How To Ship A Container Of Merchandise By Sea
If you have heard about shipping containers and how to ship a container by sea, then you must be wondering how exactly it works. Basically, when you ship a container overseas, you can ship all of your wholesale items in one container. However, you will need to either directly contact a company that owns or operates its own ships, or a freight broker or freight forwarder to arrange to transport the container from one port to another. As such, you will be able to find various types of shipping containers for your needs. The price for shipping a container by sea can vary greatly, since the price is influenced by factors such as supply and demand, shipping availability, size of the container, and external costs such as energy costs.
Cargo sea containers are basically used when moving bulk products from one port to another. This type of container can be used to ship clothing, food, metal and other similar products. These are great especially for retailers who want to import their products in the most economical fashion.
Whether you are exporting manufactured goods from China to the United States, or importing wholesale dresses from the US to Nigeria, shipping by sea is way cheaper than shipping by air, although the timeframe is substantially longer. For example, many of my Nigerian customers use Corporate Messengers to ship my wholesale products from New York to Lagos. Corporate Messengers, along with many other freight forwarders, offers air shipping, which takes about 7-10 days, and sea shipping, which can take up to 8 weeks. If you will be booking your own container directly with a shipping line, it is crucial that you are familiar with the process for clearing goods through your customs, and the logistics behind picking up your container from your port. The advantage of using a freight broker or a freight forwarder is that these companies will act as your agent and facilitate all aspects of the shipping, customs, and logistics process. Every port, whether it's the Redhook Container Terminal, the Port Newark Container Terminal, or the West Africa Container Terminal, all have their own rules and regulations in terms of pick up and transportation of containers.
There are also cargo ships that use these containers for their travels. Unfortunately, this option is not ideal for someone who wants to ship valuable items like artwork or works of art because these items are usually insured. This is why it is better for you to use the air cargo or sea shipping methods instead. This way, you can be sure that your valuable items will be safe no matter where you will be sending them to.
Many retailers prefer shipping by sea, using a container, because there is one flat fee, irrespective of how much merchandise they fit in to their container. For example, if the charge for shipping a container from Miami to Guyana is $1,000, a retailer can load up the container with as much wholesale products as can fit, and there will be no additional charges in terms of weight.
Below are companies that can help you ship your merchandise by sea:
Maersk, Air Sea Container Line Inc, International Sea & Air Shipping, Blue Sea Shipping Lines Inc, Cargo Care, Horizon International Cargo Inc, Corporate Messengers, Tropical Shipping, Trans Atlantic Line, KG And Dons Shipping.