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Is TopAlpha's shipping service the best option from the EU?
When you start shipping freight in high volumes, you should think about ocean freight. Whether you are choosing the shipping method to match your needs or calculating costs, here's your guide.

Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
Ocean freight transport involves shipping goods via shipping containers by sea.

Most importers and exporters transport their goods by sea. Over 90% of everything is shipped by ocean freight. In contrast, the other modes of international freight transport (courier, regular air freight, express air freight) are not only slower, but also more expensive. These other modes are usually used for shipments of small sizes or for those with high values.

When ocean freight is too slow and air freight is too pricey, some forwarders offer express shipping. This service is often nearly as quick as air freight, but is typically less expensive. In order to achieve this, ocean freight processes are streamlined and only connect to faster ocean services, as well as to premium trucking services.

Why Ship By Sea?
This container is capable of holding 10000 beer bottles! And ocean freight is cheaper. Generally, air freight is too expensive for shipments weighing more than 500 kilograms. Use this chargeable weight calculator to work out whether you will be charged by actual weight or dimensional weight for your light shipment. You can see live international shipping rates by visiting our FBX index.
In the case of dangerous goods, international law, national law, carrier organization regulations, and individual carrier regulations all play a role in restricting and defining who can transport them. There are more products restricted as air cargo than ocean freight, including: gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. As a result, items with a corrosive or toxic component (e.g., perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7). batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. Public health risks (e.g., speakers, oxidizers, chemical medicines) arise from drivers (e.g., air pollution). untanned hides). Check out the Hazardous Material Table for more information.
In comparison with air freight, ocean freight CO2 emissions are tiny. This study indicates that 2 tonnes shipped by ocean freight for 5000 kilometers will lead to 150 kg of CO2 emissions, while shipping 2 tonnes by air freight will result in 6605 kg of CO2 emissions.

ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
Ocean liners move at 16-18 mph, compared with passenger jets travelling at about 575 mph. There is no wonder, therefore, that an air freight shipment from China to the US typically takes at least 20 extra days compared to ocean freight.
Ocean freight generally takes more time than air freight because of congestion at ports, customs delays, and weather conditions. It is often the case that tracking technologies available for air freight are more advanced than those available for ocean freight. Shipping TopAlpha Thus, ocean freight is more likely to go missing than air freight. This is particularly true for ocean shipments that are less than a container load. In spite of this, ocean freight is becoming more reliable thanks to digitization.
Ocean freight is more likely to be damaged or destroyed than air freight. Because of the longer transit time and because ships move around more, it takes longer. However, don't be too concerned about ocean cargo falling off a ship. There are a lot more lost containers than the urban myth claims, as 546 out of 120 million movements fall into the ocean each year. Even less likely is piracy. A few hotspots in recent years have been the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Strait.
Ocean Freight Services
Sea freight services also fall into two types: full container loads (FCLs) and less than container loads (LCLs). A LCL container is used to pack several shipments together. As a result, there will be more paperwork and additional physical work for the forwarder, consolidating multiple shipments into one container before the main transit and de-consolidating the shipments at the destination. This gives LCL three disadvantages:

Shipping by LCL takes longer than shipping by FCL. Typically, it is recommended to allow one to two extra weeks for LCL.
The use of LCL comes with an increased risk of damage, misplacement, and loss.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
As shipping rates are lower for FCL, it may be worth using a full container once your shipment is large enough, even if you do not intend to fill the container completely. 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 especially heavy goods, most LCLs are priced per volume of goods, rather than weight.

For most products, use these guidelines when determining the most cost-effective mode of shipping:

For shipments of 500 kg and more, air freight is no longer economical.
Shipments from China to the US take 30-40 days and cost around $2-$4 / kg.
An air cargo shipment from China to the United States of 150 kg to 500 kg costs $5-8 per kilo, and it takes 8-10 days.
It takes a few days less to ship by air freight, but the cost is higher.
A package weighing less than 150 kg can be shipped by courier (express freight).

Your freight quote includes the following costs, rates, and charges:
Here are the items you can expect to see on ocean freight quotes and invoices:
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