TopAlpha Ocean Freight: Rates, Quotes & Fees Ocean & Sea Freight Shipping
As your freight transportation volume grows, it's time to consider ocean freight. Here's your ocean guide, from choosing the right mode to calculating shipping costs and transit times.
Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
The ocean freight transport is the shipping of goods by sea in shipping containers.
Most importers and exporters transport their goods by sea. 90 percent of everything is shipped via ocean freight. International freight transport modes (courier, air freight standard, express air freight) are all faster, but they are also more expensive. Smaller shipments, and items with a high value, are usually shipped in these other modes.
For those whose air freight is too expensive but ocean shipping too slow, freight forwarders offer express shipping. As fast as air freight, this service may be less expensive. By streamlining ocean freight processes, only better ocean services and superior trucking services will be connected.
Why Ship By Sea?
Capacity and value One container holds 10000 beer bottles! And ocean freight is cheaper. Air freight is too costly for shipments weighing more than 500 kg. For light shipments, you can use this calculator to find out whether your shipment will be billed by actual weight or dimensional weight. 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. There are generally more products restricted for air cargo versus ocean freight, including: gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. For example, perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7); toxic or corrosive substances (e.g. batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. ), oxidizers and biochemical products (e.g. chemical medicines), and public health risks (e.g. untanned hides). For more information, please see our Hazardous Material Table.
Ocean freight emits a miniscule amount of CO2 emissions as compared to air freight. According to this research, when 2 tonnes are transported 5000 kilometers over water, it will emit 150 kg of CO2, while air freight will emit 6605 kg.
ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
There are about 30 times more speed differences between passenger jets and ocean liners. 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.
Constraints such as port congestion, environmental concerns, and bad weather can delay ocean freight much more than air freight. Air freight tracking technology is typically more advanced than ocean freight tracking technology. This means that ocean freight is more likely to be lost than air freight. Shipments under a container load are particularly vulnerable to this. With that said, ocean freight is becoming more reliable due to digitization.
Ocean freight has a higher likelihood of getting damaged or destroyed than air freight. As a result, the shipment takes a lot longer to reach its destination, and ships move more frequently. Don't worry too much about ocean cargo falling off ships. According to urban myth, ten thousand containers per year are lost in the drink, but actually it's more like 546 of 120 million movements per year. Even less likely is piracy. Recently, hot spots have included the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Straits.
Ocean Freight Services
Sea freight services also fall into two types: full container loads (FCLs) and less than container loads (LCLs). A LCL consists of several shipments packed into one container. A forwarder has more work to do; additional paperwork is involved along with having to consolidate the shipments before a main transit and then de-consolidate them once they arrive at the other end. This gives LCL three disadvantages:
FCL shipments are delivered faster than LCL shipments. LCL usually has to be extended by one or two weeks.
LCL is susceptible to damage, misplacing, and loss.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
When your shipment is large enough, it may be worth using a full container, even if your goods do not fill the container. LCL to FCL upgrades are typically achieved at a point around 15 cubic meters (the smallest size container is a 20 footer).
Sea Freight Rates per kg
With the exception of particularly heavy goods, LCL is usually priced by volume, rather than by weight.
If selecting the most cost-effective mode is a challenge, consider these general rules of thumb:
The cost of air freight increases dramatically over 500 kg.
In most cases, sea freight is around $2-$4 per kilogram, and it takes around 30-40 days for a shipment from China to the US.
short sea shipping Taking into account about $5-8 per kilo, air freight can be economically used in China-US shipments between 150 kg and 500 kg; the process will take about 8-10 days.
Air freight by express is faster but more expensive.
The cost of shipping lighter packages (express freight) is lower than for heavier packages (courier).
These are some of the common ocean and sea freight rates and charges in your freight quote:
On ocean freight quotes and invoices, you should find the following items:
Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
The ocean freight transport is the shipping of goods by sea in shipping containers.
Most importers and exporters transport their goods by sea. 90 percent of everything is shipped via ocean freight. International freight transport modes (courier, air freight standard, express air freight) are all faster, but they are also more expensive. Smaller shipments, and items with a high value, are usually shipped in these other modes.
For those whose air freight is too expensive but ocean shipping too slow, freight forwarders offer express shipping. As fast as air freight, this service may be less expensive. By streamlining ocean freight processes, only better ocean services and superior trucking services will be connected.
Why Ship By Sea?
Capacity and value One container holds 10000 beer bottles! And ocean freight is cheaper. Air freight is too costly for shipments weighing more than 500 kg. For light shipments, you can use this calculator to find out whether your shipment will be billed by actual weight or dimensional weight. 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. There are generally more products restricted for air cargo versus ocean freight, including: gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. For example, perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7); toxic or corrosive substances (e.g. batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. ), oxidizers and biochemical products (e.g. chemical medicines), and public health risks (e.g. untanned hides). For more information, please see our Hazardous Material Table.
Ocean freight emits a miniscule amount of CO2 emissions as compared to air freight. According to this research, when 2 tonnes are transported 5000 kilometers over water, it will emit 150 kg of CO2, while air freight will emit 6605 kg.
ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
There are about 30 times more speed differences between passenger jets and ocean liners. 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.
Constraints such as port congestion, environmental concerns, and bad weather can delay ocean freight much more than air freight. Air freight tracking technology is typically more advanced than ocean freight tracking technology. This means that ocean freight is more likely to be lost than air freight. Shipments under a container load are particularly vulnerable to this. With that said, ocean freight is becoming more reliable due to digitization.
Ocean freight has a higher likelihood of getting damaged or destroyed than air freight. As a result, the shipment takes a lot longer to reach its destination, and ships move more frequently. Don't worry too much about ocean cargo falling off ships. According to urban myth, ten thousand containers per year are lost in the drink, but actually it's more like 546 of 120 million movements per year. Even less likely is piracy. Recently, hot spots have included the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Straits.
Ocean Freight Services
Sea freight services also fall into two types: full container loads (FCLs) and less than container loads (LCLs). A LCL consists of several shipments packed into one container. A forwarder has more work to do; additional paperwork is involved along with having to consolidate the shipments before a main transit and then de-consolidate them once they arrive at the other end. This gives LCL three disadvantages:
FCL shipments are delivered faster than LCL shipments. LCL usually has to be extended by one or two weeks.
LCL is susceptible to damage, misplacing, and loss.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
When your shipment is large enough, it may be worth using a full container, even if your goods do not fill the container. LCL to FCL upgrades are typically achieved at a point around 15 cubic meters (the smallest size container is a 20 footer).
Sea Freight Rates per kg
With the exception of particularly heavy goods, LCL is usually priced by volume, rather than by weight.
If selecting the most cost-effective mode is a challenge, consider these general rules of thumb:
The cost of air freight increases dramatically over 500 kg.
In most cases, sea freight is around $2-$4 per kilogram, and it takes around 30-40 days for a shipment from China to the US.
short sea shipping Taking into account about $5-8 per kilo, air freight can be economically used in China-US shipments between 150 kg and 500 kg; the process will take about 8-10 days.
Air freight by express is faster but more expensive.
The cost of shipping lighter packages (express freight) is lower than for heavier packages (courier).
These are some of the common ocean and sea freight rates and charges in your freight quote:
On ocean freight quotes and invoices, you should find the following items:
