Middle East space and surcharges have been the least stable part of the market this year. When the situation shifts, carriers can suspend some bookings, change port rotations or add conflict surcharges at short notice — usually by circular, with very little lead time before it takes effect.
The direct consequence for quoting is that a price built on yesterday's cost may no longer hold when the contract is signed. Order cycles on the Middle East lane also tend to be long — two or three weeks between quote and shipment is normal — and any adjustment in between comes straight out of margin.
Our advice: keep quotes valid for no more than seven days and state on the quotation that rates and surcharges are those confirmed by the carrier at booking. Split large volumes across several shipments instead of locking everything at once. And when port rotations change, cost the inland leg again too — a port switch can cost more than the surcharge.
One point that is often missed: surcharges are not calculated the same way everywhere — some are per container, some per tonne, some per shipment. The same headline figure produces quite different invoices depending on the basis, so confirm the unit and the effective date.
On the Middle East lane we reconcile schedules and surcharges daily, and give you written confirmation of the arrival window, port rotation and current surcharges before booking, with the validity period printed on the quote so you can forward it to your customer. Terms are confirmed at booking.