If your ocean freight shipments are not enough to fill in an whole container, it is best to choose LCL, that means less than a container load. As refer to shipping LCLs, there are a few differences from full container loads (FCL).

Below is what you need to know whether considering LCL or FCL ocean shipment options.

Most common products are charged by their volume, measured in cubic meters (CBMs). If your LCL shipment is very heavy, your cargo may be charged by weight instead of volume.

Freight Carrier typically have a minimum charge of 1 cubic meter (CBM) for LCL shipments. This means if you have a less than 1 CBM LCL, you’re going to be charged for 1 CBM.

The FCL freight have 20’ container and 40’ container for importer’s choice, the 20’has about33 CBMs of space and a 40’ container is approximately 67 CBMs in total. In total, FCL is often your best option for shipment over 15 CBMs. However, the logistics forwarder can help determine the “breakeven point” for LCL or FCL depending on your needs and current ocean freight rates.

What is the LCL Charges?

We can sea the destination port charge for LCL is often labeled “W/M” which stands for weight or measurement.  That means either the shipment charged by weight or volume in CBM.  For example, if the rate is $30 W/M and the shipment is 3 CBMs, the total ocean freight rate will be $150.  For few of heavy commodities, the WM charge would be charged per 1,000 KG of weight.

In addition, LCL shipments will also create warehouse charges for being consolidated and deconsolidated.  This include the charges from the Container Freight Station (CFS).

The charges are unique for LCL ocean shipments. As importer, you also need to consider the customs clearance, duties and taxes, AMS (U.S. imports only), ISF (U.S. imports only).

What is the Process for LCL shipments?

That is simple, you contact a freight forwarding expert and they will do the rest. They will need to know the measurements and weight of your shipment and the packing list, commercial invoice of the goods, so that they can create the documents that is necessary for goods export. This is the document that asserts their rights and responsibilities for the goods. The shipper will be amalgamating all the individual House BoLs into his Ocean BoL for the whole container.

The carrier will discover which shippers are working on your potential route, bearing in mind that transhipment may be required for less common destinations. They may also provide one of a range of added-value services including insurance, collection delivery to the final destination from the arriving port.

Finding the Right Freight Forwarder for Your LCL Sea Shipments

When you want to ship the LCL shipments, require reliable and experienced freight partners to avoid troubles, especially at origin. With the help of a freight forwarder, the whole process will be much easier because they can do the coordinating service for you.