Indonesian Seafood Air Vs Sea Freight: 2026 Cost Guide

A calculator-style, lane-specific way to find your exact air vs sea break-even for Indonesian frozen seafood in 2026. Includes realistic planning rate bands, formulas, LCL vs FCL thresholds, and the surcharges that really move the needle.

We cut landed freight on frozen tuna from $10.85/kg to $3.92/kg in 90 days using this exact break-even system. Not by squeezing carriers. By getting the math right and choosing the right mode for each SKU and lane. Here’s how you can do the same in 2026.

The 3 pillars of air vs sea break-even

Realistic 2026 rate bands by lane In our 2025–26 planning, we budget with conservative bands so buyers are not surprised when markets move. Always confirm live quotes before booking, but these bands work for initial decisions:

Air cargo perishables ex Indonesia (CGK/DPS/SUB) to US West Coast (LAX): base $5.5–7.5/kg. Add fuel/security $1.2–2.0/kg. Perishable handling $0.10–0.30/kg. Docs/terminal $50–90 per AWB. Dry ice adds DG fees $100–200 per AWB and counts toward chargeable weight.
Air to US East Coast (JFK): add $0.5–1.0/kg to West Coast bands. Air to EU hubs (AMS/FRA/CDG): base $4.5–6.5/kg. Similar surcharges.
Reefer FCL ocean, Indonesia to US West Coast: 40RF all-in linehaul often budgets $5,500–8,500 per box in stable periods. 20RF $4,000–6,000. To EU (Rotterdam/Antwerp): 40RF $4,500–7,500. Local and destination adders apply.
Reefer LCL ocean: budgeting $1.40–3.00/kg linehaul equivalent is common once you include LCL minimums and deconsolidation. LCL availability varies by port and week. The minimum charge often equals 300–500 kg revenue weight.

The landed cost formula that actually predicts your invoice Air, per kg all-in: All-in $/kg = [Base rate × chargeable weight + per-kg surcharges + per-AWB fees + origin cold-chain + destination cold-chain] ÷ actual net kg.

Chargeable weight = max(actual kg, volumetric kg). Volumetric kg = L × W × H (cm) / 6000. Frozen seafood packs are dense, so actual weight usually rules.
Typical adders to remember: export terminal handling (THC), airline perishable handling, fuel/security, AWB fee, dry ice DG if used, arrival handling, cross-dock, first 24 hours cold storage, delivery to your cold store.

Ocean, per kg all-in:

LCL $/kg = [LCL linehaul + LCL origin fees + LCL destination fees + cold storage on both ends] ÷ net kg.
FCL $/kg = [Ocean freight + bunker/reefer surcharges + origin THC + documentation + PTI + pre-trip plug-in + drayage on both ends + dest THC + cold storage if any] ÷ net kg loaded. Quick refs from our files:
PTI in Tanjung Priok or Tanjung Perak: $30–60 per container. Plug-in electricity while the reefer waits: roughly $20–35 per day.
Origin terminal and docs package: $300–600 per FCL, $150–350 for LCL. Destination cold-chain and cross-dock on arrival US/EU: $0.10–0.40/kg plus $100–250 per shipment handling.

Time and shelf-life as a cost If the extra 18–30 days by sea threatens quality or availability, air can be “cheaper” overall. For sashimi or urgent promotions, we’ve shipped Yellowfin Saku (Sushi Grade) by air and accepted higher freight because fill rate and freshness trumped mode cost. For frozen IQF items like Grouper Fillet (IQF) or Frozen Shrimp (Black Tiger, Vannamei & Wild Caught), sea freight usually wins at modest volumes.

Weeks 1–2: Build your baseline with your exact specs

What moves the needle fast is accurate inputs. Two non-obvious details many teams miss:

Packaging density. A 10 kg master carton at 60 × 40 × 18 cm is 0.0432 cbm. Volumetric weight is 7.2 kg. Actual 10 kg rules on air. On LCL, that’s 23.1 cartons per cbm. Small changes in carton height shift your LCL bill.
Net weight in FCL. A 40RF can safely load about 24,000–26,000 kg of frozen product depending on packaging and legal road weights. Your per-kg cost can change 10–15% if you only load 21,000 kg.

Create a one-page worksheet for each lane: CGK→LAX, SUB→RTM, DPS→JFK. Put in rate bands, then add your exact carton count, dimensions, and net kg.

Weeks 3–6: Test real quotes. Pilot LCL vs air

Here’s the thing. LCL reefer minimums often erase the savings for very small lots. Get two quotes each for air and LCL on the same 300–800 kg lot ex Jakarta.

Example, 600 kg Jakarta→LAX:
- Air estimate: base $6.5/kg + $1.7/kg fuel/security + $0.2/kg handling = $8.4/kg. Add $80 AWB + $180 origin/dest cold-chain. Landed ≈ [$8.4×600 + 260] / 600 = $8.83/kg.
- Reefer LCL estimate: $1.65/kg linehaul + $320 origin LCL + $420 dest LCL + $120 cold-chain = [$1.65×600 + 860] / 600 = $3.08/kg. Result. LCL wins. But check transit time and weekly cut-offs. Some weeks there’s no LCL sailing or it hubs via Singapore adding 7–10 days.

