Whether you want to move your entire home, office, or loads of manufactured products, transport shipping containers is the best way to do it. However, considering the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, you might find it challenging to get affordable shipping rates. The corona virus outbreak has forced governments to take measures like lock down of the cities and limiting the movement of people.
Not to mention, many countries have stopped or restricted air travel, which has slowed down the goods. Further, air freight capacity has become very limited, but LCLXchange is continuing to serve people with international container shipping. Thanks to increasing in the freighter flights and alternative modes like ocean and railway transport. But, before you ship something, you should know how the shipping cost gets determined.
Indeed, you can rely on the container shipping rates calculator. However, below are some fundamental factors that affect the overall costs of overseas shipping.
1 – International and local costs are different
There’s one fundamental principle you should know when it comes to transporting shipping containers: the local costs are cheaper than international transporting. For instance, when you transport a shipping container locally, you may get charged around $2-$4 per mile.
But, when you go for international container shipping, then costs increase dramatically. In such a case, the container costs can range from $2K to $20K. So, the conclusion is overseas shipping is expensive, and your best bet is to find a good freight forwarding company.
2 – Size of shipping affects the cost
Another fundamental rule of shipping is, the costs are directly proportional to the size of the container. There are commonly three sizes of containers: 20 feet, 40 feet, and 56 feet. The latter is a bit uncommon, but it does provide an extra space of 120 feet per container.
Keep in mind that when freight gets transported by ground, it gets classified according to its size or weight. But, ocean and air transportation doesn’t rely on such classification. But, you must still learn about the class system, as it can give you a closer idea about transportation costs. In the end, the bigger unit you have, the more you need to pay.
3 – Consider the cost of insurance
When it comes to additional costs, insurance is highly influential. The insurance charges increase with the size of your unit. Also, if you are transporting a single container, it may or may not be worth buying insurance. But, if you are looking at a bunch of shipping containers, then insurance can be high.
Your best option is to work with someone who knows the shipping and logistics industry well. Also note that some companies include insurance costs into total charges, while others don’t. So, choose freight shipping service wisely to avoid any surprise costs.
In summary
Those were the factors that determine the costs of shipping your container overseas. Factors like the size of shipping and insurance do affect the overall shipping costs. So, next time you get container shipping quotes, you can better understand the pricing behind it.