Terminal handling charges (THC) are the per-container charge for the box’s moves inside the terminal: the quay crane lift between ship and shore, yard transport, and stacking. They are levied at both the load and discharge terminals from independently published tariffs, which is why the two ends of one booking routinely differ.
Who pays each end follows the interaction of the sales contract’s Incoterm with the booking’s liner term (liner terms include the moves in the ocean rate; free-in/free-out terms leave them with the cargo side). The full article will cover tariff structures by box type (dry, reefer, IMDG, out-of-gauge), the unbundling history of THC from ocean rates, the THC-versus-wharfage distinction, and the allocation matrix across Incoterms 2020 and the common liner terms.
Total the THC lines of a booking with the THC calculator.