Factory stuffing vs dock stuffing: what changes for the forwarder
By Freightflow Team
An export container can be packed at the exporter's own premises (factory stuffing) or at a CFS or ICD (dock stuffing). The cargo ends up in the same box either way, but almost everything around it changes.
What is the difference between factory stuffing and dock stuffing?
| Factory stuffing | Dock stuffing | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the box is packed | At the exporter's premises: the empty is delivered, packed and sealed there | At a CFS or ICD, often under customs supervision; the cargo is trucked there loose |
| What the forwarder plans | The empty pickup, the truck to the factory and the move to the ICD or port | Getting the cargo there in time for the stuffing slot |
| Detention clock | Runs from the empty pickup, so a factory that is not ready on the day costs money | The empty never visits the factory, which shortens the time the box is out |
| Watch for | Self-sealing needs customs permission and RFID e-seals | CFS handling charges to bill |
Factory stuffing
The empty is delivered to the factory, packed there and sealed. Exporters who self-seal need the relevant permission from customs and must use RFID e-seals on the container. The forwarder plans the empty pickup, the truck to the factory and the move to the ICD or port. Detention runs from the empty pickup, so a factory that is not ready on the day costs money.
Dock stuffing
The cargo is trucked loose to a CFS or ICD and packed there, often under customs supervision. The empty never visits the factory, which shortens the time the box is out, but the cargo has to arrive in time for the stuffing slot, and there are CFS handling charges to bill.
The choice is not only about convenience. It decides when the detention clock starts.
What to record
Whichever route a job takes, the events that matter are the same in kind:
- Empty pickup.
- Stuffing.
- Sealing, with the seal number.
- Gate-in at the ICD or port.
Recording them as they happen is what lets the free-day count, the cut-offs and the billing all come out right. In Freightflow each of those moves is recorded on the container, by whichever desk handles it.
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