Freight Containers For Your Shipment
You can always make an appointment with an international moving company and ask for a survey of your house or apartment to get an accurate volume of your household goods which will be needed to navigate through the various container options needed. But before you do that, you can read below to have a clearer idea of what shipment options are most relevant to you.
2 types of shipments: Airfreight and Seafreight.
Airfreight
Everything via Airfreight is measured by weight or volumetric weight. Which ever weight is the greatest is what you will pay for. An approximate volumetric weight can be calculated by noting that 1m3 = 167kg. Although it is the fastest option for shipping your belongings, it is easily the most expensive.
Seafreight/ Oceanfreight:
There are a few Seafreight options for Personal and Commercial use. The major Seafreight options for household moves are below:
Groupage/Shared Containerised Shipment
These are shipments that are shared amongst several people shipping or moving to the same destination. It can be cost effective if you do not have a large move, however can also have a longer time period. Sometimes it may not be as long if the destination is very popular
Less than Container Load Shipment (LCL)
These shipments are less then a full container load and are crated or palettised and sent to your destination. For transport, they are eventually put into a shipping container with other LCL shipments from other companies, and loaded onto a container ship. LCL shipments are mainly used if Groupage /Shared Shipments are not an option. They do incur higher port charges at the destination in order to take the shipment out of the container.
Full Container Load Shipment (FCL)
These shipments are full 20ft or 40ft shipping containers. A full household will normally require one of these options. Certain countries sometimes offer 20ft and 40ft High Cube containers, so you can fit extra items in (Eg. A vehicle). The approx. specs are below of how much volume you can fit into either containers:
| 20′ GP Container Dimensions | Millimetres | Feet | |
| Inside Dimensions |
Length | 5885 | 19’4” |
| Width | 2350 | 7’8” | |
| Height | 2403 | 7’10” | |
| Door Opening | Width | 2338 | 7’8” |
| Height | 2292 | 7’6” | |
| Kilograms | Pounds | ||
| Weight | Max. Gross | 24000 | 52910 |
| Tare | 2150 | 4740 | |
| Max. Payload | 21850 | 48170 | |
| Cube Metres | Cube Feet | ||
| Capacity | 33,150 | 1170 | |
20’GP Containers are acceptable if you want to move one the following:
- 1-2 bedroom household Suitable for: 1-2 bedroom moves or a car with only a few boxes.
- Car and a few boxes
| 40′ GP Container Dimensions | Millimetres | Feet | |
| Inside Dimensions |
Length | 12033 | 39’6” |
| Width | 2350 | 7’8” | |
| Height | 2394 | 7’10” | |
| Door Opening | Width | 2338 | 7’8” |
| Height | 2280 | 7’6” | |
| Kilograms | Pounds | ||
| Weight | Max. Gross | 30480 | 67200 |
| Tare | 3800 | 8377 | |
| Max. Payload | 26680 | 58823 | |
| Cube Metres | Cube Feet | ||
| Capacity | 67,7 | 2390 | |
40’GP Containers are acceptable if you want to move one of the following:
- 3-5 bedroom household move
- Car and a standard 2 bedroom household move
If you are moving soon or are interested in getting an early start to organizing your relocation abroad, the best thing to do is get quotes on your move. Getting quotes is the fastest and most simple way to get an idea of what your moving costs would be as you would be getting quotes from real international moving companies. The best part? It’s free.