As a business owner, your first thought is typically for your customers. How to get products to your customers and how to better serve your consumer base is one of the main worries of a business owner. Luckily, when it comes to expanding your business and shipping your products, there are a number of methods that you can use to make sure that you get products to their proper places. As a business owner, choose the international shipping method that best fits your budget and business needs.
There are three main methods for shipping products nationally and internationally. These are:
- Air Freight
- Sea Freight
- Road Freight
Air Freight
Air freight is by far one of the most popular in today’s business world. Shipping by airplane is quick, as the mph on an airplane is faster than any other mode of transportation. The ability to fly items to a location can save a lot of time. If you are a business with a high production and sales rate, you may want to use air travel to shave as much time off of product transportation as necessary.
Downside: Using air freight has its downsides, as it can be one of the most expensive ways to transport items. If you are shipping a large amount of freight, it can also be difficult to properly package and wrap items to ensure that they do not move or become damaged during transport. Even though there are a number of downsides, transporting your items through air works for nearly any place in the world.
Sea Freight
The open sea is one of the first methods that were used to transport items long distance. Sea freight transit remains a contender when it comes to shipping products from country to country. Sea freight is an easy method for shipping large items, including vehicles, and other large items. Ships can handle much more cargo in terms of volume and in weight, allowing shipping of an entire season’s stock in just two shipping freights. Items that may not be able to properly fit on an airplane or train can fit securely into a large ship with more room left over. Those who make grand items, in size and in quality can consider sea shipment methods for products.
Downside: Sea shipment is almost guaranteed to be slower than other methods of moving freight. Boats leave out on their own schedule, and you have to make sure that you send out your products well ahead of the date they are needed for stock to be sure that they will show up on time. Sea shipping can also be delayed due to bad weather. Don’t forget that there will be added costs of picking up the merchandise from the docks and transporting them to your location.
Road Freight
For landlocked countries, road freight is one of the most economic methods for shipping times. Over time, railroad systems have become more intricate and have added and expanded lines into many different countries. Transporting items via rail is an old method, much like shipping, and has the added benefit of being easy to load. Transporting items through Europe is simple through rail, and items can arrive with good timing. Since rail cars are only delayed by other rail cars, the timing is just as right for many of these shipments as with air freight.
Downsides: Rails do have limits. Your products can only travel through the approved railroad line, and will have to be transported by ground or air from the closest rail station. Figuring this into your shipping cost and shipping time will aid you in going with the best freight transit method. Click here for more information on rail freight, as well as air and sea transportation methods for your business.
Benefited from this post? Kindly use the sharing buttons above to share the post on your favourite social networks. To make sure you stay up to date with our articles, enter your email to subscribe.
Thanks for the explanation of all of these modes of transportation. As a business owner it can be tough deciding what option would be best to use as far as getting your packages where they need to go. So this was a really helpful guideline.