We offer ocean, sea, and air freight shipping: rates, quotes, and charges at TopAlpha Ocean Freight
You should consider ocean freight when shipping in high volumes. Your guide to everything ocean, from choosing the best mode to calculating costs and transit times.
Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
Freight transport by sea involves shipping goods in shipping containers.
Importers and exporters most commonly use shipping via the ocean. In fact, 90% of everything is sent by sea and ocean freight. All the other modes of international freight transport (courier, standard air freight, express air freight) are faster, but they are also more expensive. Other modes of transport are primarily used for shipments that are small and of high value.
When ocean freight is too slow and air freight is too expensive, some freight forwarders offer express shipping. As a result, this service is often faster and less expensive than air freight. We streamline ocean freight processes and only connect with faster services and premium trucking companies.
Why Ship By Sea?
Approximately 10000 beer bottles can be held inside one container. And ocean freight is cheaper. Any shipment weighing more than 500 kg is generally too heavy for air freight. Use this calculator to determine if your shipment will be charged by actual weight or volumetric weight for light shipments. Our FBX index provides live rates for international shipping.
It is easier to define and restrict what goods are considered dangerous for transportation if the rules of international law, national law, carrier organization regulations, and carrier specific regulations are followed.ocean shipping company As a general rule, more products are restricted for air freight than ocean freight, including gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. For example, perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7); toxic or corrosive substances (e.g. batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. Public health risks (e.g. speakers), oxidizers, and biochemical products (e.g. chemical medicines) are also evaluated. untanned hides). You can find more information in the Hazardous Material Table.
In comparison with air freight, ocean freight CO2 emissions are tiny. According to this research, when 2 tonnes are transported 5000 kilometers over water, it will emit 150 kg of CO2, while air freight will emit 6605 kg.
ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
Speed aircraft are about 30 times faster than ocean liners; passenger jets cruise at 575 mph, while ocean liners steam at 16-18 mph. The air freight route from China to the US, therefore, usually takes at least 20 days longer than ocean freight.
Constraints such as port congestion, environmental concerns, and bad weather can delay ocean freight much more than air freight. Air freight tracking technology is often more advanced than ocean freight tracking technology. It follows that ocean freight is more likely to get misplaced than air freight. The rates are especially high when the shipment is less than a container load. The digitization of ocean freight is making it more reliable.
Ocean freight is more likely to be damaged or destroyed than air freight. It's because it's in transit for a longer period of time and because ships are more likely to move. If your ocean cargo falls off a ship, don't worry too much about it. In reality, around 546 of the 120 million container movements per year fall in the water. Even less likely is piracy. Horn of Africa, Gulf of Guinea, and Malacca Straits have been hotspots recently.
Ocean Freight Services
There are also two options for ocean and sea freight: full container loads and less than container loads. LCL involves packing several shipments into one container. This leads to more work for the forwarder, as there is more paperwork involved as well as actual physical work involved with consolidating shipments and re-consolidating them after the main transit. This gives LCL three disadvantages:
Shipping LCLs requires more time than shipping FCLs. Typically, it is recommended to allow one to two extra weeks for LCL.
Damage, misplacing, and loss are risky with LCL.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
As shipping rates are lower for FCL, you may want to use a full container once your shipment reaches a certain size, even if your goods don't fill the container. The tipping point between LCL and FCL (the smallest sized container is a 20 footer) is somewhere around 15 cubic meters.
Sea Freight Rates per kg
Most LCL shipping is priced by volume only, not by weight, except for especially heavy items.
For most products, these rules of thumb can be used when selecting the most cost-effective method:
The cost of air freight increases dramatically over 500 kg.
In general, ocean freight costs around $2-$4 / kg, and a China-US shipment takes anywhere from 30-40 days.
Air freight can be an economic choice for China-US shipments between 150 kg and 500 kg, which will take 8-10 days.
It takes a few days less to ship by air freight, but the cost is higher.
If the package weight is less than 150 kg, it can be sent by courier (express freight).
