chain: a cheaper port far from the destination, a routing with more transhipments and greater delay risk, or a mode that generates additional storage cost.
The variables people forget
Working capital tied up during transit, the cost of a production-line delay, packing appropriate to the mode, and probable destination charges rarely appear in the first comparison.
A workable framework
For each option, set out freight, origin and destination charges, inland haulage, total transit time and delay risk in a single table. The right decision often changes once the comparison is done on that basis.
