Guide
Incoterms for Indonesian shipments.
Almost every quotation out of Indonesia is written FOB. For a container that is the wrong rule, and the International Chamber of Commerce, which writes the rules, says so. The gap it leaves is small most of the time and expensive when something goes wrong on the quay.
Eleven rules, two families.
- Sea and inland waterway only
- FAS, FOB, CFR and CIF. Written for goods handed over at the ship's side or across the rail, which is how bulk and breakbulk move.1
- Any mode of transport
- EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU and DDP. These work for containers, air, road and multimodal movements.1
- What the ICC recommends for containers
- FCA, and CPT or CIP where the seller arranges carriage. The container rules match how a box is actually handed over.1
Why FOB and a container do not fit.
Under FOB the seller carries the risk until the goods are loaded on board. A container does not work that way. It is handed to the carrier at a yard or a stuffing station days before the vessel loads, and from that moment nobody on the seller's side can touch it or protect it.
So there is a window where the seller still carries risk for a box they no longer control. If something happens in it, the argument about who pays is unpleasant and slow, and both sides thought they had agreed something clear. FCA closes that window by putting handover and risk in the same place.1
What each rule means for you.
- EXW
- You take the goods at the producer's gate and organise everything after it, including Indonesian export clearance. Cheapest headline price and the most work.
- FCA
- The producer delivers to a named place and clears the goods for export. For a container this is the rule the ICC points at, because handover matches reality.1
- FOB
- The trade default in Indonesia. Written for goods loaded over the ship's rail, which is not what happens to a container.1
- CFR and CIF
- The seller pays main carriage, and under CIF also insures it. Convenient, and it moves control of the routing away from you.
What we do about it.
We quote whatever rule you want to work under and say plainly what it moves. Where a producer insists on FOB because it is what they have always written, that is workable, and it is worth knowing you are accepting a rule that was designed for a different kind of cargo.
Questions buyers ask.
Is FOB from Indonesia a problem in practice?
Usually nothing happens and nobody notices. The exposure is a window between the container leaving the seller's control and the vessel loading, where the seller carries risk they cannot manage. It matters when a box is damaged, delayed or lost in exactly that window.
Should I just ask for FCA?
It is the rule the ICC points at for containers, so yes, ask. Some Indonesian producers will not have used it and will need the named place agreed carefully, which is a short conversation and a better contract at the end of it.
What is wrong with CIF?
Nothing, if you are content for the seller to choose the carrier, the routing and the insurance. It buys convenience with control, and the insurance cover under CIF is the minimum level unless you agree otherwise. For a valuable consignment that is worth a look.
Does the Incoterm decide who clears customs?
It decides which side is responsible for export and import formalities, which is one of the main things it settles. It does not decide who physically does the work, and it never decides who owns the goods. Title passes under the contract, separately.
Read next.
The Incoterm decides who books the freight. What that booking actually involves from an archipelago is a separate question:choosing a sea freight service →
Working out which rule to ask for?
Tell us the product and the destination port and we will quote it under the rule that fits, along with what changes if you pick another.
Sources
- 1Incoterms 2020: FCA or FOB?. ICC Academy, International Chamber of Commerce. Checked 3 August 2026.