There are no special heavy shipping rates on container vessels. Ask a steamship line for a quote, and it doesn’t matter if you’re filling a container with 5,000 lbs. or 55,000 lbs. The per-container ocean rate is the same.
But some heavy loads can’t be shipped in containers. And the total cost of transportation includes rates for other services besides the ocean crossing.
Say you need to move the machines from three shuttered US factories into a facility overseas. Or you’re providing several huge components needed to build an offshore oil rig. When you transport those items, that shipment is called heavy lift project cargo.
Project cargo might require multiple containers, it’s often heavier and bigger than the average ocean shipment, and it poses some special challenges:
The USA is the UK’s #1 export partner and the USA is the UK’s 3rd largest supplier.
The UK is a focus market for I.C.E. Transport. We’ve put together this shipping spotlight to summarize the type and volume of goods moving between the two countries.
Poland is a popular source of goods for US companies. The quality of Polish-made products is high, and shipping from Poland has become easier since that country joined the EU and upgraded its transportation infrastructure.
But how does the cost of shipping from Poland to the USA compare with transportation costs from other sourcing markets?
Many buyers look to Poland as a source of well-made goods at attractive prices. Of course, when you source from overseas, you have to consider the length of transit along with the cost of the product and the transportation.
So when it comes to shipping time, how does shipping from Poland to the USA compare with shipping from other markets?
Shipping an oversize load costs more than shipping cargo that fits in a conventional ocean container. That’s just a fact of life.
But the more you know about how the cost of oversize shipping adds up, the more easily you can find ways to shave some dollars off the total.
Let’s look at the factors that add expense to an oversize shipment:
Since 2015, U.S. imports of Polish goods have grown an average of 10% per year. Companies now recognize that they can buy high-quality products in Poland for less than the cost of similar goods sourced in Western Europe. The average shipping time from Poland to East Coast ports in the U.S. is 20 days.
Ocean is the cheapest way to transport cargo from the US to Poland, or vice versa. But for some shipments, “cheap” won’t do.
Say you’re shipping a sensitive product that can’t withstand three weeks on the ocean in summer or winter temperatures. Or say it’s crucial to deliver that product in just a few days. That’s when air freight provides the best solution.
One of the best ways to save money on international shipping is to load containers with as much weight as the law allows. After you load them, of course, you need to get that heavy shipment to the port, and then from the destination port to the receiver.
Those over-the-road trips can be tricky. It takes a special kind of service provider – ideally a heavy haul freight broker – to move a heavy shipment safely, legally and economically.
A major rail line in the New York Metro area was able to source the steel rail it needed in the UK. The company arranged ocean transport to the Port of NY/NJ, but transporting the steel rail from New Jersey to Connecticut was going to be a challenge since some of the rail sections were 132 feet long.
