Why ship CIF?
Generally speaking, importers prefer CIF terms when either they’re new to international trade or they have relatively little freight volume. These importers often find CIF simpler in that their suppliers are responsible for arranging freight and insurance details. Under these terms the importer relinquishes control of choosing freight carriers, routing and other shipping specifics. For these companies, convenience outweighs the need for enhanced shipment control and associated freight savings. Shipping CIF grows increasingly difficult as companies increase their number of overseas suppliers and overall freight volume. The greater the number of CIF shipments, the more problems can occur with obtaining accurate shipment information. Overseas suppliers are not well positioned to handle service issues that develop in-transit. What’s more, they are not required to arrange anything past the port of destination, so final delivery concerns, monitoring of penalty situations (demurrage, per diem
