International Container Shipping

International container shipping is a modern, universal and safe way to move goods over any distances and by any means of transport. Today, it is the main mode of ocean freight.

An ISO-container is a returnable standard sized container allowing to optimize the loading space and to automate handling operations. There are different types of containers:

• standard, larger in width or height;
• reefer containers;
• tank containers for liquid cargoes transportation, etc.

The use of containers allows to significantly reduce the time and cost of loading works at the port, warehouse, etc.

International container shipping volumes, trafficability and carrying capacity of container vessels is measured in so-called 20 ft equivalent — Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU). The largest container vessels can carry up to 21000 TEU at a time.

Container shipping is an absolute leader in terms of cargo safety. Containers are stuffed and sealed by the consignor and arrive to the consignee as is after a number of transhipments.

The goods follow from the consignor to the consignee by various means of transport without any additional inspections.

They are essential for multimodal container freight, as transshipment from one mode of transport to another is performed by transferring to a railway or a truck platform. Thus, a door-to-door delivery can be performed easily.

The use of containers allows to avoid temporary storage warehousing at transshipment points. A well-developed agency network allows to order a container to any Chinese port.

We recommend to contact a reliable company in order to avoid all the paperwork and all the difficulties connected with accepting goods from the seller. ATС Group has a vast experience in arranging cargo carriage of any complexity, including dangerous, valuable and oversized cargoes.

International container shipping cost

Container shipping cost is based on a number of factors:

• shipment route;
• cargo description;
• weight that is an important value, especially in case of a land transportation, as there are certain restrictions to the maximum weight of long haul trucks in different countries;
• individual cargo characteristics, e.g. perishables are to be transported in a refer container, and dangerous goods require a special route, as not all ports support all hazard classes;
• the need for an additional insurance.

The sea line announces the freight price based on these figures. It depends on the season, line workload and demand. The price of freight for the same cargo on the same destination may change over time.

Additional costs are added to the cost of freight when establishing a shipping rate for international container shipping:

• container delivery to the consignor’s warehouse, return of an empty container after the carriage is finished;
• convoy;
• brokerage fee;
• dis-/embarkation;
• port fee;
• empty container declaring;
• other expenses — delays beyond the standard time, etc.

There are freight stock indices for standard cargoes on popular destinations. For example, the SCFI index (Shanghai Containerized Freight Index) reflects the cost of transportation from China to main destinations.