FAQs

Sinowide International Logistic (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. is an international freight forwarder approved by SAIC(State Administration for Industry and Commerce) and NOVCC approved by Ministry of Transport

Sinowide set shenzhen as the centre city of? shiping service for all China ports cities, such like ports of Guangdong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Qingdao, Tianjin and Dalian.

1. FCL shipment will be loaded and sealed at origin by your supplier or the manufacturer, then shipped by a combination of ocean, road or/and rail to your final destination.

The LCL shipment will be exposed for consolidating once at the loading port, and for sorting out again at the destination port.

2. The bill of lading of FCL shipment will be issued directly by the official shipping line.

The bill of lading of LCL shipment will be issued by the freight forwarder.

3. LCL service charges more than FCL when it comes to shipping cost per unit.

4. Shipping mark, which is written symbol or symbols that are printed on outer package, is mandatory for LCL shipment.

The purpose of the marks is to identify your goods from those of other shippers. They should be made boldly, with waterproof ink, so that they can always be easily read. They should be in black, with red or orange for dangerous cargo.

The marks should be in both English and the language of the country of destination. The package can be easily identified with the corresponding shipping documents and easily located for customs clearance and delivery.

Most times, using LCL logistics, the freight agents often charge 2~3 times as much per cubic meter, compared to FCL logistics.

Sometime the prepaid rate is cheap, but there are various destination fees to be collected, which listed below for reference only.

PSC fee (Port Service Charge)
SCA fee (Service Charge due Agent)
D/O fee (Deliver Order)
THC fee (Terminal Handling Charge)
TSF fee (Terminal Security Fee)
IPF fee (Import Processing Fee)
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For the steamship carriers, they only accept full container booking.

A freight agent has to combine several LCLs into a full container. It makes sense. The workload is actually higher when managing LCL transportation. While FCL shipments can be unloaded and delivered directly to the buyer?s location, LCL shipments must be unloaded at the Port of Destination.

Especially for the split process at the port of developed countries, owing to many manual labor which is necessary for different kinds or shapes of goods.

That?s why you have to pay more shipping cost at the destination of 15 cbm LCL than a full 20ft container.

1. FCL can be tracked directly from the shipping company.

You can track the location and estimated arrival date of your container shipment from China, through the shipping carriers? websites.

In order to track your goods, you need to know which shipping line is transporting your cargo, and the container number, booking number or document number (any of them is usually good enough).
2. Buy FCL means your shipment will be safer.

In the LCL arrangement, the shipper is required to deliver the cargo to the forwarder?s warehouse for containerisation. The forwarder will use the same container to pack in more cargo from other shippers to make a complete container load at the warehouse. This action is also called freight consolidation.

Your cargo will be exposed to a higher risk of damage or loss, as it will be exposed when the carrier consolidates it with other cargo at the port of loading, and exposed again at the destination.

If you choose LCL cargo shipping, make sure your goods prepared and packed properly to be able to withstand sharp or heavy objects as well as chemical fumes or liquids.
3. LCL shipments will take longer to process.

This is because the carrier can load FCL containers without any fuss, whereas cargo for LCL needs to be consolidated first. Same situation at the destination.
4. FCL unit freight cost will be cheaper.

Lower price per cubic meter compared to an equivalent volume or weight of cargo shipped by air freight or LCL sea freight. Because it?s more convenient to optimize your quantity and packaging to maximize the space usage inside a 20 feet or 40 feet container.

There are numerous rates, surcharges and tariffs which are adjusted to the size of your LCL shipment.

Advantages when you buy LCL

Rather than importing a large quantity of goods from China, you may want to start with a small shipment to learn the problems and issues that will inevitably arise. Your knowledge of restrictions, taxes, Chinese society, finances and professional resources will be greatly tested.

1. MOQ

Cargo with a volume as small as less than one cbmcan be shipped by sea.

2. Lower sourcing risk

A trial order with small quantity can prove if the product is qualified and the supplier is experienced.

3. Shorten delivery time

Sometimes, it will arrive sooner than FCL, since you do not need to wait until your supply have enough stock to fill a complete container alone.

4. Minimum inventory management

Whether you are new to a niche market, or just on a budget, choose LCL shipment at first can lower your?financial risk, and keep you out of large inventory trouble.?Therefore your supply chain suffers fewer bottlenecks, allowing your operations to run smoothly.

The cost of inventory is not solely determined by the direct expenses associated with storing, managing, and maintaining the goods, but also by the opportunity costs that arise when money is tied up. Goods represent a store of value; keeping resources tied up in products or components that are not being utilized or sold immediately restricts a company?s overall cash flow and may reduce the amount of liquid capital available.

Transit time will vary depending on where you are shipping from. When you contact our office we will be able to provide you with an estimated transit time

International shipping requirements will vary depending on the shipment type. All international shipping will need an origin/destination, commodity descriptions, and a Bill of Lading.

Tags: shipping requirements, origin, destination, bill of lading, commodity

A tariff or duty is a tax levied by governments typically calculated as a percentage of the declared value of the commodity. For specific questions or estimates on potential duty and taxes please contact your licensed Customs broker.