When it comes to shipping parcels, if your business expands and you find that you can send hundreds and thousands of parcels each month to customers abroad. It may well be worth looking at shipping them in a bulk container, consolidated shipment by us container ship to the port of destination and then getting a local courier to distribute. This scenario would work well if you are shipping a lot of parcels from the China to Europe.
What do you have to be aware of when shipping a container which is full of parcels? Container ship, you can rent space on a container (It would be unusual to buy one), and there are two sizes 20 FT and 40 FT. A 20 FT container holds around 25 to 28 cubic feet, and a 40 FT container holds around 58 to 63 cubic feet. You will need to give the shipping agent at least 7 days’ notice that you want to rent a container from local container shipping companies. Yes, the important container ship is sea freight, you must confirm the cost before booking.
To give some idea of this space, a 20 FT container would hold the contents of a 1-2-bedroom house, and a 40 FT container one will hold the contents of a 3-5-bedroom house.
Container ship arrives port of destination, once your container has been shipped, your overseas freight forwarder will alert your shipments arrival and you will then have around 5 days in which to deal with customs and empty the contents of your container. Beyond this time the freight forwarder agent is likely to charge you for storage.
When container ship the items which you should not ship in containers are: jewellery, aerosols, alcohol, flammable or hazardous goods, firearms, live plants, financial or other important documents.
With regards to paperwork you will need to make two lists for insurance purposes. One will have the value of the replacement goods for the insurance company, and this should be sent to them or your Container Ship company if insuring through them. The other list that will be needed is one for overseas, however this will have no values on it.
When your container arrives abroad, you will have to clear customs, as well as paying a port fee and then either collect your goods or arrange for the containers ongoing shipment.
Container ship You could do this yourself but you would be well advised to use a customs broker, or your parcel courier service, or a local shipping agent as they will be used to dealing with all the paperwork and thus be able to ensure that your container of parcels passes swiftly through customs. It is not advisable to do this process yourself, particularly when shipping to foreign countries where language maybe a major barrier.