Ship container to United States

The required transit time for international shipments to the US differs largely, as you can probably imagine yourself, from one port of origin and destination to the next. Aside from this, you should know there may be unexpected issues encountered during transit which could lead to delays. As a rough guide, the estimated transit time for the longest route to USA (Pasir Gudang, Malaysia – Miami) is usually around 60 days.

Although ocean freight rates may vary based on the port of origin and destination, there are other factors to take into account. For instance, the type of container you require, your goods’ dimensions, the selected Incoterm or the estimated transit time are the main points that will define how much you will pay for your sea freight. However, other variables -eg., special conditions for your cargo - can play a part in your quotation.

CIF and FOB are both commonly used Incoterms. Under CIF, sellers are responsible for the freight and the cost of transporting the goods to the destination port specified by the buyer. According to FOB, sellers only hold responsibility for costs and risks until the cargo is loaded on the vessel of the buyer’s choice, at which point liability is transferred to the buyer.

As long as your freight doesn’t include any commodities that should be treated in a particular manner, standard dry shipping containers are probably the way to go. These containers can be found in a number of dimensions and although not refrigerated or ventilated – therefore not suitable for perishable goods -, they tend to be shippers’ first choice when thinking of transporting dry cargo.

Standard containers come in different sizes and, thus, offer various volume capacities. To give you an idea of what options you will have, the 20ft (smallest in size) container’s volume is 1,172 CFT / 33.2 CBM and the biggest (45ft) is 3,122 CFT / 88.4 CBM. However, if your shipment doesn’t require high-volume capacity, you may want to consider using LCL, by which your cargo will be transported in a container alongside other shippers’ goods.

Although shipping documents required for importing or exporting transactions usually depend on the type of cargo being transported and the Incoterms to be applied, a standard shipping procedure commonly requires a commercial invoice, a packing list and a Bill of lading. Furthermore, regardless of the country of origin or destination, there are certain documents that you will generally encounter, such as customs authorization or power of attorney.