The cost stack is wider than most importers track
Cargo handling cost usually gets lumped into "total landed cost" and then forgotten until a controller flags the variance. That's the trap. It's not one fee. It's Port of Montreal container fees, drayage per unit from terminal to warehouse, in-bond handling labor at the dock, possible exam surcharges if CBSA flags the container, and then the pick-pack-ship labor once the goods are live. Each one moves independently, and when they shift at the same time, the all-in number gets ugly fast.
Right now they're shifting. Port of Montreal assessed new container handling fees in January 2025. Drayage rates out of the port have held firmer than usual through the off-season. In-bond labor at sufferance warehouses like FENGYE LOGISTICS has tightened because exam holds are eating dock doors longer. It adds up.
Port of Montreal fees are the anchor
A 20ft container costs money the moment it lands. Port of Montreal levies terminal handling charges, wharfage, and various equipment moves depending on whether the box goes direct to truck or sits on the terminal. That's roughly $450 to $650 per 20ft container, give or take the route and cargo type. A 40ft runs $100 to $150 more because the footprint is larger but the labor intensity doesn't quite double.
These fees are non-negotiable. The port publishes them, and you pay them when the drayage company pulls the box. Most importers never see the invoice directly because the broker or freight forwarder embeds it in the drayage quote. That's also the problem—you don't know if the drayage vendor is marking up the port fees or eating them to win the bid.
Drayage is where the volatility lives
From Port of Montreal to a warehouse in Dorval, Lachine, or anywhere in the Greater Montreal area, drayage typically runs $2,200 to $2,800 per 40ft container in normal conditions. Q4 and early Q1 see seasonal premiums because port congestion and seasonal trucking demand collide. We've seen drayage window negotiations slip to 48 hours instead of the standard 72-hour free-time window—which means detention starts accruing sooner.
The real variable is whether your drayage window overlaps with dock-to-stock availability. If your drayage arrives at the warehouse on a Friday afternoon and you don't start pick-pack until Monday, that's sitting time. Our standard dock-to-stock SLA is 48 hours from arrival to live inventory status, but that assumes the PARS release hit your broker before the truck showed up. If the CAD processing is slow, the container sits in in-bond status, and you're paying in/out rates—typically $12 to $18 per skid, per day—while waiting for release.
In-bond handling adds up faster than most expect
The moment cargo lands at a sufferance warehouse, it's in-bond: it's under CBSA control until the duties and taxes are paid and the CAD is processed. While it's in-bond, you pay for every move—dock labor, racking, inventory hold. Our published rate card runs $12 to $15 per skid per day for basic in/out storage, with dock labor charged separately at roughly $40 to $60 per skid for handling and put-away.
If CBSA flags the container for an exam, in-bond holding time extends by 2 to 4 working days on average. That's not a hard rule—it depends on the exam complexity—but routine exams on textiles, electronics, or anything with HS classification ambiguity routinely cost 2 extra days of dock-door space and racking. At 15 pallets per container, that's $180 to $900 in holding charges alone, before exam labor.
When the goods release, you shift to out-of-bond storage if they're not picked immediately. The rate drops because you own them now, but it's still $8 to $12 per skid per day for regular storage. Most importers don't budget for that transition—they assume release equals immediate pick-pack. In Q4 and Q1, when cross-dock cutoffs are tight (typically 14:00 for next-day outbound), anything that doesn't ship the same day sits overnight at in-bond rates until the next pickup window opens.
Exam surcharges are the wildcard
If CBSA holds the container for examination, there's an exam fee. It's not a line item on the warehouse invoice, but it hits the importer through the broker. CBSA charges exam fees based on cargo value and complexity, and for high-value goods or non-standard HS classifications, the fee can run $300 to $800 per exam. Add the 2 to 4 days of extra in-bond holding, and a single exam can add $1,200 to $1,800 to the cost of entry for a mid-size container.
The cargo handling cost doesn't include the exam fee itself—that's a CBSA charge—but the warehouse holding time while the exam runs absolutely does. And if the exam uncovers a classification dispute, you're looking at release-on-minimum-documentation (RMD) holds or full CAD reconciliation, which can stretch in-bond time by another 3 to 5 working days.
Q1 2025 pricing reality
For a standard 40ft container from Port of Montreal to a Montreal-area warehouse, with release-prior-to-payment (RPP) clearance and no CBSA exam, the all-in cargo handling cost sits around $4,500 to $5,200. That includes port fees ($550), drayage ($2,400 to $2,700), dock labor ($400 to $500), and 3 days of in-bond storage ($450). If the goods clear same-day and move to cross-dock, add cross-dock labor ($200 to $300) and subtract overnight holding.
If CBSA exams the container, add $800 to $1,800 for holding time and exam labor. If there's a classification dispute or RMD delay, add another $500 to $1,200.
The variance isn't a rounding error. It's the difference between a 3-day entry and a 10-day entry, and at $15 per skid per day in-bond, that's meaningful money.
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What importers should do right now
First, audit your drayage quotes. Ask your freight forwarder to break out the port terminal fees separately from the drayage charge. If they won't, find someone who will. You can't manage what you can't see.
Second, front-load your PARS submissions. The earlier the broker sends the Pre-Arrival Review System data to CBSA, the more likely you get a release prior-to-payment clearance instead of a hold. That saves dock-door time and in-bond storage.
Third, know your broker's CAD cycle time. If they're running 2 to 3 days behind terminal, your goods sit in-bond longer than they should. That's a conversation to have before the busy season hits again.
At FENGYE LOGISTICS, we see this weekly. Importers who map their cost stack item-by-item—and negotiate drayage windows and dock-to-stock SLAs upfront—come out ahead. The ones who treat cargo handling as a bundled cost and hope for the best end up with surprise invoices and missed shipping windows. Learn more about sufferance warehouse Montreal.
Originally published at https://www.fywarehouse.com/news/cargo-handling-cost-whats-actually-changing-in-2025-28dfcd66.
