LCL Shipping
Your small shipment solution, so your cargo never stops moving.
Discount on LCL rates
What is LCL shipping?
Is your shipment stackable but too small for a whole container? Less-than-Container-Load shipping allows you to share a consolidated container with other goods, ensuring your shipment is always on the move.
Your supply chain and your needs are unique – LCL shipping adapts itself to you, accommodating fluctuating demand and finding availability quickly during the busy periods, so you can stay on top of deliveries whatever happens.
What’s more – you only pay for what you ship, instead of a fixed rate. LCL shipping offers flexibility, peace of mind, and it saves you both time and money.
Why choose LCL Shipping?
LCL shipping keeps your cargo moving, whatever its size. This means you can offer consistent weekly shipping schedules, and this even if demand suddenly surges since this service is completely flexible and adaptable to your needs.
You only pay for what you’re shipping, too – LCL shipping keeps your supply chain fully optimized, at a low cost.
What is the difference between LCL and FCL?
When choosing how to ship your cargo via ocean, you will find there are two main shipping modes – Less-than-Container-Load (LCL) and Full Container Load (FCL) shipping.
- With Full Container Load, you will pay for the whole container regardless of the size and volume of what you’re shipping and there will be only one shipper in the cargo. This means there is also little handling since your goods do not need to be separated at the end of their journey.
- Less-than-Container-Load, on the contrary, lets you share a container with other shippers and thus consolidate a container that wouldn’t be full otherwise. It allows for a more flexible delivery and more availability in very busy periods, ensuring your goods are always on the move.
How does LCL shipping work?
LCL shipping services are designed for you, and they take care of your cargo from start to finish.
After contacting us and providing us with all the information about your goods, they will be either collected from your warehouse or dropped off by you at our warehouse.
Your cargo will then be grouped with others, loaded and sealed at a Container Freight Station, and it will leave for your destination on a ship after having gone through customs clearance.
Upon arrival, the container is unstuffed, and your cargo is shipped either directly to you or to our warehouse for you to pick up.
When to use LCL?
LCL shipping is the right solution for you if your cargo is stackable, doesn’t contain any dangerous goods, and is too small for a whole container.
If you are frequently placing small orders, have varying demands, or are opting for a fast time-to-market delivery, LCL shipping is also the service you should consider.
How much does the LCL shipment cost?
The cost of LCL shipping depends on a few different factors, the main ones being the volume of space that your cargo will occupy within the container and its weight. Volume is calculated in cubic meters (CBM) and weight in kilograms – at Maersk, the maximum is 12 CBM and 3,000 kg for LCL shipping.
The route your cargo is taking will also be taken into consideration, as well as its origin and destination. Indeed, different countries, ports, and Container Freight Stations will have different costs.
Finally, since there are many stages to LCL shipping, different fees might be added to support manpower and infrastructure. Overall, many components come into place when calculating the price of LCL shipping. Rest assured, though - at Maersk, we can take care of this for you and provide you with an instant LCL price.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Should you have any immediate questions regarding LCL, please refer to our customer FAQs. For further queries, just contact us – we are happy to help.
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