Bulk Bitumen: Meaning, Grades and Buying Guide
What bulk bitumen means, how penetration, viscosity and performance grades differ, plus specs, documentation and Incoterms to check before you place an order.
Published: 2026-08-09 · CommoFlow
Bulk bitumen means bitumen supplied unpackaged — pumped hot into a vessel tank, heated road tanker or rail car — rather than filled into drums, bags or containers. The distinction matters commercially: bulk is the cheapest way to move bitumen per tonne, and the only way that becomes impossible if the receiving end lacks heated storage.
In short: bulk means no packaging cost, no drum disposal and the lowest freight per tonne — but it requires a terminal, heated tankage and a discharge line at the destination.
Which grade do you actually need?
Bitumen grades are quoted under three different systems, and suppliers in different regions will assume different ones. Confusing them is the most common cause of a rejected cargo.
Penetration grades (EN 12591)
Classified by how far a standard needle penetrates the sample at 25 °C. Common export grades are 40/50, 60/70, 80/100 and 85/100. The lower the number, the harder the bitumen. 60/70 is the global road-paving workhorse and dominates Middle East export flows.
Viscosity grades (IS 73)
VG-10, VG-30 and VG-40, used mainly in India and parts of South Asia. VG-30 is broadly the paving equivalent of 60/70, but they are not interchangeable on paper — if the contract says VG-30, a 60/70 certificate will not clear.
Performance grades (AASHTO M320)
Written as PG 64-10 or PG 76-10, where the first number is the maximum pavement design temperature and the second the minimum. This system is climate-based rather than consistency-based, and it is what serious hot-climate specifications use. See our guide to bitumen for hot climates for why Gulf projects gravitate to PG 76 and above.
The specification sheet to demand
Before agreeing a price, get a certificate of analysis showing at minimum:
- Penetration at 25 °C (0.1 mm)
- Softening point, °C — ring and ball
- Ductility at 25 °C, cm
- Flash point, °C (Cleveland open cup)
- Solubility in trichloroethylene, % — should be 99%+
- Loss on heating and retained penetration after RTFOT
- Specific gravity at 25 °C
A supplier who cannot produce a current, third-party COA against your grade is not a supplier you should be wiring money to.
How bulk bitumen is actually bought
Incoterms
Most bulk bitumen trades FOB loadport or CFR discharge port. CFR is simpler for first-time buyers because the seller arranges the heated vessel — a specialised charter you do not want to be sourcing yourself on your first cargo. CIF adds insurance.
Volume and pricing
Bulk parcels usually start around 1,000–3,000 MT for a part cargo and run to 5,000–10,000 MT for a dedicated bitumen tanker. Pricing is generally referenced to a published crude or bitumen assessment plus a differential, fixed at the time of nomination.
Payment
An irrevocable letter of credit at sight under UCP 600 is the norm, frequently confirmed by a bank in the seller's country. Expect to present the commercial invoice, bill of lading, certificate of origin, certificate of analysis and an independent inspection certificate. Our guide on verifying a commodity supplier covers the document set in detail.
Bulk versus packed: a quick sanity check
Bulk wins on price once you are moving more than roughly a few hundred tonnes and have somewhere to put it. Below that, or without heated tankage, drums and polycubes are cheaper all-in even though the per-tonne packaging cost looks worse. We compare all five formats in the bitumen packaging cost comparison.
On CFR terms the carrier choice is yours to scrutinise — our bitumen shipping company checklist covers what to demand.
CommoFlow supplies penetration and performance grade bitumen from Gulf refineries on FOB and CFR terms. Send us your grade and destination and we will quote against your specification, not a generic one.