Shipments, Rates and Charges from TopAlpha Ocean Freight

When you start shipping freight in high volumes, you should think about ocean freight. You can find everything you need to know about ocean shipping, from determining the right mode to calculating costs.

Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
Shipping containers are used in ocean freight transport.

Transport by ocean is the most common mode for importers and exporters. 90 percent of all shipments are made by ocean freight and sea freight. There are other modes of international freight transport (courier, standard air freight, express air freight) that are faster, but they are also more expensive. Other modes of shipping are typically used for small shipments and goods with high value.

Many freight forwarders now offer express shipping, particularly if ocean freight is too slow but air freight is too expensive. This service is often nearly as quick as air freight, but is typically less expensive. This method streamlines ocean freight processes and ties in the faster ocean services with premium trucking services.

Why Ship By Sea?
We can hold 10000 beer bottles in one container! And ocean freight is cheaper. Air freight is too costly for shipments weighing more than 500 kg. Use this calculator to determine if your shipment will be charged by actual weight or volumetric weight for light shipments. FBX provides live international shipping rates.
In addition to international law, national law, carrier organization regulations, and individual carrier regulations, all contribute to defining and restricting what goods are considered dangerous for transportation. As a general rule, air cargo is more restricted than ocean freight, including: gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. Items that are toxic or corrosive (e.g., perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7). batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. Public health risks (e.g. speakers), oxidizers, and biochemical products (e.g. chemical medicines) are also evaluated. untanned hides). Visit the Hazardous Material Table to find out more.
Ocean freight emits a miniscule amount of CO2 emissions as compared to air freight.  أسعار الشحن البحري للسيارات In this study, 2 tonnes shipped by ocean freight will lead to 150 kg of CO2 emissions while 2 tonnes shipped air freight will cause 6605 kg of CO2 emissions.

ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
Speedy airplanes move about thirty times faster than ocean liners - passenger jets cruise at 575 mph while slow-steaming ocean liners move at 16-18 mph. So it's no surprise that shipment by air freight from China to the USA usually takes about 20 days longer than by ocean freight.
Ocean freight generally takes more time than air freight because of congestion at ports, customs delays, and weather conditions. Air freight tracking technology is typically more advanced than ocean freight tracking technology. This means ocean freight has a higher likelihood of getting lost compared to air freight. This is particularly true for ocean shipments that are less than a container load. Due to digitization, ocean freight has become more reliable.
Unlike air cargo, ocean freight is more likely to be damaged or destroyed. Because it is in transit for a lot longer, and because ships are subject to more movement. Do not worry too much about ocean cargo falling off of ships. In reality, around 546 of the 120 million container movements per year fall in the water. Even less likely is piracy. Recent hotspots include the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Straits.
Ocean Freight Services
A full container load (FCL) or a less than container load (LCL) can be used for ocean and sea freight. One container is used for several shipments in LCL. The forwarder will have extra work to do, as there is additional paperwork to process, in addition to physically consolidating the various shipments before transit and de-consolidating them at the other end. This gives LCL three disadvantages:

Delivery of LCL shipments takes longer than FCL shipments. A couple of extra weeks is recommended for LCL.
LCL is susceptible to damage, misplacing, and loss.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
Shipping rates for FCL are usually lower, so you may want to use a full container once your shipment is large enough, even if your goods do not fill the container to the brim. The tipping point for upgrading from LCL to FCL (those are the smallest sized containers) is in the range of 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.

If selecting the most cost-effective mode is a challenge, consider these general rules of thumb:

Shipments weighing more than 500 kg are economically unviable via air freight.
China-US shipments take around 30-40 days by sea, and ocean freight is around $2-$4 a kg.
For about $5-8 per kilogram, a US-China shipment between 150 kg and 500 kg can be economically shipped via air freight and take 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).

Costs, rates, and charges associated with ocean and sea freight quotes include:
These items can be found on ocean freight invoices and quotes: