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How to prepare your international shipment

Containers & Pallets
3 min read
Ocean FCL
Ocean LCL
Air Freight

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There are two main ways in which you can send your ocean freight shipment: FCL or LCL. How you should prepare your international shipment will depend on the option you choose.


How to prepare an FCL shipment


If you choose to hire a full container, you will be provided with the container(s) that you requested for at the address, date and time specified.


When loading the container for FCL shipments, please keep in mind the following:


  • You have two hours to load or unload the container; each additional hour will be charged to you. If you need more than the allocated two hours for loading or unloading, let your freight forwarder know in advance.
  • Take into account the measurements of the containers that you hired and make sure that your goods can fit in there. If your goods are palletized, be sure to take into consideration the height of the pallet. Pay special attention to the container door’s height, as it is usually slightly lower than the interior height.
  • The container is located at a height of 1.2m to 1.4m above ground.
  • The goods must be properly loaded and secured to prevent shifting and damage during transportation. Labeling your freight correctly also plays in preventing damage or loss. Any damage caused by the improper and inadequate securing goods will not covered by the shipping company or by the insurance company.

How to prepare an LCL shipment


An LCL shipment requires you to share space with other shippers so it is extremely important to know how to properly prepare your LCL shipment. When shipping LCL, you may choose between personally dropping your goods off at our warehouse or hiring our collection service to pick up your goods at the address you specify. In either case, we will take care of loading the goods in the container.


For imports, you may choose between picking up the goods from our warehouse or hiring our delivery service to delivery your goods to the address you specify.


For LCL shipments, please note the following:


  • The goods must be properly palletized. You can bring your goods without pallets and we can palletize them for you (this service has an additional cost).
  • In the warehouse, the goods are measured and weighed once palletized, to calculate the final shipping price. To calculate the price, be sure to take into account the weight and volume of the pallet used.

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iContainers is a digital freight forwarder based in Barcelona that assists thousands of companies and families around the globe in moving their merchandise internationally.


Our online freight quoting platform has the latest technology in the sector and simplifies ocean freight, quoting and managing your bookings from the same user area.


We are part of the Agility group, and we work side by side with Shipa Freight to fully cover the demands of our customers.

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