The above sea freight calculator provides a quick estimate of international shipping costs for boxes and crates sent from the USA to other countries.

LCL Sea Freight is the Cost-effective Solution to Ship Goods from the U.S. Overseas

The Guide to International Shipping from the USA utilizing Less-than-Container-Load (LCL)

Less-than-Container-Load is designed for shipping overseas goods in boxes and crates that cannot fill an entire 40-foot container. It is the most economical way to ship internationally, and it eliminates complications with container pickup, stuffing, and return.

If you are new to global freight, it is advisable to read the article in this link before starting your venture.

As an experienced exporter, you know that procedures with LCL are generally the same regardless of your chosen international shipping company. Here's how to get started using the online freight calculator.

Firstly, decide what the purpose is:

• Exporting from the USA commercial cargo
• E-commerce and remote orders
• Moving personal belongings or household goods overseas.

Seven Steps in LCL freight from the USA - Convenient and Affordable International Shipping

1. Quote and book your shipment online 24/7.
2. 75% deposit on the estimated international shipping cost.
3. Receive instructions. Submit your load to the shipment.
4. Pay the final invoice.
5. Receive Express Release Sea freight Bill of Lading.
6. Wait for an Arrival Notice. Meet your cargo.
7. Recover your goods at the destination.

All procedures are standard in the industry. This 7-step guide outlines the procedure for utilizing our online calculator.

STEP 1 – Quote and book your shipment on our website

Please note that the first and essential step to initiate a shipment with AMID Logistics is to schedule it using our online calculator.

1. You calculate an international shipping cost quote on our website. You can calculate as many quotes as you wish for different scenarios in your business. It's free, with no obligations.
2. You email the quote(s) that you like to yourself. Please keep it on your records. Emailed quotes will be entered into our system. Each quote will have a unique quote reference number. The format of a quote reference is USL20011786. Having the quote in an email, you can always reply to the quote and ask us questions, or give us a call during our business hours.
3. Book your shipment via the quote you like as soon as you are ready. Upon booking, you will receive an instant copy of your booking request. Each booking has a unique reference number. The format of a booking reference number is US200117BL.

Are you unsure about the number, dimensions, and weight of units you ship? That's OK. When quoting and booking your shipment, please provide a rough estimate.

The actual volume, weight, and number of your units will most likely differ from the numbers and measurements you provided when quoting or booking. Upon delivery of your cargo to the ocean carrier's terminal (CFS - Container Freight Station), the CFS will calculate and reconfirm the actual number of units, overall volume, and weight. See Step #4.

Please note that to avoid confusion, we do not provide price quotes and do not accept bookings over the phone. The entire quoting and booking process must be completed on our website.

You can read the calculations guide or watch this three-minute video on YouTube.

STEP 2 – To initiate a shipment, please pay a deposit

As soon as you submit a booking request via quote, you will receive an email from us containing a unique Customer Reference Booking Number for your international shipment. The format of the booking number should look like US200123CL. The email will provide details on your load and a web link to pay a deposit on your shipment.

• To initiate a shipment with us, customers have to pay a deposit. Typically, the deposit equals 75% of the estimated international shipping cost calculated on our website. The deposit will apply to the final price of your shipment. Consider this email an invoice for your deposit. 

For shipments with a total cost of up to US$750, we accept online payments via PayPal.

We do NOT accept PayPal payments on shipments with a TOTAL cost above $750. You can pay with U.S. Bank checks, business, or personal. You can submit a draft of your U.S. Bank check online. Then, it is not necessary to mail us the original check. Otherwise, you can transfer or wire funds to our U.S. Bank account. We also accept payments via Western Union.

Please review the Payment Options and our Return Policy.

STEP 3 – Receive our instructions in the email. Submit documents online and deliver your cargo to a terminal, OR meet a pickup driver (if a pickup is requested)

Upon receipt of a deposit, we will notify you by email. Consider the email a receipt for your payment.

Then, we will email you our Instructions. As a general rule, we provide the instructions within 24 business hours; however, this may take longer in some cases. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you don't receive our instructions within 24 hours. Before contacting us, please check your spam folder.

