Businesses often come across scenarios when they have to choose one of the many options available in the industry, ensuring it helps them maintain their existing bottom-line or grow noticeably. When the point is about international cargo freight shipping, the businesses have two choices: air freight and ocean freight; as rail freight and trucking freight can’t be a feasible option for every country.
Consider the four things listed below to choose a right means of transportation or carrier for your goods:
- Shipping Cost
No matter you’re a business or an individual, you have a definite budget for every major activity. So, it is obvious that you will compare the shipping cost between air freight carriers and ocean freight carriers. With a little research in the cargo shipping industry, you will come to know that shipping by ocean is far cheaper than shipping by airways. This isn’t always the case, but the claim is true for most of the freight shipping.
Learn how various carriers charge for international freight shipping. This will help you make the right decision. Air freight carriers commonly charge the shipment based on its weight and size. Ocean carriers charge the shipping amount based on the number of containers, as every container is of standard size.
However, if your freight size is less than the full container load, you will be charged the shipping price by cubic meter. If the shipment size is smaller, the difference between the shipping cost via air and ocean carrier will be nominal. But the margin increases as the shipment size increases. Most of the heavy haul freight shipping assignments are completed via sea freight carriers. Don’t neglect the warehousing cost, custom fee and destination surcharge while calculating the estimated prices of global shipping.
- Which one is faster?
When the point is about the more speed of the shipping carrier, air cargo is indisputably the winner. Many ocean shipping services may take a month or more to deliver your goods at the desired port. On the contrary, air cargos can deliver the shipment in a day or two. There are some scenarios when time is money, and in such case it is advisable to ship the freight via air cargos. It is worth considering that the technology is growing at a fast pace and ships are getting faster as the day passes.
- Safety
The history of air cargo shipping is much shorter than that of sea cargo shipping. Flights may get cancelled due to bad weather or any other reason. Similarly, it isn’t a new thing for ships to be delayed by a day or more.
- Go Greener!
Business isn’t always about making money. Sometimes it is about doing something good for the place, earth, you live on. Carbon Dioxide emission is much higher in air cargo shipping than ocean freight shipping. However, there are stories when oil spills by cargo ships have damaged the marine life badly.
Choose from some of the most experienced freight broker agents in your country. An expert freight broker will relieve you from all hassles of custom document preparation and ensure timely delivery of the shipment. Hope the above four factors will help you make a right choice!