FOUR FACTORS FOR CONSIDERING AIR FREIGHT VS. OCEAN FREIGHT

Choosing the correct mode of transport can be tricky. It's often a question of time and money. Do your goods need to be moved quickly? Or would you rather keep costs down? You probably want to strike a good balance between the both. When choosing your shipping options with a Freight Forwarder, you may choose air or ocean shipping, there are many choices to consider.

Cost

You probably don’t have to be told to consider the costs before an undertaking. As a business person, you consider the bottom line and as an individual, you have a budget. Naturally, you’re going to want to know which will cost you less, air freight or ocean freight. Typically, you will hear that shipping by the ocean is cheaper than shipping by air. And typically, this is true; however, this is not necessarily the case.

To make the best decision, it helps to be educated about how carriers charge for international shipping. Airlines bill you by what is called a chargeable weight. Chargeable weight is calculated from a combination of the weight and size of a shipment. Sea carriers charge per container rates for shipping in standard containers (20’ and 40’ being the most common sizes). While weight can factor into the price from sea carriers, their charge tends to be based more on the size of a shipment. If you are shipping less than a container load, your price is often determined by cubic meter. With larger and heavier shipments, it is often much cheaper to ship by sea. As a shipment gets smaller, the margin between the prices gets smaller and sometimes air will even end up less expensive.

Shippers should note that there are destination charges to consider. Whether shipping by air or by sea, there will be customs and destination fees. While the actual shipment cost of sea freight is usually cheaper than the shipment cost of air freight, the warehousing fees at seaports are many times more expensive than those at airports.

Speed

When it comes to speed, there is no question that air freight is usually much faster. Since time is money, this factor could more than makeup for a higher cost of flying cargo. Many sea shipments can take around a month to arrive while an air shipment takes a day or two. For most business shipping, faster is better. When it comes to the individual moving a household, it is often good to have the extra time to prepare for the arrival of household goods in a new country. It should be noted that technology keeps moving forward in the international shipping world. Ships are getting faster. Canals have created shorter shipping routes. There are many ocean freight shipments crossing the oceans and being delivered in as few as 8 days.

Reliability

Reliability is something we all look for in people, businesses, products, and services. How does ocean freight and air freight stack up against each other in this category? Air freight shipping has a much, much shorter history than ocean freight shipping, yet air freight tends to win the battle of reliability. Flights get delayed by weather and other factors, but airlines tend to be very on top of their schedules. Ocean carriers are notorious for being bad about this. It is not uncommon for ships to be off schedule. For many, a day or two here or there doesn’t hurt; however, for many businesses, a day or two could have serious cost effects. With airlines, there are usually daily flights back and forth between major cities around the world. Because of this, missing a flight doesn’t cause much of a delay for a cargo shipment. Ocean lines tend to have weekly schedules. Missing the cutoff at a seaport means a longer delay.

Environmental Impact

Not everything is about the bottom line and convenience. While the social awareness of environmental issues can change the way the public looks at a company and affect its bottom line, we all have a responsibility of taking care of the planet on which we live. It would seem that ocean freight wins this category. CO2 emissions are much higher in air freight transport than ocean freight transport. This causes cargo shipping by air to have a much larger carbon fingerprint than cargo shipping by sea. However, considering oil spills and the water ecosystems affected by ocean freight, gives pause. 

Considering these four factors should help you make the best decision for your cargo shipment. Logical Maritime Services Limited offers free ocean and air rate pricing.

WHAT DOES SHIPPERS LOAD, STOW AND COUNT MEAN?

Shippers load, stow and count or Shippers load and count or SLAC is a term that you would have seen in the description of the bill of lading for all shipments. What does it mean to the line and to the shipper?

In all break-bulk and bulk vessels, there is a document called Mate’s Receipt. This document is like a delivery note and has all the information pertaining to the shipment like cargo description, number of bundles, weight, measurement etc and this note is handed over to the ship at the time of loading.

If any discrepancies are found between the actual cargo delivered and the Mate’s Receipt, the Chief Mate (after whom this receipt is named) a.k.a 1st Mate, 1st Officer, Chief Officer will check the cargo and note such discrepancies to confirm that the cargo was received in that condition. This absolves the ship/owner/charterer of any claims relating to missing or damaged cargo etc that might be levied upon them by the shipper at a later stage.

This was possible in the era of pre-containerization because the ship/agents were able to physically check and verify the cargo.

However, in the case of containerized cargoes and specially FCL cargoes, the carrier/agents are not privy to the packing of the containers and the nature of the cargo. The carrier relies on the information provided by the shipper in terms of the cargo, number of packages, weight and measurement.

Hence the clauses “SHIPPERS LOAD STOW AND COUNT”  (SLAC) and “SAID TO CONTAIN”  (STC) is put on the bill of lading to protect the carrier from any claims that the shipper might levy on them at a later stage.

For example: Lets assume that the bill of lading states 1×20′ container STC 55 bundles of human hair and when the container reaches the destination and consignee unpacks the container to find that there is only 45 bundles. The bill of lading carries the above clauses.

As long as the seal has not been altered or tampered with, the consignee or shipper cannot question or hold the carrier liable for the shortage because the carrier was not present at the time of the packing of the container and carrier doesn’t know what the Shipper Loaded, Stowed or Counted. Bill of lading shows the details that was provided by the shipper, so the consignee must contact the shipper to take up this issue.

If however, the seal number has been altered or tampered with, that becomes a totally different story for another day.

HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT MOVERS TO MEET THE NEEDS YOU HAVE

How and where will I find the right movers for my personal cargo?

An important question for many people who maybe relocating from one place to another, in some cases across the world.
A smooth and successful move will start with finding a qualified moving service to help handle all of the details of the transaction. The fact is that professional movers are extremely competitive in the field and offer a number of options in terms of commercial and residential moves.
Even though the basic services that are offered may be similar, you will find that movers are different in terms of customer care, moving costs and company resources.
Before you actually hire a company to help with moving, you need to decide

1. what type of services that you need and
2. the price that you are willing to pay.

When you know these two aspects of the move, you will be ready to research the various options and find one that meets your specific needs.

What Makes One Moving Service Different from the Next?

Just like any other business out there, moving services can range from superb to quite bad, with a number of options some place in between.

The prices that company charges can provide you with an indication of the type of business that you are going to be dealing with; however, cost alone will not provide a guarantee about the level or quality of service that you will receive.
This means that you need to take some time to do your homework and compare the different features offered by the companies in your area.
Any mover that is diligent, personable, trustworthy and dependable will stand out from their competition.

The Benefit of Mover References and Referrals

If it is at all possible, you should try to get a referral for the movers that you plan to hire. Ask your friends, co-workers or anyone else about their experience with moving companies and which one they would recommend.
If you are not able to get a referral to a certain company, then you should ask for references from the moving company that you are considering using.

When you take the time to check the references, you will be able to know what to expect from a moving company.
It is important to remember that moving is hard and labour-intensive work. This means that you need a responsible and diligent team working for you.
Finding a capable mover will help to reduce the stress of the move and ensure all of your belongings arrive at their new site intact.

The effort that goes into finding the right moving company will be more than worth it. The right moving company will be able to get a person moved in no time.