Rates, Quotes and Fees for Ocean & Sea Freight Shipping: TopAlpha
The time to consider ocean freight comes when you are shipping freight in high volumes. Here are your directions on everything related to shipping by ocean, from picking the mode that's right for you to calculating transit times and costs.
Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
By using shipping containers, goods can be transported by sea.
Most importers and exporters transport their goods by sea. Approximately 90% of everything is shipped by sea freight. Other modes of international freight transportation, like courier, air freight, and express air freight, may be faster, but are also more expensive. These modes are generally used for smaller shipments, and for products with a high value.
In cases where ocean freight would be too slow and air freight too expensive, some freight forwarders offer express shipping. While less expensive than air freight, this service is often nearly as fast. Streamlining ocean freight processes and connecting only with faster ocean services and premium trucking services are at the heart of this solution.
Why Ship By Sea?
One container can hold ten thousand beer bottles! شركات الشحن البحري العالمية And ocean freight is cheaper. Generally, air freight is too expensive for shipments weighing more than 500 kilograms. For light shipments, you can use this calculator to find out whether your shipment will be billed by actual weight or dimensional weight. Please refer to our FBX index for the latest international shipping rates.
It is easier to define and restrict what goods are considered dangerous for transportation if the rules of international law, national law, carrier organization regulations, and carrier specific regulations are followed. A greater quantity of products is restricted as air freight compared to ocean freight, which includes: gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. As a result, items with a corrosive or toxic component (e.g., perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7). batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. Public health risks (such as speakers), oxidizers, and biochemical products (such as chemical medicines) are all included in the report. untanned hides). To learn more, refer to the Hazardous Material Table.
As compared with air freight, ocean freight's CO2 emissions are minuscule. As an example, when 2 tonnes are shipped over 5000 kilometers by ocean freight, there are 150 kg of CO2 emissions, while on average, 6605 kg of CO2 emissions are released by air freight.
ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
Speed aircraft are about 30 times faster than ocean liners. Passenger jets cruise at 575 mph, whereas slow ocean liners go 16-18 mph. There is no surprise then that a shipment going by air freight from China to the US usually takes at least 20 days longer.
Ocean freight generally takes much longer to deliver than air freight because of port congestion, customs delays, and bad weather conditions. The tracking technology for air freight is often more advanced than that for ocean freight. Therefore, ocean freight is more likely to be misplaced than air freight. It is especially important when a shipment is smaller than a container load. As a result of digitization, ocean freight is becoming more reliable.
The risk of damage or destruction of ocean freight is higher than that of air freight. Because of the longer transit time and because ships move around more, it takes longer. It's okay for ocean cargo to fall off ships. A common myth claims that the container movement is lost 10000 times per year, but it is actually 546 of the 120 million movements that go down the drain. Even less likely is piracy. Horn of Africa, Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Strait have been hotspots in recent years.
Ocean Freight Services
Sea freight services also fall into two types: full container loads (FCLs) and less than container loads (LCLs). One container is used for several shipments in LCL. For the forwarder, it involves more paperwork as well as the physical work of consolidating various shipments into a container before the main transit and de-consolidating those shipments at the other end. This gives LCL three disadvantages:
FCL shipments arrive more quickly than LCL shipments. An additional one to two weeks is typically recommended for LCL.
LCL is susceptible to damage, misplacing, and loss.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
As shipping rates are lower for FCL, you may want to use a full container once your shipment reaches a certain size, even if your goods don't fill the container. The tipping point for upgrading from LCL to FCL (the smallest container is a 20 footer) is around 15 cubic meters.
Sea Freight Rates per kg
With the exception of especially heavy goods, most LCLs are priced per volume of goods, rather than weight.
Choose the most cost-effective mode for your product using these rules of thumb:
Over 500 kg, air freight becomes uneconomical.
The ocean freight price ranges between $2 and $4 per kilogram, and shipping between China and the US takes about 30-40 days.
An air cargo shipment from China to the United States of 150 kg to 500 kg costs $5-8 per kilo, and it takes 8-10 days.
Compared with regular air freight, express air freight is a few days faster, but more expensive.
Packages that weigh less than 150 kg can go by courier (express freight).
Here are some common ocean and sea freight rates, costs, and charges included in your freight quote:
On ocean freight quotes and invoices, you should find the following items: