Sea Container Freight Shipping - Transport Shipment by Ocean
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There are many freight options in the current shipping market. Trucking and air freight are popular choices, but they have limitations. A truck can only haul so much weight, and air freight can often be prohibitively expensive. That’s where container freight shipping comes in - it provides a relatively affordable way to ship cargo without being hindered by a low max weight and size allowance. While it’s not the fastest way to ship, it has a place among freight shipping methods. Let’s discuss the details.
Sea freight is a type of maritime shipping that involves loading containers onto large cargo ships and transporting them by sea. The average transport container is much larger than a truck trailer and, naturally, comes with a higher loading capacity. That means that when shipping by sea freight, the size of your cargo is practically unlimited. But what are the other characteristics of sea container freight shipping? Let’s find out.
Like trucking freight, sea freight is divided into two main categories based on the number of goods you’re shipping. Therefore, regarding sea freight, LCL vs. FCL is one of the first choices you’ll have to make. Let’s see what these abbreviations mean.
FCL stands for "full container load." That means the size of your shipment is big enough to fill an entire transport container. FCL freight shipping is often the most cost-effective, but it’s reserved for only the biggest and heaviest cargo. In most cases, customers can’t fill a transport container, which brings us to our next point.
"LCL" stands for less than container load. In contrast to FCL, LCL freight shipping doesn’t require that you fill a container to the brim. Instead, you can send as much - or as little, as you’d like. To ensure the best rates, the carrier will combine the cargo of several customers into a single container, allowing you to reap the benefits of container freight even if you don’t have that much to send.
The two significant advantages to shipping by sea are cargo size and price. This shipping method uses enormous cargo ships that can support tremendous weights. Therefore, max weight limitations are usually not something to worry about with sea freight.
Sea freight costs are quite affordable, especially when shipping heavy cargo. As any container shipping calculator will show, it offers the cheapest way to ship freight. As a result, international container shipping is the most convenient way to ship heavy cargo overseas. Overseas air freight is usually incredibly expensive, making sea freight the most popular choice.
Even though it’s so practical, sea freight comes with some disadvantages. Transport time is one of those - sea freight is usually much slower than air freight. Air freight delivers in a few days, but sea freight can take weeks. Still, there are limits to what you can load onto a plane, so it’s not a fair comparison. Sea freight is often the only option for shipping extremely heavy cargo.
Since it depends on cargo ships, sea freight is tied to industrial ports. That means you’ll have to find a way to get your cargo to a port before it can be loaded onto a cargo ship. The usual way of handling this is by trucking freight.
Sea freight shipping is essential for moving heavy cargo across great distances. When you have a lot of goods to ship, there is no cheaper option. True, it’s slower than other methods, but the perks compensate for that.
Aside from being practical, sea freight is often the only option. Trucks obviously cannot cross an ocean, and air freight, while very quick, comes with a hefty price tag. In addition, a plane can never take on as much load as a cargo ship, limiting the options for what you can ship.
