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LCL Freight in Shipping Goods from the USA overseas

LCL sea freight is a low-cost way to ship boxes, crates, and pallets internationally.

In respect of international cargo transportation from the USA, LCL stands for "Less than Container Load." It is designed for shipping overseas goods that cannot fill an entire 40-foot container.

Unlike with FCL, with LCL load, shippers are not at risk of heavy penalties from steamship lines, which may occur even for minor negligence at any stage of container transportation.  

With Less-than-Container-Load, international shippers share space in 40-foot sea containers handled by non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCC) - cargo consolidators. LCL is more flexible and convenient for transporting goods overseas than FCL. That is why experienced exporters often choose it to ship commodities overseas, even though they ship loads sufficient to fill an entire 20-foot container.

It does not matter whether you ship commercial cargo from the U.S., deliver personal belongings, or move overseas. Suppose the goods are appropriately packed in boxes or crates and the overall volume does not exceed 15-20 cubic meters. There are many advantages to using an LCL carriage instead of hauling entire containers internationally.

With LCL, you can ship internationally a relatively large load, significantly reducing the cost of transportation:

• When you share a 40-foot sea container with other exporters, you do not pay for the entire container but only for the space used in it. This is obviously more cost-effective than conveying a whole container.
  
  
• Typically, international LCL freight rates are calculated by volume (per cubic meter or cubic foot) rather than by weight. The capacity of cargo vessels is not limited to the weight of the load but by the hold of the ships. Most of the time, weight with Less-than-Container-Load is not a pricing factor. Shipping costs in LCL depend on the volume of cargo rather than weight. You may find more information about dimensional weight in international cargo transportation from the United States by sea and U.S. domestic ground transportation LTL on the website.
  
  
• If you ship Less-than-Container-Load, you may save on U.S. domestic ground transportation. If you self-deliver your cargo, packed in boxes that can easily fit into your own or rented truck, to a carrier terminal, you eliminate cargo pre-carriage expenses. The costs of cargo transportation within the U.S. are pretty high. Delivering cargo to a carrier terminal may even exceed the cost of international ocean transportation.

It is flexible:

• Suppose you self-deliver your cargo, packed in loose boxes, at an ocean carrier terminal (professionally called CFS - Container Freight Station). In that case, your boxes can be professionally palletized into one or more skids at the CFS. By palletizing your boxes, you make them safe for international shipping. Handling small and light boxes is much easier than carrying heavy pallets. You may palletize smaller boxes and request the CFS to ship oversized items loose.
   
• With Less-than-Container-Load, you can ship overseas boxes, crates, or pallets of any size and form. The only limitation is that all units must fit into a 40-foot sea container. The internal dimensions of such a container are:
   
  Length - 39'5" = 12 meters
  Width - 7'5" = 2.35 meters
  Height - 7'10" = 2.39 meters
  
  
• Sending goods from the USA in cardboard boxes complies with ISPM15 regulations that apply to global cargo transportation. You can purchase regular boxes at U-Haul, Walmart, Office Depot, etc. For extra protection, we recommend heavy-duty cardboard moving boxes that are widely available online. Then, you palletize your boxes on certified ISPM15 stamped or plastic pallets.
  
  Please note that if you self-deliver your cargo packed in loose cardboard boxes at a CFS, then the CFS can properly palletize and shrink-wrap your boxes for shipping from the United States overseas for a fee of $35-50 per pallet, including the cost of a certified pallet provided by the CFS. Use the opportunity. Typically, with LCL, you may not palletize boxes by yourself. Deliver light, easy-to-handle boxes in CFS and leave the palletizing to professionals. Besides, loose boxes are much easier to handle; you transfer the responsibility for ISPM15 compliance to the CFS. Then, your boxes should not face any problems related to ISPM15 during international transportation from the USA overseas.

Watch this short video on YouTube about shipping goods from the USA overseas utilizing Less-than-Container-Load services.

Restrictions on shipping LCL freight from the USA

No foodstuffs, wine & drugs: Any foodstuffs, including wine and pills, perishable food items, edible animal byproducts, supplements, etc., are subject to detailed regulations. Violations of these regulations can result in detention, confiscation, or destruction of cargo, fines, and civil or criminal charges.

