Landed cost in South Africa is the full cost of getting imported goods onto your shelf: the supplier’s price, international freight, duties and VAT, and every port, transport and handling charge in between. Most importers budget the first three accurately and underestimate the rest.
The gap is usually inland. Terminal storage, shipping-line detention, truck waiting time, tolls, unpacking and the trip to return the empty all land on different invoices, often weeks after the goods arrive. Added up, they can change the margin on a product line.
This guide explains what landed cost includes, which inland costs are most often missed, and how to calculate them per container and per unit.
What Is Landed Cost?
Landed cost is the total cost of an imported product once it reaches your premises. For a container moving through Durban to Gauteng, it typically includes:
- the supplier’s price and any buying costs;
- international freight and marine insurance;
- customs duty and import VAT, calculated by SARS on the customs value;
- clearing and documentation fees;
- port and terminal charges, including storage after free time;
- shipping-line demurrage and detention;
- inland transport, handling, unpacking and storage;
- the return of the empty container.
Import VAT is usually recoverable by registered VAT vendors, but it still affects cash flow between payment and claim.
Which Inland Costs Do Importers Underestimate?
Terminal storage
At Durban Pier 1, full import containers get three free days from 00h01 on the day after discharge. Day four costs R2,698 for a 20ft container and R5,396 for a 40ft, excluding VAT (Transnet Port Terminals tariff book 2026/27), and the rate rises after that.
Demurrage and detention
Shipping lines charge for their containers once free time runs out. Swire Shipping, for example, gives five free calendar days on dry imports and then charges from US$50 a day for a 20ft container, rising to US$140 (Swire Shipping, June 2026). Our guide to container free days explains how these clocks run.
Inland transport and waiting time
Road rates reflect fuel, tolls and time. Tolls alone on the N3 for a Class 4 truck from Durban to Johannesburg were R1,274 one way from 1 March 2026 (SA Trucker, 22 February 2026). Trucks have also been reported waiting 4 to 22 hours to collect containers in Durban (Freight News, 1 September 2026), and standing time is often billed.
Handling at the destination
If your site cannot offload a container quickly, you pay for it somewhere: extra truck time, a second delivery, or forklift and labour costs. Customs examinations add unpacking, re-packing and storage, as our guide to what happens during a customs examination explains.
Security and insurance
The Road Freight Association estimates that security makes up about 2.3% of vehicle operating costs, and 4.1% for high-risk cargo (Freight News, 1 September 2026). Escorts, tracking and insurance for high-value goods belong in the landed cost.
How Do You Calculate the Inland Part of Landed Cost?
List every inland cost line, record how it is charged, and convert the total to a cost per unit.
| Cost line | How it is charged | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal storage | Per container per day after free time | Discharge date and collection date |
| Shipping-line detention | Per container per day after free time | Collection date and empty return date |
| Road transport | Per container per trip | Rate, fuel clause, tolls included or not |
| Waiting or standing time | Per hour beyond an agreed allowance | Gate-in and gate-out times |
| Depot handling | Per lift or per container | Number of lifts |
| Unpacking and storage | Per container, pallet or day | Pallets, days stored |
| Delivery from depot | Per load | Number of loads |
| Empty return | Per trip, or included in transport | Nominated depot |
Then divide by the number of units in the container. On a container holding 1,000 cartons, every R1,000 of inland cost adds R1 to each carton, which makes it easy to see which product lines can absorb a delay and which cannot.
Where Can You Reduce Inland Landed Cost?
- Lodge clearance documents before the vessel arrives, so containers leave the terminal inside free time.
- Move containers that your site cannot receive to a nearby depot rather than paying storage at the port.
- Unpack at a depot that is also the line’s empty turn-in station, so the empty is returned without a second trip.
- Agree waiting-time allowances and a fuel-adjustment formula in your transport contract.
- Defer duty and VAT on slow-moving stock with bonded storage; see how bonded warehousing improves cash flow.
For cost reduction across the rest of the supply chain, see our guide to reducing logistics costs in South Africa, and for the tariff and fuel changes coming this year, our logistics planning guide for 2027.
How Does Shipping & General Help Lower Inland Costs?
We combine Durban–Gauteng container transport with a customs-licensed depot in Germiston, about 5 km from City Deep. Containers can be collected inside free time, stored, unpacked and delivered in the loads your site can handle.
Because the depot is a nominated empty turn-in station for CMA CGM, Evergreen, Ignazio Messina and ZIM, empties for those lines can be returned on the same site. Bonded and duty-free warehousing, customs examinations and a SOLAS weighbridge for exports are available at the same address.
Frequently Asked Questions About Landed Cost in South Africa
What is included in landed cost?
The supplier’s price, international freight and insurance, duty and VAT, clearing fees, port and terminal charges, shipping-line charges, inland transport, handling, storage and the empty return.
How do I calculate landed cost per unit?
Add every cost for the shipment, including inland charges that arrive on separate invoices, and divide by the number of units. Recalculate when actual charges come in.
Is import VAT part of landed cost?
Import VAT is paid at clearance. Registered VAT vendors can usually claim it back as input tax, so it is mainly a cash-flow cost, but it should still be in your budget.
What are the most common hidden import costs in South Africa?
Terminal storage, demurrage and detention, truck waiting time, second deliveries, examination costs and charges for returning empties to the wrong depot.
How much are N3 tolls for a truck from Durban to Johannesburg?
For a Class 4 heavy vehicle, R1,274 one way from 1 March 2026. Toll tariffs are normally adjusted each March.
Want a Clear Inland Cost for Your Next Container?
Send us your container details, delivery address and how quickly your site can receive, and we will quote the full inland leg: collection, transport, depot handling, unpacking, storage and empty return.
One quote for the whole inland leg makes landed cost easier to predict.