International Shipping - Factors Affecting Rates

The cost of international shipping is subject to a number of factors. Furthermore, since shipping companies provide customized packages to customers, rates differ from one customer to another depending on their requirements. There are certain major factors that have an influence on international shipping rates. Below given are a few such factors.

Transportation

International shipping is not inclusive only of moving across the ocean. Land transport is also a part of international logistics operations. The cost of picking up goods from your doorstep and delivering it to your destination are added to the cost of ocean shipping. If you want such services, you need to shell out a bit more money. There are two kinds of shipping operations that are offered by most of the shippers – port to port and dock to dock. You can choose a service based on your convenience. These two broad services are further divided into two kinds – door to port and port to door. So, depending on your budget and convenience, you can have the shipper provide road service both at origin and destination or either at the origin or at the destination.

Shipment mode

The mode of shipping is another factor that influences the cost of worldwide shipping. You can either choose to have a whole container if you are moving residence to another city and need to transport all your household articles or go in for container sharing service. Naturally, full containers will cost you much more than shared containers. In addition, the kind of goods that are being shipped matters. Expensive and fragile goods will cost you more. You will also have to pay extra insurance for the goods. The cost of such goods is also more because they require special packaging owing to their fragility.

Customs and taxes

The third important aspects when it comes to ocean shipping are customs and taxes. Every country has its own regulations. So, in essence, the cost depends on the country to which you are shipping goods. These taxes and duties need to be paid to the shipped before your consignment sets sail. You can speak to the company executives about the requirements and regulations that need to be followed at the destination. An easier option is to opt for custom brokerage service that is offered by most of the worldwide shipping companies. Although it will slightly add to your overall expense, it is worth it because you will free from a lot of trouble. To save some money, you should choose an international shipping company that has experience in shipping to your destination.

In addition to the above mentioned factors, the date of shipping, the demand and supply at that particular point of time, congestion charges at the destination if you are shipping to busy ports, currency adjustment factors and fluctuation in fuel charges influence the total cost of international shipping. Certain ports levy security surcharges. If you are having your goods shipped to such destinations, you cost of international shipping will be higher. You can save money on Ocean Shipping by having your requirement customized.