Other restricted commodities for exporting from the U.S. overseas: To make it easier, avoid sending items prohibited for export from the U.S. overseas that you see at your local USPS post office. Otherwise, it may result in problems at the origin or destination, extra expenses, penalties, or even legal or criminal charges. At the time of packing your goods for international transportation, you should not include in your shipment the following:

• Perishable food products
• Live animals, plants, and seeds
• Any medicines and drugs
• Dangerous and Hazardous Goods are restricted and subject to approval and special procedures.
• Aerosols
• Liquids
• Cash, Money orders, credit, and  debit cards
• Passports and other confidential documents
• Valuable jewelry, art, and antiques
• The entire shipment may be considered dangerous goods if you ship something containing a battery (even a dry battery). An example would be a laptop with a battery in it.
• If you pack items into used boxes, erase all the previous labels. Pay extreme attention to dangerous goods labels.

Commodities that are subject to special U.S. export regulations:

• Sensitive goods include firearms, missile technology, fingerprint analysis equipment, chemical and biological controls, encryption items, etc. These goods may require an export license or be subject to restrictions depending on the destination.
• Items could affect national security, nonproliferation, foreign policy, or human rights. The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the Commerce Control List (CCL) control these items. The EAR and CCL classify items by their Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) and assign them a reason for control.
• Items are subject to sanctions or embargoes by the U.S. government. These items are prohibited from being exported or re-exported to certain countries, entities, or individuals subject to U.S. economic sanctions or trade embargoes. These countries include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Russia-Belarus.
• To determine whether your product, technology, or service might need an export license or be subject to other legal requirements, consult the U.S. Export Regulations website or contact a Bureau of Industry and Security counselor.

Motor vehicles or parts with a VIN cannot be shipped with LCL. Shipping auto parts without a VIN is allowed.

Motorized vehicles requiring DMV (U.S. Department of Motor Vehicles) registration, such as automobiles, motorcycles, mopeds, jet skis, ATVs, etc., CANNOT be shipped from the United States utilizing Less-than-Container-Load. This is because U.S. customs does not recognize international shipping companies' warehouses (CFS) as an exam site for motor vehicle inspection.

Reading LCL freight rates.

Less-than-Container-Load freight rates can be all-inclusive (all-in) or subject to surcharges. Surcharges on rates can be either a percentage of the rate or a lump sum added to it. These surcharges can take various forms, such as fuel surcharges, bill of lading fees, palletizing fees, overlength surcharges, dangerous goods surcharges, etc.

Please do not confuse the total shipping cost in freight forwarders' invoices with the freight cost from an ocean carrier.

Above is an example of a breakdown of carrier international freight costs. Below is an example of a freight forwarder's invoice that includes the cost from a carrier and displays a service fee.

The Bill of Lading you received is not an invoice. The freight charges displayed on the BOL have already been paid to the ocean carrier on the shipper's behalf. The carrier charges and their breakdown on the BOL are provided for reference only.

According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, ...An Ocean freight forwarder is an individual or company that dispatches shipments from the United States via common carriers and books or otherwise arranges space for those shipments on behalf of shippers. Ocean forwarders also prepare and process the documentation and perform related activities pertaining to those shipments... Ocean forwarders work on customer service fees, which must be itemized on quotes and invoices.

Please note that the destination charges are not included in either the ocean freight or the freight forwarders' invoices. Destination charges (sometimes called local charges) occur at the destinations. Therefore, they are not considered freight charges.

Avoiding common mistakes when shipping goods internationally with LCL

We have published a separate page, written for inexperienced exporters, with the web link at the very top of each page of our website. Please read it. After the reading, you should be much better prepared for international cargo transportation from the U.S., no matter which international shipping company you choose. Below is just a part of the explanation.

A. Do not confuse a parcel service with international cargo transportation LCL.

Less-than-Container-Load transportation is designed to ship relatively sizable cargo abroad. Do not confuse this international transportation service with parcel services, such as USPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. LCL always requires paying a minimum shipping cost, which is typically equal to sending abroad a load of volume of one cubic meter. 

LCL is always subject to destination charges. Such charges apply to all modes of cargo transportation. Regardless of the mode of transportation and shipping company you deal with, all imports are subject to destination charges. Destination charges (sometimes called local charges) occur at the destinations. Therefore, they are not considered freight charges.

An international parcel service may be more cost-effective if you ship a small cargo overseas, less than 0.25-0.3 cubic meters of the total volume.

B. Do not confuse LCL freight with international moving companies

Yes, you can, most of the time, ship household goods or personal belongings from the U.S. overseas using Less-than-Container-Load. However, do not confuse Less-than-Container-Load freight with international moving companies.

All your items must be properly boxed, crated, and labeled with LCL.

Suppose you are moving from the United States overseas. In that case, you may consider services from international moving companies, where an international moving company assessor should visit you and estimate the cost of shipping your household goods, including packing and moving your goods to an ocean carrier's possession. Certain international moving companies may offer you an "all-in" service, including support in recovering your shipping household goods and the delivery to your door at the destination. Then, always clarify with the international moving company whether all charges related to their service overseas are included in the shipping cost. You may consider 123movers.com.