Your instructions are customized and generated specifically for your shipment. These instructions will contain your Dock Receipt and provide the following:

1. OCEAN FREIGHT CARRIER'S BOOKING NUMBER - The Ocean Carrier's Booking Number is the KEY NUMBER for your shipment. You will need to provide the number for all parties involved.
2. AMID Logistics's Customer Reference Number. This is our internal reference number. Always provide AMID Logistics's Reference Number when contacting us. Keep the number in the subject line of your email. The format looks like US200107DL.
3. The terminal's address and phone number, and:
   - If you self-deliver to a CFS, then a web link to print your Dock Receipt
   - If self-deliver to a Line-Haul terminal, then an LTL BOL is attached
   - If a pickup is requested, then the pickup day is provided, and an LTL BOL is attached
4. Sailing details on your shipment:
   - ETD - Estimated Time of Departure
   - ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival 
   - The Vessel, Voyage, Routing
   - The latest cargo delivery day to depart on the scheduled vessel
   
5. A web link to print your labels.
6. A web link to fill out and submit a Valued Packing List if you cannot provide us a copy of your commercial invoice, OR ship household goods or personal items. 

Read and follow these instructions. Reply and ask questions, if any. Submit your documents online. Print labels and label your cargo. Deliver your goods in boxes, crates, or pallets for further shipping from the USA overseas, OR meet a pickup driver (if a pickup is requested).

Please note: You shouldn't pay anything at the terminal or the pickup driver. Please wait for our final invoice to be sent to you via email.  

Terminals do not usually accept payments. The cost will be added to the carrier's invoice if boxes require palletizing. However, occasionally, if you self-deliver your boxes from the USA to a terminal and request palletization, you may be asked to pay for the palletization at the terminal. Depending on the terminal, the cost may vary from $35 to over $50 per pallet. Then please pay for it. Ensure a receipt is obtained. 

STEP 4 – Pay the final invoice - a weight-measurement discrepancy.

As soon as your cargo is delivered to the ocean freight carrier for further shipping from the USA overseas and all your documents are in order, we will confirm the carrier's cargo release and keep you updated.

After that, you should wait for our email with the final invoice. The invoice will reflect the international shipping cost based on the actual weight-measurement of your cargo. The previously paid 75% deposit will be credited to the invoice.

If a marine insurance certificate is requested when booking, it will be attached to the invoice.

The invoice will be generated based on the freight charges in the ocean carrier's bill of lading, a few days after the Estimated Time of Departure (ETD). Sometimes, we may generate the invoice earlier based on proof of the BOL from the ocean carrier.

Please note that the final invoice will be based on the actual weight or measurements (w/m) of the cargo shipped, rather than the estimated w/m at the time of quoting and booking. The invoice may also reflect unaccounted costs from carriers that had not been included in the estimated international shipping cost (if any). There may be additional charges related to palletizing, fumigation, dimensional weight and length verification, and GRI during transportation, among others.

In other words, you pay for what you have shipped, not what you estimated to ship. If you overestimated your weight-to-mass ratio (w/m), then you pay less. If you underestimate your weight-to-mass ratio (w/m), you will pay more. That's why we request a 75% deposit, but not 100%.

Upon your final payment, if you fully or partially paid via PayPal, before issuing a bill of lading, we will always NEED YOUR REPLY email with your confirmation that you clearly understand that the BOL is our final document on your international shipping from the USA. It serves as the title for shipping overseas goods from the USA and acts as proof of ownership transfer to the consignee, similar to a BOL for the recipient of the shipped goods. This confirms that, upon receipt of the BOL, our service to you is complete as agreed. All parties involved in the payment(s) of the shipment paid by credit card(s) will consider the confirmation as receipt of payment(s), bearing the payer's signature. If, for any reason, you do not agree, then you may re-pay all your PayPal transactions by U.S. Bank check or wire funds to our bank account. Please inform us by replying to this email. Then, upon receipt of repayment (s), we will notify you and refund your PayPal transactions.

STEP 5  – Receive your Sea freight Bill of Lading

Upon receipt of your final payment and a response to your PayPal transactions (if applicable), we will email you the ocean freight carrier's Express Release Bill of Lading in a PDF file. Consider the BOL as a title for shipping goods from the USA. Shipments on express releases do not require a set of original bills of lading. You should be notified if you ship to a country that does not accept express release.

