How freight affects your real fertilizer cost

FOB price vs delivered price

A quote priced FOB is the price at the plant or terminal — before it moves. The delivered price is what lands at your farm:

When one quote is FOB and another is delivered, put both on a delivered basis before you compare.

Freight matters more for low-analysis products

Freight is charged by weight, but you buy nutrients. A ton of a low-grade product carries fewer pounds of nutrient than a ton of a high-grade product, so the same freight per ton is a bigger add-on per pound of nutrient. The lower the analysis and the farther the haul, the more freight moves the real cost.

Worked example

Two suppliers quoting urea (46-0-0, 920 lb N per ton). Figures are illustrative, not quoted prices.

The distant supplier had the lower FOB price, but freight made the nearby supplier cheaper on delivered nitrogen. Only the delivered comparison shows this.

Where freight shows up

Freight is usually on the quote or available from the supplier. Public delivered- and production-cost references, such as USDA market reports, also report prices on a delivered basis in some regions, which is useful context.

Limitations

Freight changes with distance, load size, season, and fuel prices, and a spot rate today may not hold next week. Use a firm delivered quote for your own decision, and treat any published figure as a reference point rather than your price.