Containers

Containers come in many shapes and sizes

There are two types of container packing, Full Container Load (FCL) and Less-than-container Load (LCL).

For those looking to import a small quantity of goods that might not require a full container’s worth of stock, it might be worth considering a Less-than-container load shipment, where a shipping broker or freight forwarder combines your supplier’s goods with others in order to make a full shipment. The unit cost per kg is more than that of a full container load, but the total delivery cost will be less. 

Pricing is one of the most important factors of shipping goods, but it’s important to clearly understand the responsibility of the consignee (shipper/ buyer) and the distributor or seller.

The shipment of goods and responsibilities are clearly defined by incoterms – and there are about 13 different terms.