Oversize freight often crosses the ocean in specialized containers, especially on flat racks. But for some cargo, break bulk shipping is a better option. Here’s a look at what can make break bulk a good choice for oversize freight, with some advice about how to ship break bulk successfully.
Maybe you’ve bought a used excavator from a dealer in another country. Or you’ve made the winning bid on equipment from a recently-closed factory thousands of miles away. There are many reasons for shipping machinery overseas, many decisions to make along the way and many opportunities to ensure trouble-free, cost effective transit – if you have the necessary capabilities.
Out of gauge cargo – cargo that doesn’t fit in a standard shipping container – poses extra risks on the road. That’s why state DOTs regulate OOG cargo and require truckers who transport it to get special permits.
Complying with state regulations for oversize cargo helps ensure that your load will arrive on time, undamaged and without any legal problems.
Out of gauge cargo shipping often presents you with a choice. Is it better to transport the oversize load in a specialized ocean container? Or should you use roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) service?
Here are some questions to consider as you choose the most efficient and cost-effective way to ship out of gauge cargo.
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:
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:
When the item you ship is too tall or wide for a regular shipping container, that’s called out of gauge, or oversize, cargo.
Just as out of gauge freight doesn’t fit neatly into a box, out of gauge transport doesn’t fit into a simple process. This kind of international shipping comes with complicated challenges. So it takes special skill and experience to manage a successful transit.
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.
Sometimes you have to load a truck with extra-heavy freight—for example, to transport large machinery to an ocean port. Sometimes it just pays to ship heavy—for instance, to save money on ocean transportation by fitting all the weight you can into a container.
Either way, it’s important to understand heavy haul freight rates and know what it takes to transport heavy freight over the road.
For global shippers of oversized (e.g., machinery, construction equipment) and heavy freight (e.g., stone, tile, metal, forgings, castings and even bottled water), keeping freight costs low requires added expertise and, sometimes, a little creativity. Here are 15 ideas to reduce costs for oversized and heavy freight.
