Sea freight, also known as ocean freight, is one of the longest established forms of transporting goods internationally. It’s also one of the most economical. While air-freight is favoured for time-sensitive shipments, sea freight is still the first choice for many businesses and individuals looking for a cost-effective solution.
Small businesses and individual customers may not typically consider sea freight as a viable option, as it tends to be associated with larger companies exporting high volumes of commercial cargo. But sea freight services can also be a great option for transporting personal effects.
With our LCL (part container load) service, you don’t need to have enough cargo to fill a whole container in order to get a beneficial shipping rate.
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Sea freight is just one cog within the machine that forms a supply chain network. Some companies opt to use a specific 3PL to have their goods shipped safely and legally. As mentioned in our Top 5 benefits of 3PL, one of the major benefits of these providers is that they already know all of the requirements and you will not have to engage with a shipping company for each item.
Once you have engaged with a shipping company, they will collect the goods from your supplier and move them through the port in one of the previously mentioned forms. It is worth noting that delivery times should include a delay moving through the port each side as they have to pass through customs.
Even with LCL as an option, you may still not have enough products, in which case it may be more cost-effective for you to send your products via Air Freight or Courier instead. These are both utilised for sending smaller quantities of products, they are more expensive as the vehicles themselves are smaller.
- Cost-effective comparatively to other methods
- Easy to manoeuvre heavy or large products with ease
- Inexpensive over long distances
- Most Carbon-efficient solution
Heavy Goods – For bulky or heavy items, shipping may be the only way to move goods overseas, as airlines may limit transportation and shipping ports generally have large storage capacities.
Respect for the environment – sea freight is the most environmentally friendly form of freight transport, which can help strengthen the brand and the reputation of the company