However, international moving companies' prices are high. You may need to find an alternative. One alternative is shipping household goods internationally with a Less-than-Container load.

C. Shippers' responsibilities in commodities and documents

When shipping goods from the U.S. abroad, shippers must understand that they are responsible for cargo description, the legality of the commodity, and the sufficiency of paperwork submitted for international shipping.

In international shipping, the ocean carrier bill of lading, which is the "title on exporting goods," generally states *Shipper load and count* and 'Said by the shipper to contain.' That means the ocean carrier and the freight forwarder are NOT responsible for the shipper's information on their commodity exporting from the USA.

An international ocean freight forwarder should guide the shipper through the complexity of international shipment procedures. However, the shippers are solely responsible for providing all necessary documents related to their international shipping.

D. Storage/demurrage at destinations

Several days before the arrival of your cargo at the destination, your consignee (recipient) should receive a notification from the ocean carrier destination agent in the form of an arrival notice. Typically, it will be emailed to the consignee. That is why providing a valid email to your bill of lading is essential. Also, they may make a phone call to the consignee. Ensure that the consignee's initial contact information in your booking request and transferred to your bill of lading is correct and valid.

The arrival notice should be in official format and contain an invoice with a breakdown of destination (local) charges.

As soon as you receive an arrival notice, act promptly. Your free storage time at a destination warehouse (CFS) is limited. Depending on CFS, it varies between 7 and 14 days. After that, storage/demurrage will begin accumulating. It will apply to destination charges and may dramatically increase the total destination charges.

The ocean carrier destination agent should guide the consignee through the complexity of import recovery. However, if, for any reason, the consignee experiences difficulties with their import recovery at the destination, the first thing they should do is search for a customs broker licensed in the destination country. 

Import Regulations by Country. AMID StatisticsImport Regulations

Sometimes, new customers ask, "What country are you serving?".

We serve all the countries listed under destinations in our online freight calculator.

Below is the recent statistic showing the % of the shipping volume we serve. Click on a country name to learn about its import regulations.

Country %
United Kingdom 9.05
Australia 6.43
Germany 5.28
Saudi Arabia 4.61
Singapore 4.25
Italy 3.81
France 3.77
United Arab Emirates 2.14
The Netherlands 1.83
Norway 1.83
Spain 1.79
China 1.71
Thailand 1.67
Switzerland 1.63
Sweden 1.63
India 1.51
Japan 1.43
Malaysia 1.35
Sri Lanka 1.35
Czech Republic 1.31
New Zealand 1.23
Ireland 1.23
Israel 1.15
Belgium 1.11
Pakistan 1.11
Kuwait .99
South Africa .99
Puerto Rico .95
Morocco .91
Taiwan .91
Egypt .87
Philippines .87
Portugal .87
Cambodia .83
South Korea .79
Austria .79
Qatar .79
Turkey .79
Denmark .79
Bulgaria .71
Romania .71
Peru .68
Panama .68
Brazil .64
Indonesia .64
Kenya .64
Jordan .6
Hungary .56
El Salvador .56
Poland .52
Costa Rica .52
Paraguay .52
Bahrain .48
Fiji .48
Serbia .48
St. Lucia .48
Uganda .44
Oman .44
Finland .4
Jamaica .4
Croatia .4
Greece .4
Bangladesh .4
Colombia .4
Lithuania .36
US Virgin Islands .36
Guyana .36
Iceland .32
Lebanon .32
Slovakia .32
Dominican Republic .32
Tanzania .32
Estonia .28
Malta .28
Honduras .28
Botswana .28
Slovenia .28
Vietnam .24
Scotland .24
Barbados W.I. .24
Algeria .24
Mauritius .24
Western Samoa .24
Latvia .24
Venezuela .24
Ghana .24
Martinique .2
Cameroon .2
Cyprus .2
Nigeria .2
Luxemburg .2
Chile .2
Sierra Leone .16
Mozambique .16
Papua New Guinea .16
Guatemala .12
Cayman Islands .12
Guadeloupe .12
Bolivia .12
Ecuador .12
Belize .12
Myanmar .12
Tunisia .12
French Polynesia .12
Trinidad .12
Senegal .08
Tonga .08
Togo .08
Haiti .08
St. Maarten .08
Grenada .08
Ivory Coast .08
Djibouti .08
Georgia (republic) .04
British Virgin Islands .04
Suriname .04
Brunei .04
Guinea .04
Yemen .04
Cook Islands .04
Zambia .04