The BOL will verify information about your international shipment and provide the contact details of the ocean carrier's destination agent, who handles your cargo recovery at the destination.

STEP 6 –  Be prepared for your import.

Several days before the ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival, the ocean freight carrier's agent should contact your consignee and notify the party (if any) about your international shipping from the USA with a Notice of Arrival. Typically, they contact the consignee via the email in your bill of lading. Keep your eyes on it. Do not miss it! Pay attention to the junk mail folder.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! Suppose you will not receive an Arrival Notice on the ETA. In that case, we strongly suggest that you contact the ocean carrier's agent, as listed in your BOL, regarding the status of your shipping from the USA goods on the day of ETA. Then, please provide them with a copy of your Express Release Bill of Lading, confirm your contact details, and ask for the arrival notice. 

Shipments with transshipments: If a port of discharge in your sea freight BOL is different from the final place of delivery, then, unless specified in your sailing detail, the ETA in your shipment may not be the ETA to the final place of delivery but to the port where your load will be transshipped to the final destination. Transshipments/fiders will take additional transit time in your international shipping from the U.S.

Please note that the ocean carrier's agent may not receive information on your international shipping from the USA until a few days before the estimated time of arrival (ETA). If you contact them far in advance, do not be frustrated if they are unaware of your incoming cargo. Then, fax or email them a copy of your BOL, confirm your contact details, and wait for a notice of arrival. 

STEP 7  – Import recovery. Destination charges.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! All imports in all countries worldwide are subject to destination charges (sometimes called 'local charges'). The charges are incurred at the destination and are not considered freight charges. You must be prepared to pay the charges if you ship goods overseas from the United States. No matter whether you are importing commercial cargo from the U.S. or transporting household goods or personal effects,

Local charges are not included in quotes obtained through our online freight calculator or on the consignee's account. Typically, the changes include (but are not limited to):

1. Government (Customs) related charges, i.e., duty and taxes (if any), harbor fees, fee on entry filing by a Customs Broker, etc.
2. Terminal(s) handling charges (THC).
3. There is a service fee from the ocean carrier's agent for handling and delivering your international shipment (if you request a delivery to your door).

Destination charges vary depending on the country, the ocean carrier, and the carrier's agent. U.S. freight forwarders do not control destination charges. As a U.S. freight forwarder, AMID Logistics does not affect the charges. The ocean carrier's agent should assist your consignee in retrieving your import.

Please note that, as a rule, your consignee should not be present in person when your import is being recovered. Follow instructions from the ocean carrier's agent. Please provide them with all necessary information on your import remotely, pay the invoices for local charges, and possess the released goods.

Typically, destination terminals offer cargo delivery services. Then, if you wish, you may arrange for direct delivery of your import to your door with the terminal or hire a local cargo transportation company of your choice.

If you would like to estimate local charges in advance, please obtain a quote or booking number using our online calculator, reply by email, and request the contact information of your prospective agent overseas. However, without a quote or booking reference number, we cannot identify the carrier for your shipment and therefore cannot assist you. For example, when contacting us, have the reference ready.   

• Destination charges depend on the commodity when transporting commercial cargo from the U.S.
• If you ship household goods or personal items from the USA, remember that many countries worldwide do not charge duty on household goods or personal effects. However, such shipments are subject to all other applicable charges anyway. Based on our experience, when sending personal belongings overseas for non-sale purposes LCL, if the commodities are exempt from duty, local charges may vary from $250 to $600 or even higher. For sizable shipments of 8-14+ cubic meters, these charges may be comparable to FCL (full container load) rates, ranging from $600 to $1,000 and higher.

You may need to check with your destination country's consulate or ask a customs broker in your country about the Government (Customs) regulations on your prospective shipment in advance.

Please note that some or all local charges may be payable at the port of entry for your shipping from the USA, but not at the final destination. It all depends on the country's customs regulations. Then, the cargo will be transported to the terminal at the place of delivery and cleared by customs. Otherwise, it may be transported to the final destination in bond. Your consignee will then clear the goods with customs at a bonded warehouse located in that area. Also, remember that local charges may sometimes be divided into separate invoices from several parties involved in your import recovery.