Overseas buyers lose weeks when a compressor quote arrives as “FOB China” with no port, no packing method and no commodity code. This desk note is the packing and Incoterm file we put next to a published plant. It is written by CompressorB2B, the platform — not a freelance byline, not the factory’s marketing department.
Incoterms® names are used here as trade practice on Chinese compressor POs. They are not legal advice. The commercial quotation from the works governs.
What FOB Ningbo actually covers
Most screw and piston packages from Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai quote FOB Ningbo or FOB Shanghai. Guangdong PET and oil-free skids often quote FOB Shekou or FOB Shenzhen.
Under a typical FOB named-port compressor PO the plant:
- builds, tests and drain-oils the package
- packs to the method stated on the packing list
- completes Chinese export customs
- delivers the packed machine to the named port, ready for the buyer’s forwarder to load
The buyer nominates the forwarder, ocean freight and cargo insurance. CIF named port is a different file: freight and insurance appear as separate lines so a landed-cost number can be compared.
Do not accept “FOB China”. Name the port. Ningbo, Shanghai and Shekou are not interchangeable for cut-off and trucking.
HS 8414 on the packing list
Industrial air compressors usually ship under HS 8414 (air or vacuum pumps, air or other gas compressors). Refrigeration screw packages and some process-gas machines may sit on a different heading — the plant’s customs broker states the code on the packing list and commercial invoice. This desk does not invent a heading.
The packing list should also call out:
- package count, net / gross kg, and dimensions
- wood treatment (ISPM 15 heat-treated / IPPC mark) if the case is solid wood
- lifting points and centre of gravity
- whether oil is drained for air freight or left for ocean
If a plant cannot put HS 8414 and wood treatment on a sample packing list, the English catalog row stays “documents on RFQ”. We do not write a certificate that does not exist.
Packing that survives a Ningbo berth
A nameplate compressor is not a carton SKU. The usual export pack for a 15–75 kW screw package:
| Item | Practice on this desk |
|---|---|
| Case | Plywood case or crate, ISPM 15 if solid wood |
| Barrier | Moisture barrier / VCI on the airend and control panel |
| Fastening | Bolted to base, not strap-only |
| Marks | Lifting marks, this-way-up, centre of gravity |
| Loose gear | Intake filter, manuals, certificate copies in a document pouch |
| Oil | Stated: drained / filled. Air freight usually drained |
Portable diesel and high-pressure PET skids need a method of their own. State it on the RFQ, not after the vessel cut-off.
Inspection before the vessel
A usable inspection is either:
- factory trial run with a recorded pressure / FAD / kW sheet, or
- a third-party visit (SGS / BV / the buyer’s inspector) booked against that sheet
Photos of a painted canopy are not an inspection. If the plant will not run the machine against the duty on the PO, do not treat the quote as export-ready.
CompressorB2B does not invent CE, PED, ASME or ISO 8573 papers. If the catalog row says “On RFQ”, the paper is missing until the plant sends it.
What to put on the RFQ so FOB is quotable
- Working pressure in bar(g) and FAD at that pressure
- 50 / 60 Hz and voltage
- Quantity and destination
- FOB Ningbo / Shanghai / Shekou or CIF named port
- Packing method if you already know air vs ocean
- Whether a third-party inspection is required before loading
Send that on the RFQ desk. The plant remains the seller. This platform holds the English nameplate so the packing list and the PO speak the same language.
How this note is maintained
CompressorB2B writes and reviews desk notes as the publisher. We update them when Incoterm practice or the published plant list changes. We do not sell as a trader and we do not stamp a packing list for a factory we have not published.
This note is a specification desk file. Certificates and quotes come from the manufacturing plant. Missing papers stay missing.