The factor moves with fuel prices and is billed separately from the base ocean freight, so a quoted all-in rate can shift between booking and invoice when the carrier revises it. On the desk it appears as its own line on the rate sheet and the invoice, set by the carrier per trade lane and revised on notified effective dates, which is why a rate comparison holds only when the fuel surcharge is read alongside the base rate rather than apart from it. It sits among the other carrier surcharges the desk reconciles, terminal handling charges, peak season surcharges, and general rate increases, each a separate line with its own trigger. The decision it drives is reconciliation: checking the applied factor against the carrier's published tariff before the freight invoice is accepted.
Glossary
Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF)
A surcharge ocean carriers add on top of the base freight rate to cover changes in the price of bunker fuel, the fuel burned to power the ship.