How to save sea freight

How to save sea freight

2023 into the second half of the year, global shipping is also about to usher in the peak season. Recently, many shipping companies have begun to adjust the freight rates of various routes around the world. As freight rates start to rise, how to save money from transportation links in international shipping? This is a matter of great concern to shippers.

For a professional freight forwarder, it is not only necessary to understand the maritime market, know how to deal with the shipping company, but also to master the skills and methods to ensure the safety and efficiency of the goods while saving transportation costs for the owners as much as possible.

01 Scientific planning of transportation routes

It is very necessary to plan the transportation route of goods scientifically. For example, to European ports, although most shipping companies have the difference between basic and non-basic ports, the freight difference may be between $100 and $200. This cost will be divided into different shipping companies will be different, understand the division of different companies can choose the transport company to get the most favorable freight rate.

For example, the transportation mode of the East coast port of the United States has two ways of water and land bridge, and the price difference between the two can be hundreds of dollars. If you do not catch the shipping date, you can ask the shipping company for the whole water way.

02 Reasonable design of packaging

Every means of transport has a load bearing weight and maximum volume limits, so this should be taken into account when designing the packaging of goods. For example, if there is excess space or insufficient space in the container after calculation of the number of goods of the owner, then the number of goods must be changed. For example, two orders will be combined into a full container, or the excess quantity will be reserved for the next shipment, so that the cost saved will be considerable.

In addition, before shipment, but also scientific calculation of product packaging, the specific practice is to refer to the volume of the container, according to the number of orders to design packaging; Then, according to the size of the container, the size of the carton is designed, and an optimal packing scheme is developed to make the container reach an ideal state.

03 Port collection by suitable means of transport

The goods in the mainland can choose different inland transport modes port, generally speaking, the train transport price is the cheapest, but the delivery, delivery procedures are complex, suitable for large quantities and do not catch up with the delivery time of the goods. Truck transportation is the easiest, the time is fast, and the price is slightly more expensive than the train. The most expensive is to load containers directly in the factory or warehouse, which is suitable for those items that are not suitable for multiple loading and unloading.

On the premise of fully understanding the goods, scientific selection of the best port transportation mode can save transportation costs.

04 Handle LCL cargo properly

The transportation procedure of LCL cargo is much more complicated than that of FCL, and the freight is relatively flexible. There are many transportation companies that do the whole container, and the price will be relatively transparent in the shipping market. Of course, there are open market prices for LCL cargo, but the surcharges vary widely from carrier to carrier, so the freight rate on the carrier's price list will only be a part of the final charge.

(1) Confirm all items charged in writing to see if their quotation is a blanket price.

(2) Calculate the weight and size of the goods clearly to prevent the other party from manipulating it.

(3) You can find a company that specializes in LCL, which directly assembles containers, and their freight rates and surcharges are much lower than those of intermediate companies.

05 Negotiate with the shipping company

Master bargaining skills with shipping companies:

(1) If you are really a big customer, you can sign a contract with the shipping company directly and apply for preferential rates.

(2) Find out the different freight rates obtained by declaring different cargo names. Most shipping companies charge separately for goods, and some cargoes can be classified differently.

(3) If you do not catch the ship, you can choose a slow ship or a non-direct ship, of course, this must be in the premise of not affecting the arrival on time.

(4) Shipping market freight prices often change, it is best to have more information about freight rates.

In Summary:

For freight forwarders, in international maritime transportation, if scientific planning can indeed save costs. However, saving transportation costs is not a matter of haggling over freight prices, because the most important thing in cargo transportation is cargo safety and transportation efficiency.

For the shippers, finding a professional freight forwarding company is the best choice. Professional freight forwarder signed with the shipping company, you can get the price from the shipping company will be very cheap; Second, long-term cooperation with freight forwarding companies more tacit understanding, generally can get lower freight.