Is reefer LCL economical for 300–800 kg out of Jakarta? Often yes above 400–500 kg, provided deconsolidation fees at destination are reasonable. Below 300–400 kg, an air move can be competitive if you avoid dry ice and optimize handling.

Weeks 7–12: Scale to FCL and lock the savings

“At what volume does reefer FCL beat reefer LCL from Surabaya?” In our experience, somewhere between 6–9 metric tons is usually the tipping point, depending on ocean rates and drayage. Use this quick test:

If your 40RF Indonesia→Rotterdam is $6,500 all-in linehaul, and total origin+dest+drayage adds $2,000, then $8,500 ÷ 24,000 kg ≈ $0.35/kg. If you only load 12,000 kg, your ocean is ≈ $0.71/kg. Compare that with LCL at $2.00–3.00/kg. The FCL win is clear once you can load half a box or more. We’ve batched frozen SKUs like Grouper Bites (Portion Cut) with Mahi Mahi Fillet to hit FCL density without harming SKU integrity. Mixed FCLs with tight labeling and pallet maps work well when buyers agree on shared delivery windows.

What shipment weight makes sea cheaper than air for Indonesian frozen seafood?

Short answers using planning bands and typical fees:

CGK→LAX: air all-in often lands $7.5–10.0/kg. LCL lands $2.0–3.5/kg. FCL lands $0.35–0.80/kg depending on load. Break-even vs air usually happens around 400–600 kg for LCL. For FCL, even a half box (≈12,000 kg) is far below air.
DPS→JFK: air $8.5–11.5/kg. Longer sea and inland legs push LCL to maybe $2.3–3.8/kg. Same story. Above 500–700 kg, LCL beats air. FCL is cheaper once you can consolidate 6–9 tons.
SUB→Rotterdam: air $6.5–9.0/kg. LCL $1.8–3.0/kg. FCL $0.30–0.70/kg. LCL beats air around 350–550 kg for frozen cargo. Takeaway. If your lot is below 300–400 kg and speed matters, air can be justified. From 400–800 kg, run both quotes. Above 1 ton, LCL almost always beats air. Above ~6–9 tons, FCL becomes the target.

Which surcharges change the break-even the most?

Air fuel/security. Moves weekly. We’ve seen $1.2–2.0/kg swings that flip the decision.
Dry ice and DG. If you rely on dry ice, budget both the DG fee and the extra chargeable weight. Many teams miss that the dry ice weight is billable.
Destination cold-chain. US cross-dock and first-24-hours storage can add $0.10–0.40/kg. If your truck misses the slot, storage quickly erodes savings.
Reefer electricity and PTI. Small line items, but if your container sits plugged in for 5 days pre-gate, that adds up.
Drayage. Congestion spikes in LA/LB or Rotterdam can add $300–600 per move and shift LCL vs FCL calculus.

Common mistakes that kill seafood freight economics

Ignoring chargeable weight. Your cartons look small. Then volumetric bites or dry ice becomes billable weight. Always model chargeable and actual.
Under-loading FCL. Booking a 40RF for 16,000 kg when you could load 22,000 kg is expensive. Coordinate purchase orders to fill the box.
Mixing shelf-life profiles. Putting sashimi-grade tuna with long-stable items forces the whole lot to move by air. Split the shipment. For example, air your Yellowfin Steak promo lots, and move Red Snapper Portion (WGGS / Fillet) by sea.
Forgetting Incoterms. EXW vs FOB changes who pays origin THC, export clearance, and pre-carriage. Your per-kg model must reflect your Incoterm.
FX blind spots. Many ocean and air quotes are USD. Your factory costs may be in IDR. A 5% USD/IDR swing can wipe out a narrow savings. Lock assumptions or hedge for long campaigns.

Quick, realistic examples you can copy

Calculate break-even kg air vs sea Jakarta→Los Angeles 2026
- Air: $8.8/kg all-in including surcharges. Ocean LCL: $2.6/kg including origin+dest LCL fees. Break-even where $8.8/kg equals your LCL per-kg. If your LCL quote rises to $4.4/kg due to minimums on a 200 kg lot, air might be comparable.
Landed cost per kg frozen shrimp Indonesia→USA
- LCL at $1.9/kg linehaul + $0.6/kg combined fees on 1,200 kg equals $2.5/kg. Air at $9.2/kg. Sea wins. For higher-value shrimp promos, consider air only when volume is below 300 kg and timing is tight.
FCL 20RF Surabaya→Rotterdam
- $5,200 ocean + $1,600 adders (THC/PTI/plug-in/docs/dray). Load 22,000 kg. Landed freight ≈ $0.31/kg. A 40RF often lands even lower per kg when full.

Resources and next steps

Build your lane-specific worksheet. Use the bands above, then replace with live quotes. If you want our working calculator template or a sanity check on your CGK/DPS/SUB lanes, Contact us on whatsapp. Want to see what SKUs we can co-load to hit FCL thresholds? View our products.

One last thought. The best savings we see come from packaging and planning. Trim 2 cm off carton height to improve cbm utilization. Align PO cycles to fill FCLs. Pick the right mode for each SKU. Do that, and the math will keep working for you month after month.