Everything To Know About Shipping Your Freight Container

Are you curious as to what kinds of materials are in the giant containers you see on trucks, planes, and boats? 

Are you wondering if using a freight container would be the solution for your personal shipping concerns?

Are you a business unsure about the best way to ship your goods to international clients?

As usual, we’re here to answer your questions. 

What is Container Shipping?

In an article entitled “Essentials of Container Shipping,” Holly Schubert writes:

“Container shipping services are important to global trade. Whether you are purchasing tennis shoes from China or leather goods from Australia, having an economical way to ship those goods is necessary. That is where container shipping services come into play.” 

With standardized container sizes, container shipping revolutionized shipping by making loading and unloading cargo more efficient and easier to transport goods both nationally and internationally. If you’re interested in learning more, check out this video about how container shipping actually works.

All kinds of goods can be transported via a container, both for business and personal use.

You can choose container shipping for things like: 

• home goods, furniture, and appliances
• cars and other vehicles
• heavy equipment, steel, a crane
• bulk goods for business
• etc.

In other words, you can use a container to ship almost anything. 
Depending on where you are shipping to and from, your goods will probably be shipped using intermodal shipping—basically moving freight by two or more means of transportation. By using freight containers, the loads can move easily between a truck, a train, and a ship.

The logistics of that require experienced people to help plan. This is where a transport company like ShipLux comes in, as we are here to help figure out all the logistics and ensure that your goods get where they need to go. 

Types of Shipping Containers

These large metal boxes come in standard sizes: ranging from 8ft to 40 ft. in length. Back in 1961, the International Organization for Standardization established these standards, making international shipping easier than ever.

Within those standards, there are six types of shipping containers:

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Types of Container Packing

There are two types of container packing: Full Container Load (FCL) and Less than Container Load (LCL) also known as a part-load shipment. The difference is self-explanatory. With an FCL your goods take up the entire container. An LCL makes it possible for you to ship a smaller amount of cargo by sharing a container with other people.

The main thing to understand about FCL vs LCL is that it does affect things like pricing and timeline.

Advantages of Full Container Load (FCL)

• Better value: You will get a flat rate for the use of the entire container rather than a rate based on the volume of what you are shipping.
• Faster: Things like unloading, customs, and inspection get more complicated when you share a container with others, as the goods need to be separated and sorted for final delivery. 
• Safer: When using LCL, goods get moved around more, as other shipments are added to the container. While generally, safe, all the extra handling can mean more risk of damage.
• You can ship a car. Using a container to ship your car gives it more protection, when secured properly and entrusted to the hands of experienced car transport companies.

Advantage of LCL

If your load is smaller than 15cbm, then it would be silly to put it in a full container. While the per unit price for shipping LCL is higher (because it will be assessed by volume) it will still cost less than paying for a full container.

ShipLux: Logistic Specialists for All Your Container Shipping Needs

We know this sounds a little complicated, but the truth is that this is what we do.

No matter what you are shipping, from smaller LCL loads to cars and heavy equipment in an FCL container, or even empty shipping containers that you need to fill–our shipping experts are here to help you figure out all of the logistics, and get your goods from point A to point B.Contact ShipLux today four a price quote, that will tell you everything you need to know about transporting a shipping container. We offer price transparency, and 24-hour service to answer all of your container shipping questions