Costs, rates, and charges for ocean and sea freight quotes:
On ocean freight quotes and invoices, expect to find these items:
Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
Freight transport by sea involves shipping goods in shipping containers.
Importers and exporters most commonly use shipping via the ocean. In fact, 90% of everything is sent by sea and ocean freight. All the other modes of international freight transport (courier, standard air freight, express air freight) are faster, but they are also more expensive. Other modes of transport are primarily used for shipments that are small and of high value.
When ocean freight is too slow and air freight is too expensive, some freight forwarders offer express shipping. As a result, this service is often faster and less expensive than air freight. We streamline ocean freight processes and only connect with faster services and premium trucking companies.
Why Ship By Sea?
Approximately 10000 beer bottles can be held inside one container. And ocean freight is cheaper. Any shipment weighing more than 500 kg is generally too heavy for air freight. Use this calculator to determine if your shipment will be charged by actual weight or volumetric weight for light shipments. Our FBX index provides live rates for international shipping.
It is easier to define and restrict what goods are considered dangerous for transportation if the rules of international law, national law, carrier organization regulations, and carrier specific regulations are followed.ocean shipping company As a general rule, more products are restricted for air freight than ocean freight, including gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. For example, perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7); toxic or corrosive substances (e.g. batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. Public health risks (e.g. speakers), oxidizers, and biochemical products (e.g. chemical medicines) are also evaluated. untanned hides). You can find more information in the Hazardous Material Table.
In comparison with air freight, ocean freight CO2 emissions are tiny. According to this research, when 2 tonnes are transported 5000 kilometers over water, it will emit 150 kg of CO2, while air freight will emit 6605 kg.
ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
Speed aircraft are about 30 times faster than ocean liners; passenger jets cruise at 575 mph, while ocean liners steam at 16-18 mph. The air freight route from China to the US, therefore, usually takes at least 20 days longer than ocean freight.
Constraints such as port congestion, environmental concerns, and bad weather can delay ocean freight much more than air freight. Air freight tracking technology is often more advanced than ocean freight tracking technology. It follows that ocean freight is more likely to get misplaced than air freight. The rates are especially high when the shipment is less than a container load. The digitization of ocean freight is making it more reliable.
Ocean freight is more likely to be damaged or destroyed than air freight. It's because it's in transit for a longer period of time and because ships are more likely to move. If your ocean cargo falls off a ship, don't worry too much about it. In reality, around 546 of the 120 million container movements per year fall in the water. Even less likely is piracy. Horn of Africa, Gulf of Guinea, and Malacca Straits have been hotspots recently.
Ocean Freight Services
There are also two options for ocean and sea freight: full container loads and less than container loads. LCL involves packing several shipments into one container. This leads to more work for the forwarder, as there is more paperwork involved as well as actual physical work involved with consolidating shipments and re-consolidating them after the main transit. This gives LCL three disadvantages:
Shipping LCLs requires more time than shipping FCLs. Typically, it is recommended to allow one to two extra weeks for LCL.
Damage, misplacing, and loss are risky with LCL.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
As shipping rates are lower for FCL, you may want to use a full container once your shipment reaches a certain size, even if your goods don't fill the container. The tipping point between LCL and FCL (the smallest sized container is a 20 footer) is somewhere around 15 cubic meters.
Sea Freight Rates per kg
Most LCL shipping is priced by volume only, not by weight, except for especially heavy items.
For most products, these rules of thumb can be used when selecting the most cost-effective method:
The cost of air freight increases dramatically over 500 kg.
In general, ocean freight costs around $2-$4 / kg, and a China-US shipment takes anywhere from 30-40 days.
Air freight can be an economic choice for China-US shipments between 150 kg and 500 kg, which will take 8-10 days.
It takes a few days less to ship by air freight, but the cost is higher.
If the package weight is less than 150 kg, it can be sent by courier (express freight).
Costs, rates, and charges for ocean and sea freight quotes:
On ocean freight quotes and invoices, expect to find these items:
