Container shipments provide the convenience of forwarding goods and cargo to all European countries via the services of the European network for transportation. Containers provide protection for the shipments they are carrying from any negative weather conditions and impacts including: temperature, humidity and dust. They are easy to load, download and re-load which allows for cross-docking. The customers of the network of freight forwarders can choose the most suitable container transport services for their goods and cargo
Types of container transport
With container shipments there are two main types of services provided: loading the cargo or goods of the customer in a separate container, or combining it with the cargo of other customers in one container. The first type of forwarding where the container is carrying the cargo of a single customer is called FCL (full container load) transport. In order to use this service, the customer must have cargo which is larger than half of the volume of the container (over 14-15 cubic meters). The second type is called LCL (less than container load) for which the cargo should be less than 14-15 cubic meters or half of the volume of the container. The volume is calculated based on a standard 20′ container.
The convenience of using LCL transport via the groupage lines
It is not always economically efficient for customers of the European network for logistics services to use a whole container for their loads, because they need to pay the price for the entire container. Also, if the volume of the cargo is not too big and the customer wants to wait to be able to fill the entire container, the shipment can be delayed.
The groupage lines of the list of logistics companies include LCL containers. They can be used for combining various shipments of different customers until the container is fully loaded. The Freight forwarders network supports groupage lines to a number of different European countries. This allows for the quick allocation of the shipments of customers upon request for groupage services and for their fast forwarding to the final destination. Apart from the speediness of this type of transport, the customers also get cheaper prices for groupage forwarding services.
Types of containers used for the transport of different types of shipments
The Freight forwarders association can offer its customers various types of containers suitable for the forwarding of different types of goods and cargo. Apart from the standard containers, the member companies of IFA can provide:
- Refrigerated
- Thermal insulated
- Flexy tanks for bulk liquid loads
- Flat rack and open to containers for forwarding of oversized cargo
Benefits of the container freight forwarding services provided by the member companies of the European logistics association
The member companies of the Association provide additional services for their customers requesting container forwarding, including:
- A choice of a groupage line or route
- Preparing the Bills of Lading and all other documents required
- Loading and unloading at the end destination
- Preparing all necessary documents for the forwarding of hazardous goods or cargo in containers
- Real-time tracking information about the load thanks to the modern tracking systems used
- Cargo insurance
- Others
Container transport types
The International freight forwarders offer various types of transport depending on the terms of delivery required for the forwarding, as well as based on the goal for using the most optimized routes.
The cheapest type is sea freight which is suitable for customers who do not request fast delivery. Vehicle transport is better for customers who require faster delivery of their cargo. Whenever necessary these two types of container transport can be combined into the so-called multimodal forwarding services.