What is sea freight?
Sea freight is the most commonly used shipping method for importers and exporters. In fact, 90% of all shipments are shipped by sea and ocean. Other international shipping modes (express, standard air, express air) are faster, but also more expensive. Smaller shipments and high-value products often follow other models.
If ocean freight is too slow but air freight is too expensive, some freight forwarders now offer a relatively new service, often called expedited freight. This service is usually almost as fast as air freight, but it costs more like ocean freight. It works by simplifying the ocean shipping process, only combined with faster ocean shipping services and premium freight services.
Why choose ocean shipping over other shipping methods?
Capacity and Value - One container holds 10,000 beer bottles! And ocean shipping is cheaper. As a rule of thumb, anything over 500kg is too expensive to ship by air. For light shipments, use this chargeable weight calculator to calculate whether your shipment is charged by actual or dimensional weight.
Fewer restrictions – International law, national laws, carrier organization regulations and individual carrier regulations all play a role in defining and restricting which cargo is considered dangerous for shipping. In general, more products are restricted as air cargo than sea freight, including: gases (eg light bulbs), all flammable items (eg perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7), toxic or corrosive items (eg batteries), magnetic Substances (eg loudspeakers), oxidants and biochemical products (eg chemicals) and public health risks (eg untanned hides). See the Hazardous Materials table for details.
Emissions – CO2 emissions from ocean freight are negligible compared to air freight. For example, transporting 2 tons over 5,000 km by sea would result in 150 kg of CO2 emissions, compared to 6,605 kg of CO2 by air, according to the study.
What is the downside of ocean freight?
Speed - The plane is about 30 times faster than the Ocean Express; passenger jets cruise at 575 miles per hour, while slow-moving ocean liners travel at 16-18 miles per hour. Therefore, air shipments from China to the U.S. usually take at least 20 days compared to ocean shipments.
Reliability - Port congestion, customs delays and severe weather conditions often add more seaborne days than seaborne. So far, there has been more tracking technology in air freight than ocean freight. This means that sea freight is more prone to misplacement than air freight. This is especially true when the sea freight is smaller than the container load. That said, ocean freight is slowly becoming more reliable in order to compete with air freight.
Protection - Ocean freight is more susceptible to damage or vandalism than air freight. That's because it takes longer in transit, as the ship is more susceptible to movement. But don't worry too much about the cargo falling off the boat. Urban myth says 10,000 is lost every year, but it's more like 546 of the 120 million annual container shipments in beverages. Piracy is less likely. Hotspots in recent years include the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea and the Strait of Malacca. For more information on marine insurance, check out our page on cargo insurance.
Choose LCL or FCL shipping?
There are two options for ocean freight: a full container load (FCL) and a less than container load (LCL). With LCL, several shipments are packed into one container. This means more work for the forwarder, as well as additional paperwork, as well as the physical work of consolidating various shipments into containers and deconsolidating them at the other end before the main shipment. This makes LCL three disadvantages over FCL:
LCL shipments take more time than FCL shipments. The Freightos freight team generally recommends allowing an additional one to two weeks,
There is an increased risk of damage, misalignment and loss from LCL.
LCL prices are higher. In the experience of Freightos' freight team, the main shipping cost is about twice the cost per cubic meter.
The critical point for upgrading from LCL to FCL (minimum size container is 20 feet) is around 15 cubic meters, if the introduction of larger cargo is considered feasible.
How to know the ocean freight rate?
With the exception of particularly heavy items, most LCL shipments are priced by quantity, not by weight.
For most products, use these rules of thumb to choose the most cost-effective model:
It becomes uneconomical to transport goods weighing more than 500 kg by air. Sea freight is about 50 cents/kg, and it takes about 30-40 days for China-US freight. About 4 US dollars per kilo, China-US shipments are between 150 kilograms and 500 kilograms, which can be shipped economically by air, which takes about 8 to 10 days. Express air shipping is a few days faster, but more expensive. Packages lighter than 150kg can be delivered by courier (express shipping) economically. About 6 US dollars per kilogram, it will take about 3 days for China and the United States to ship. For products with a higher value per ton of cargo, use this chart. It is based on the most recent quotes and shipping rates from the Freightos marketplace.
Common sea freight:
Expect to see these items on ocean freight quotes and invoices:
Customs Security Surcharge (AMS, ISF)
Container Freight Station (these are consolidation fees, apply for LCL only)
Terminal handling fee (charged by the Port Authority)
customs broker
Pickup and Delivery
Insurance
Surcharges (fuel surcharges, handling of hazardous materials, storage, etc.)
Route charges (e.g. Panama Canal, Alameda Corridor)