What’s the Meaning of FCL or LCL?
FCL is a full container load.LCL is less than container load. Both of them are the usual loading way for our cold room export business.
How to choose the right loading way?
For foreign trade business, container type is 20foot,40foot or 45foot. How choose the right container type is very important.
In common, the measurement of the ordered products is decided on the container type. For example, the ordered cold room size is 2.4×2.4×2.4m. And the cold room panel thickness is 100mm. Totally its quantity of cold room panels is about 33 sq.m. Less than one container load is the best choice.
When you need to order 10 sets of the same size cold room like 2.4×2.4×2.4m, the total quantity is about 330 sq.m. Its measurement is over one container of a 20-foot container, so you have to choose a 40-foot GP or 40-foot HQ. For this situation, a full container load is the best choice. If you insist on choosing LCL.
Why should we choose FCL instead of LCL for measurement over half one container?
If the total measurement is not enough for one container but it has passed half one container, we suggest our customer choose FCL. Experience tells me that the fee of LCL for the destination port is more reasonable. One of our customers from Colombia met the unbelievable thing that the charges of LCL is far more than that of FCL. At last, the experience was no happy lesson for him and me.
What’s the attention point if we choose LCL?
When the measurement of cold room panel, we would choose less than one container load. For this situation, we must take some attention as below:
- Use standard export package for cold room panel and cold room door. (To avoid the damage risk during transportation)
- Choose the nearest destination port. ( Reduce the tranship possibility as much as possible we could.)
- Learn the list of charges at the port of destination in advance. ( We could get it from the forwarder.)
Anyway, Choosing the right loading way could avoid the possible trouble caused in near future.
