OCEAN FREIGHT SERVICES

A question that we’re frequently asked as a freight forwarder is ‘which container shipping method should I choose, FCL or groupage/LCL?’ The answer is not that one choice is inherently superior than the other. It’s more about which option is best suited to client needs and specific shipment requirements. Before we dive in, let’s briefly distinguish the terms FCL, LCL, and groupage.

FULL CONTAINER LOAD (FCL)

FCL (Full Container Load): is your single-source solution for all your ocean freight needs, providing you with custom ocean freight options though our services FCL. Our volume contracts allow you to benefit from highly competitive prices from reputable shipping lines worldwide.

Full Container Load (FCL)
As the name suggests, a full container load is exactly that. Your products are the exclusive occupants of ‘your’ container for the entire duration of the freight shipment, for which you pay a lumpsum. The major benefits of choosing FCL include less risk of damage, less handling time and direct shipping to destination. FCL shipments are loaded directly at the supplier’s warehouse and delivered straight to the recipient’s warehouse. That means uninterrupted cargo transport without any intermediary consolidation needed.

More simplistically, a full FCL container load as one shipper to one receiver. A container that has been combined with cargo from multiple shippers to one receiver is called consolidation.

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LESS CONTAINER LOAD (LCL)

LCL (Less container load): We have the most flexible service in the market where you can use a single container to transport several loads destined for different buyers, which is commonly called consolidated cargo. This condition is used by small or medium-sized companies that handle low volumes of merchandise. Here we are responsible for the container and its filling.

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Less than Container Load (LCL) and Groupage
With a less-than container load, the amount of cargo you have to ship is not enough to fill an entire container, and so your pallets are co-loaded in a shared container with other cargo. Freight costs typically depend on how many pallets you are shipping. So what’s the difference between LCL and groupage? The answer is the transport providers.

LCL services are provided by companies known as co-loaders or consolidators. These are operators that do not have a direct relationship with the freight payer and co-load pallets of all types of goods to fill the container. Whereas groupage is provided by freight forwarders like Hillebrand and we only load your pallets with other beverage products. Groupage service providers, operate warehouses where they combine cargo from several exporters, ship, deconsolidate the FCL and deliver to multiple receivers.

So which is better, FCL or LCL/Groupage?
It really depends on your need for each shipment.  But most of the decision will be based upon the volume of cargo you need and/or want and cash flow availability.

The benefits of groupage and LCL shipments include cost effectiveness and the ability to choose the exact volume required for transport, without needing to wait for enough product to fill a full container before shipping. The total freight cost for transporting a pallet also being cheaper to ship than a full container, if that is the amount of product needed at destination.  On the other hand, total freight cost per pallet is cheaper if you have enough product to fill a full container.

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