An international shipment goes through many stages. There’s loading, drayage, maybe a ride on the rails, and then the ocean crossing. On the other side there’s Customs, more land transportation and then, finally, unloading.
So many chances for something to go wrong!
For transatlantic freight forwarders like I.C.E. Transport, it's been interesting to see the sharp contrast in ocean freight prices and congestion issues between Transpacific and Transatlantic freight.
It's really a tale of two oceans.
For decades, steamship lines have had an unspoken pact with shippers: If you’re willing to wait many weeks to have your cargo delivered, we’ll transport it thousands of miles for you, and do it for cheap. Even with relatively affordable rates, the lines made oodles of money by piling containers – as many as 24,000 TEUs on the latest ships – onto a single vessel.
All that changed with the pandemic as the lines cut capacity to address greatly decreased demand. As factories re-opened and as consumers starting shopping again, demand for container space soared – but vessel capacity did not.
Nine of the top 20 countries that sell goods into Canada are in Europe, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. If you want to learn how to make this trade route more profitable through efficient global transportation, here’s a quick guide.
Ireland and the USA are significant trading partners. We've put together this shipping spotlight to summarize the type and volume of goods moving between the two countries, including shipping from Ireland to USA.
Trade between Lithuania and the USA is small but growing. I.C.E. Transport has a forwarding office in Vilnius, Lithuania. We've put together this shipping spotlight to summarize the type and volume of goods moving between the two countries.
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.
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?
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.
If you had to move a huge piece of machinery overseas, would you know what to do? Here’s how one shipper, with no prior experience, solved its oversize cargo transportation puzzle with just one phone call.
