The idea of shipping containers internationally with vehicles, freight or household goods may sound complicated, but at Schumacher Cargo it’s our profession.
We’ve been providing a full range of international container shipping and ocean freight services to over 60 destinations for the past 38 years.
In all, we operate from 5 locations across the USA, with our main offices in Los Angeles, Houston and New York, giving clients the best departure options while offering highly competitive ocean container shipping rates.
Below is a quick list of more common shipment types using our container service or air freight. The most common include vehicles and household goods.
Different Shipping Services:
- International Car Shipping
- Shipping Household Goods
- Motorcycle Shipping
- Boat & Yacht Transport
- Air Freight Shipping
International Ocean Freight Shipping
As an international shipping company, we specialize a wide range of services and depending on the type of shipment, there is always an option that will be better suited than another.
For instance, most oversized shipments will use what’s known as a flatrack because a standard ocean cargo container won’t work.
However, the ones that are used most are the 20 foot and 40 foot containers, both the standard size and high cube.
There are numerous varieties used by freight forwarders but these are the most widely used for common cargo related to international relocation and shipping.
The next important question would be to ask yourself, which shipping container size is right for my shipment?
That will depend on whether your cargo is only 100 cubic feet of household goods, or 3 motorcycles, a tool chest and a sofa.
How to Ship Cargo Overseas via Container
Regardless of the size of the shipping container, two terms that are quite common in relation to each container shipment are FCL and LCL, or full container load and less container load.
These two terms are used quite frequently by forwarders, but you will also hear shared/consolidated container and sole use container.
As we specialize in international relocation and vehicle shipping, we’ll explain what each means in these terms.
The terms themselves are pretty simple. Let’s say we have an international move of a one bedroom apartment with only 250 cubic feet of cargo. It wouldn’t make sense to book an entire 20 foot container and only use a small amount of space.
So to save yourself money, that extra space is filled with other shipments bound for the same final destination. We actually specialize in consolidation, which is a more relevant term than LCL.
Depending on the commodity, this is a very practical method. FCL, is the equivalent to our sole use container service and just means that you’ve booked your own container and can use the space to the fullest.
*Our overseas shipping services are tailored to each individual shipment and we always try to find the best option for our clients based on the timeframe, destination and delivery method.
International Air Freight
Air freight doesn’t fall into the ocean freight category but we also have a dedicated air freight division that specializes overseas air freight shipments.
This type of service does cost more, but depending on the specific needs related to time frames and cost trade offs, it is another viable service and is much quicker than ocean freight.
As part of this service, we also offer door-to-door or port-to-port both for importing cargo into the USA and exporting globally.
The major difference being that the goods will arrive and depart from international airports rather than shipping ports.
In the ever expanding and changing world that we live in, our company’s knowledge and experience keeps us at the top of our industry and allows us to better serve you.
Additional Information
Written by Damien Shields
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