If you’re shipping full containers from China to the UK you’ll know that the rates are as stable as a rocking chair. However, it is possible to take advantage of this to make sea freight savings and only pay the lowest rates. This of course comes at a price, but thankfully for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) with a bit of forward planning, that price can be minimal.
Plan Ahead to Save a Shed[load] On Shipping
We’re aware that importing goods from China already takes a long time and this kind of flexibility may not be viable if you’re already jumping up and down waiting for the goods to arrive and your suppliers are making your goods as fast as they can go.
The potential cost to you and your business that you’ll have to take into account is both money and time. Can you afford to wait up to an extra 2 weeks for your goods or get them up to two weeks earlier? Secondly, if you got them earlier than normal could you juggle cash flow and potentially warehousing? There are many delays in the shipping industry, but it’s worth planning to ensure your business doesn’t run out of stock for weeks while your goods are still on the water. If this means you’ll have to pay a bit extra in storage costs when the goods arrive on time, the peace of mind may be worth it.
The More You Ship By Sea Freight The Cheaper It Is
Optimizing your shipment sizes is probably the best way to save money on sea freight. If you’re looking at small orders, you’re going to be paying more than you need to ship less than 1cbm, but doubling your shipment size to 2cbm won’t double your shipment cost.
Consequently, you’re going to be saving a fair few £’s shipping a full container as opposed to paying for the space you’re using in a shared container. We can help to optimize your volumes here.
Therefore, if you can work out warehousing here in the UK and run your costs, you may find it is cheaper to ship a large amount and store the goods rather than topping up your stock every few months. Please note though, that this doesn’t work in the same way for Amazon with their storage costs being so high.
Avoid Peak Times To Save On Sea Freight Costs
There are times of the year when the rates are cheaper than others. As you can expect the lead-up to Christmas is more expensive due to the demand year after year of importers getting stock in for the Christmas sales!
Additionally, Chinese holidays can have an impact on shipping rates, the rates from China increase around Chinese (lunar) New Year because all the stock which didn’t make it onto the ship before the holiday now needs to be shipped.
It is worth planning ahead for these holidays so you can ensure your goods get on the water in time as well as reduce your costs. For example, start to order stock in for Christmas way before you think you actually need to!
Make Further Sea Freight Savings With Shippo
If you’re looking at shipping LCL or FCL, Shippo are more than capable of helping you work out the best way to make savings on sea freight! Feel free to grab a free quote or get in contact with us to find out more.
I worked with Chris, from Shippo for my shipment. The communication was great, he helped me along the way with all documentation I had to get ready. Always kept me updated along the way and guided me through the whole process. Couldn’t reccomand them enough!Fabian Prosciuc