Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
Shipping containers are used in ocean freight transport.
Importers and exporters most commonly use ocean freight as their mode of transport. 90% of all cargo is shipped via ocean freight or sea freight. Other modes of international freight transportation, like courier, air freight, and express air freight, may be faster, but are also more expensive. These other modes of transportation are generally used for smaller shipments and for high-value products.
In cases where ocean freight would be too slow and air freight too expensive, some freight forwarders offer express shipping. Although nearly as fast as air freight, this option may be less expensive. Streamlining ocean freight processes and connecting only with faster ocean services and premium trucking services are at the heart of this solution.
Why Ship By Sea?

The container holds a whopping 10000 beer bottles! And ocean freight is cheaper. Air freight is too costly for shipments weighing more than 500 kg. With this chargeable weight calculator, you can find out whether you will be charged by the actual weight or dimensional weight for your shipment. Our FBX index provides live rates for international shipping.
In the case of dangerous goods, international law, national law, carrier organization regulations, and individual carrier regulations all play a role in restricting and defining who can transport them. There are generally more restrictions on air freight than on ocean freight, including: gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. Items that are toxic or corrosive (e.g., perfume, Samsung Galaxy Note 7). batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. Speakers), oxidizers, and biochemical products (for instance, chemical medicines), and public health risks (for example, pollution). untanned hides). The Hazardous Material Table contains more information.
Seaborne CO2 emissions are minuscule in comparison with airborne CO2 emissions. The research found that for 5000 kilometers of ocean freight, each ton will generate 150 kilograms of CO2 emissions, while air freight emits 6605 kilograms of CO2.
ocean freight
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
Planes are 30 times faster than ocean liners. Aircraft can cruise at 575 mph, while ocean liners operate at 16-18 mph. Obviously, shipping goods by air freight from China to the US takes at least 20 days longer than by ocean freight.
There are generally more days spent on ocean freight than on air freight due to port congestion, customs delays, and bad weather conditions. Air freight tracking technology is often more advanced than ocean freight tracking. economy international shipping So ocean freight is more likely to be misplaced than air freight. The situation is especially difficult when the shipment is less than a container load. Due to digitization, ocean freight has become more reliable.
Ocean freight has a higher likelihood of getting damaged or destroyed than air freight. Ships are more likely to move since they are in transit for longer. Do not worry too much about ocean cargo falling off of ships. According to urban myth, ten thousand containers per year are lost in the drink, but actually it's more like 546 of 120 million movements per year. Even less likely is piracy. The Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Straits have been hot spots in recent years.
Ocean Freight Services
A full container load (FCL) and a less than container load (LCL) are two additional options in ocean and sea freight services. LCL involves packing several shipments into one container. For the forwarder, it involves more paperwork as well as the physical work of consolidating various shipments into a container before the main transit and de-consolidating those shipments at the other end. This gives LCL three disadvantages:
Delivery of LCL shipments takes longer than FCL shipments. Normally, it is recommended that you allow one or two weeks for LCL.
Damage, misplacing, and loss are risky with LCL.
LCL costs more per cubic meter.
As shipping rates are lower for FCL, it may be worth using a full container once your shipment is large enough, even if you do not intend to fill the container completely. LCL to FCL upgrades are typically achieved at a point around 15 cubic meters (the smallest size container is a 20 footer).
Sea Freight Rates per kg
With the exception of particularly heavy goods, LCL is usually priced by volume, rather than by weight.
If selecting the most cost-effective mode is a challenge, consider these general rules of thumb:
A shipment weighing more than 500 kg becomes uneconomical to ship by air.
Shipments from China to the United States take about 30-40 days by ocean freight.
Using air freight for a China-US shipment between 150 kg and 500 kg costs about $5-8 per kilo and can take 8-10 days.
Express air freight can be faster, but is more expensive.
Those packages weighing less than 150 kg are best transported by courier (express freight).
Ocean and sea freight rates and charges you will see in your quote include the following:
Here are the items you can expect to see on ocean freight quotes and invoices: