January 1, 2020 marks not just the start of a new year, but also a price hike for many companies that ship international freight. That increase comes courtesy of new ultra-low sulfur fuel regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
How can you make sure this stringent standard for cleaner fuel doesn’t take too big a bite from your budget?
If you’ve ever had qualms about selling into Poland, or sourcing from that country, it’s time to stop worrying. Shipping from the US to Poland, or vice versa, has grown much simpler since Poland joined the European Union in 2004.
As you consider opportunities in Poland, here are some facts about shipping to keep in mind:
When you need a load to arrive overseas in several days rather than several weeks, you’ll pay top dollar to send it by air. But what about less urgent cargo? If expedited shipping doesn’t fit your business model, do you simply have to accept that when your load moves by ocean, the transit will be super slow?
Not really.
If you’re looking for a trucker to move heavyweight international containers, you need to be resourceful. After all, only a fraction of carriers provide heavyweight services. When capacity gets tight, those slots fill up fast.
Filling a container is like assembling a 3D puzzle. Put the pieces together just right, and you win a prize: lower freight costs.
That’s because ocean carriers charge for transportation by the container. If you pay $3,000 to ship a 40-ft. box, that price stays the same whether you fill the box with 20 pallets of cargo or 25. The more product you fit in, the less you pay per unit.
Here’s some advice for creating a container loading plan that gives you maximum benefit for your transportation buck.
You wouldn’t put on flip-flops to climb a mountain or go running with size-12 sneakers on your size-10 feet. Ocean containers are a bit like shoes: you need the right kind, and the right size, for your specific purpose.
If you’re moving to Eastern Europe from the US, get ready for an education. Shipping personal items overseas is much more complicated than sending them, say, from Boston to Arizona in a moving van. You’ll need to get up to speed on what you can and can’t ship in an ocean container, assemble the necessary paperwork and prepare to clear Customs while avoiding costly duties and delays.
If you’ve done business mainly within the U.S., but now you’re starting to import or export, get ready to be thrown some curveballs. International freight forwarding is a whole different game.
Moving containers to or from Europe? You’ll face rules and situations that don’t come up when you ship from state to state. It’s important to work with service providers that understand all the subtleties.
As a rule, the less you handle cargo, the better. But when you move heavy cargo internationally, sometimes it pays to transload. The extra handling adds a bit of risk, but if the numbers work out and your service partners do the job right, transloading can sometimes save you money.
When you need to get a container to the port or rail terminal, or from port or rail terminal to its final destination, you have some choices to make. One of them is how to source that over-the-road move. Should you work with the steamship line that provides the international transportation? Or should you work with a trucking broker?
Before you decide, here are some important factors to consider.
