Under DDP the seller carries everything to the buyer's door — and the destination-side fees are where DDP quotes blow up if you don't price them in. Here is the full U.S.-side checklist, with typical ranges.
Group 1 · Customs & Statutory
Clearance & Taxes — Under DDP the seller pays all of these (under DDU only the shipper covers clearance; duties & taxes are on the consignee)
Fee
Typical Range
Notes
Customs Broker FeeU.S. customs declaration agency
$80–150/entry
Licensed broker required — no self-filing for non-resident. Inspection-season surcharges may apply.
Single Bondsingle-entry import bond
$80–140/entry
Good for occasional / one-off shipments. Forwarders often default to this.
Continuous Bondannual import bond
$450–700/year
The right choice for regular shippers — full-container per-entry cost is near zero.
Dutyimport duty
per HTS
HTS code × declared value. DDP must be actual-cost / actual-value — under-declaration carries severe penalties.
MPFMerchandise Processing Fee
0.3464% · $33.58–$528.33
Fixed CBP fee on every entry — not waivable. Floor / ceiling per shipment.
HMFHarbor Maintenance Fee
0.125%
Funds U.S. port-channel maintenance. Collected with MPF — no waiver.
Group 2 · Port & Terminal
Port & Terminal Charges — collected between vessel discharge and container pick-up; West Coast vs East Coast vary
Fee
Typical Range
Notes
D/O FeeDelivery Order — pick-up release
$50–150/ctr
Issued by the carrier's agent against the B/L. Sole proof of pick-up authority — unavoidable.
Chassis FeeU.S.-only mandatory chassis rental
$40–50/day, min 2 days
U.S. truckers don't supply chassis — you rent from the carrier / terminal pool. No way around it.
CTFClean Truck Fee — LAX / LGB only
$10 (20') · $20 (40HQ/45')
Southern California environmental surcharge for low-emission drayage. Mandatory on every loaded import.
East Coast specific — toll for drayage from NY / NJ terminals.
Group 3 · Common Extras
The Penalties That Bury DDP Quotes — agree up-front who pays
Fee
Typical Range
Notes
Demurragecontainer held past free time
$120–250/day · LA peak $300+
Free time 5–7 days. 10 days late ≈ $2,000+ per box. The single biggest DDP cost trap.
Detentioncontainer at terminal past free time
$80–180/day
Free yard time 3–5 days (most main ports: 4 working days). Triggered when clearance lags.
IPI Rail Detentioninland rail terminal
— 48-hour free time, weekends count
Tighter than ports — IPI rail terminals only allow ~48 hours and sometimes the carrier and ramp stack charges. Pick up promptly.
CFS Exam FeeCBP inspection — open container
$300–1,200/ctr
Triggered by random selection, sensitive commodity codes, suspected under-declaration, or paperwork errors. Include "exam at actual cost" in DDP contracts.
Pre-Pulltrucker pre-pulls container at night
$150–200/ctr
Optional but ~90% of peak-season LA/LB and NY/NJ boxes get pre-pulled to dodge demurrage. Triggers yard-storage fee.
Yard Storagetrucker yard storage
$50–100/day/ctr
Only triggered if you used Pre-Pull. Cumulative with day-rate.
Waiting Timeat port / warehouse beyond 2 free hours
$85/hr
Free 2 hours at port, then per-hour. Confirm receiver appointment to avoid.
Four Pitfalls That Kill DDP Margins
01 · UNDER-DECLARATION
Don't Low-Ball the Value
CBP is aggressive on under-declared value. Penalties dwarf the duty saved. Use actual transaction value, every time.
02 · BOND CHOICE
Annual Bond for Regulars
Forwarders default to Single Bond. For any importer shipping monthly, the $450–700 annual bond pays for itself in 4–6 entries.
03 · CLOCK MGMT
Free-Time Is the Real Margin
Demurrage + detention can eat $2,000+ per box in a single bad week. Clearance speed and trucker scheduling are the highest-leverage cost levers.
04 · CONTRACT CLARITY
Spell Out Exam & Pre-Pull
Quote DDP with "exam fees and pre-pull at actual cost" carved out. Otherwise one random CBP exam wipes your margin.
Where Cube-Age fits
For DDP shipments arriving Houston / Gulf, Cube-Age's hub handles the U.S. leg directly — broker + IOR + warehousing + onward distribution — so the seller absorbs predictable per-unit cost instead of stacking opaque port fees on each entry. Pair this with the FOB/CFR/CIF primer (atlas-c64) for a complete Incoterms picture.
Source: Industry breakdown via Enoch's freight-forwarder notes. Ranges are typical 2025–2026 U.S.-route values — confirm with your broker for the current entry. Pier Pass / TMF rate is the CBP-published 2025-08-01 update.