Regardless of why you to move things across the border, here are three methods of international shipping discussed in more detail.
In this article we’ll try to help you to understand some aspects of international shipping – how to choose the right transport company and share some tips on how to save you money.
If you want to send your shipment abroad, you have several options. Aircraft, trains, boats, and cars can be used to transport cargo between countries. However, different mailing methods are suitable for different situations.
There are many ways to deliver your goods around the world. Road or rail delivery is often the best option for delivery to neighboring countries, but what to do if you need to import or export from other locations.
These are probably the services you’ll be best acquainted with. If you send a small quantity, you will probably use a courier service. (Personal belongings and gifts are examples of situations where a courier service may be preferable.)
Free Reports:
Here are a few considerations:
Many people are just looking for the cheapest way to send packages abroad. If you can be flexible, with regards to factors, such as delivery time, you can save much money as the cost of air freight/courier services can be 4 times higher than the cost of shipping a relatively large package of goods.
For all types of overseas transportation, the size largely determines the price.
Parcels, more than a specific size, will make courier services and air transportation much more expensive. Whereas, parcels of a smaller size (about 100 kg and 0.5 cubic meters) are meaningless to go through the hassle of sea transportation.
The big difference between these international shipping services is the time of delivery. Shipping from China can take 6-7 weeks, while some courier services can around three days!
There are many differences in the services offered by these different methods.
Here is a simple guide to selecting the most appropriate option for your needs:
As a general rule, anything weighing less than 100 kg (e.g., personal goods) is usually worth using a courier service. If you are importing or exporting a large number of small and expensive items, such as tablets or luxury watches, it is usually more appropriate to use air freight services.
Sea freight offers great savings, but whether sea freight is generally more advantageous for larger shipments or not is up to you and your budget. The cost of sea freight is often cheaper and remains the same for up to 25 boxes. Sea freight is generally more economical for larger volumes.
Although we have already given you a brief overview of what a courier is, let us go a little deeper.
A courier is the best way to imitate the typical experience of international delivery – the use of a courier is an international delivery service.
The courier is responsible for the door-to-door process. Much like receiving regular mail, couriers allow you to deliver your goods directly to your door.
This method is more straightforward than other international shipping methods. The courier will pick up the parcel and deliver it, as well as contact the appropriate person to pay any duties or taxes.
To help you decide whether an international parcel courier service is an international parcel service, we have listed the pros and cons of using it.
Airfreight is a fast way to move bulk cargo.
Your products are loaded into the aircraft and delivered to you or your customers. Naturally, this is a much quicker process than shipping by sea, but there are much less space and weight allowances on the plane.
As a result, the cost of air transportation is calculated differently (moving a kilogram by air is much more than by sea), so often sea freight can be the cheaper option when it comes to bulky items.
Airline rates are based on either the actual gross weight or the volume weight of the cargo, whichever is higher.
That is because some items take up more space on board than their actual weight.
That is one of our FAQs! If you want to get a detailed answer about whether to choose sea or air transport, look at the overview below.
When choosing between air and sea transport, the following three main points should be taken into account:
Sea transportation is usually 4-6 times cheaper than air transportation. If you are interested in reducing costs, sea freight will be of interest to you.
When looking at the different expenses, for sea transportation of cargo, one cubic meter is equal to 1000 kg, whereas, on air transportation, six cubic meters is equal to 1000 kg.
If you increase the weight of your cargo during transportation by sea, the probability that the price will increase is not high. If you import heavier load by air, the difference in price between the two options will increase significantly and could be 4-6 times more.
When importing goods, time is often a factor. If you have urgent stock needs and you need the goods delivered immediately, the best option for you would be air transportation.
On the other hand, if you order the products in advance and can wait up to 6 weeks, shipping would be a better option for you.
Another consideration may be ethical reasons:
If you can meet the minimum requirements and you are looking for cheap international shipping, sea freight is exactly what you want.
Sea freight is the transportation of bulk cargo by sea. Your goods are packaged on cargo ships and shipped worldwide to their destination.
You might need a freight forwarder to do this, as they take care of the safety of your goods, keep you informed of their location, liaise with your suppliers, and sort out your deliveries.
The point is that there are many steps in this process that we take care of for you.
As you can guess, circumnavigating the world is not the fastest thing – shipping is the slowest process, usually taking more than a month.
However, making significant savings on costs could be worth the wait.
Sea freight costs are calculated according to volume or weight (whichever is higher). It is usually the volume, so most companies need to know the size of your shipment to find out the price.
The industry uses the technical term “weight or measure” – often abbreviated to “ppm.” This means that 1.0 cubic meters are equivalent to 1000 kg.
The weight is rarely so high that it affects the cost, but if your shipment was 2.0 cm3 and 2500 kg, the weight is higher than the volume. If it were 2.5 cubic meters and 2000 kg, the amount would be more significant so that the freight fees would depend on it.
If you are importing goods into the country, you need to know about possible surcharges. These may include:
Exporting is accompanied by some rules and regulations as well, which you will also have to follow. Many of the documents required for export are general, for example:
Common sense is important when planning the initial logistics of your export. Think about the travel of your product and consider all possible options. If you are using freight forwarders, only use reputable companies and always remember to take out additional insurance.
Check out 5 Things You Should Know Before Exporting.
If this is your first international delivery, you will most likely not know what Freight Forwarding is.
Forwarding is the transportation of bulk cargo, so a freight forwarder (shout out to SDC International) is an agent who acts on behalf of other companies to organize the safe, efficient, and economical transporting of goods.
There are many options for transporting goods, and there may not be one solution for your transportation needs. Each mode of transportation has its advantages and disadvantages.
Prioritization, understanding of cargo characteristics and cost comparison are the most important when planning and selecting the optimal mode of transport that best suits your personal or business needs.
About the Author:
Dmitrii B. is the founder of GRIN tech – a full-cycle white label agency delivering design, development and marketing solutions.
