High fees for global cargo transportation are a long-term trend that will not change soon, according to transportation market players. But you can still save money at sky-high freight rates. How can you do this? Minimize your estimate with the following steps.
Ways to reduce the number of transportation costs
The pandemic’s consequences, the supply chain collapse, and the inability of ports to process a large amount of cargo all contributed to the increase in prices for international transportation. However, entrepreneurs have options to reduce costs. PartnerTrade recommends using the following life hacks before planning a shipment:
To prefer ocean freight
Prices and terms vary, but ocean freight is significantly cheaper than air transportation. Moreover, there are several types of ship transportation – “slow” and “fast” sea. Try to ship goods earlier to transport the container on time but more economically.
Ocean shipping will save up to 50% of the bill compared to air transportation.
Ship cargo on off-peak days and seasons
Holidays and the year-end in the country of departure or unloading are the most popular delivery period. It is more practical to send before or after the specified dates.
The day of the week also matters. For example, fewer items are usually shipped on Fridays because most customers want to ship products by Thursday. On Monday, traffic volumes are also low as carriers start searching for and collecting containers on this day.
You can save 10% on this.
Consolidate small batches
Consolidating cargo can help reduce costs if you don’t have a lot of goods. During LCL, multiple customers’ boxes combine into one container, and the transportation costs share among all senders. As a result, you only pay for the space, not the entire container.
The potential savings is 25%.
Shorten the transportation distance
Many shippers experience losses in transportation to cities far from the port/airport. There are specific delivery zones for calculating the distance traveled by truck with goods. So, Zone 1 is the place of goods shipment.
The further the destination from the departure, the higher the rate for transportation. Ship the cargo to the port closest to the unloading place to avoid overpayments.
You can reduce the check by 15-20%.
Choose the proper packaging
The larger the packaging, the more space the things take up in the container; therefore, the cost estimate increases significantly. Selection of boxes according to product size, proper packing, and stacking will allow for occupying fewer pallets.
Ask your logistics partner how you can pack your product efficiently and choose the proper pallets.
You can save up to $150 per place.
Send more cargo less often
If possible, plan your shipment and try to collect and ship items in large batches over a more extended period rather than sending a small quantity for a short time. For example, send twenty pallets a month instead of four.
The benefits are obvious – you will save up to 50% of the amount.
Contact a 3pl operator
Experienced specialists in the 3pl company can optimize the shipping budget through agreements with carriers, personal tariffs, and customer discounts. In addition, they will tell you the best route, depending on the volume and the size of transported goods.
The partnership benefits are reducing costs by 16-20%.
Outsourcing logistics will save you nerves and reduce financial costs. PartnerTrade can offer transportation and warehousing, favorable freight rates, and order processing by experienced managers.