What does your cast or forged part really cost? The complete TCO guide

A competitive unit price from an Asian supplier is a good starting point. For castings and forgings, it is rarely the full picture.
The total cost of ownership includes costs that are real, but that never appear on the purchase order.

At Castmetal Advanced Services, managing these costs on your behalf is exactly what we do.

7 costs to include in every calculation

1. Tooling

Every new part requires a dedicated mould or die. If your forecast series doesn’t materialise, the tooling cost per part rises sharply. In Asia, tooling is typically significantly cheaper than in Europe.

2. Freight and insurance

Sea freight, insurance and export packaging represent a real cost per part, often excluded from quick quote comparisons. But sea freight is only one part of the logistics equation. Optimising multimodal transport, combining sea, air and road, takes significant time and expertise. It also requires active risk management: choosing the right routing based on geopolitical context, port congestion and lead time constraints.

3. Customs duties

Import duties vary by product type and HS code. For certain steel products from China, anti-dumping duties apply on top of standard customs duties. Knowing exactly which duties apply before drawing any cost comparison is essential. EU anti-dumping duties on cast iron articles from China — Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/770

4. Working capital in transit

While your parts are at sea for around 8 weeks, you are financing their value. That cost is real, even if it never appears on a purchase order. With direct Asian sourcing, payment is typically required at production, tying up your working capital for 8 to 12 weeks before delivery.

5. PPAP* – First article inspection sample

Before serial production begins, a first article inspection sample must be produced, validated and shipped.

6. Quality management

Quality management is far more than a final inspection. It starts with selecting and qualifying subcontractors – a process that requires on-site visits, technical audits and significant investment in time and travel. For any company doing this independently, the cost of travel, time on-site and internal resources is substantial.

On-site control, incoming inspection and managing non-conformities all form part of the true cost. One non-conforming batch can exceed months of freight savings in cost.

In the event of a non-conformity, we handle everything on your behalf: on-site investigation, root cause analysis, corrective action management and batch securing. Your team does not need to travel, escalate or coordinate across time zones.

7. Your team’s time

Coordinating a direct Asian sourcing relationship takes time from your purchasing, technical and logistics teams. Time zones, language gaps and cultural differences add complexity that is rarely factored into initial cost comparisons.

How Castmetal Advanced Services optimises your total cost of ownership and manages all of this for you?

Every cost in this guide is something we handle on your behalf.

• We select the right process and supplier from the start – eliminating unnecessary costs at specification stage.

• We manage tooling at Asian production cost – typically a fraction of European equivalent.

• We include freight, insurance and customs management in our service – no hidden logistics costs.

• We fly your PPAP directly to you – reducing delays on your production launch.

• We inspect batch on site before shipment – non-conformities are resolved in Asia, not in your warehouse.

• We are your single point of contact – your team coordinates with us, not with multiple Asian factories.

• We handle all quality incidents on site – investigation, root cause, corrective action, batch securing.

• We help you avoid the common pitfalls linked to linguistic and cultural barriers.

• We save your teams valuable time, allowing them to stay focused on their core business.

• Unit price represents only a fraction of the true cost. The rest is often invisible in standard comparisons.

• The 7 components to always calculate: tooling, freight, duties, working capital, PPAP, quality management, internal time.

• The real advantage of Asian sourcing is tooling cost combined with competitive unit cost and professional logistics management.

• Working with a specialist partner transforms unpredictable sourcing costs into controlled and managed costs.

Ready to run the numbers? Our team calculates the real TCO for your specific references.

*PPAP : Production Part Approval Process