The online freight calculator above provides a quick estimate of international shipping costs for cargo deliveries from the United States.

Cargo Deliveries and Pickups in Shipping from the USA Overseas

International shipping costs are based on the service selected: Self-delivery or Pickup.

When calculating a shipping cost to deliver your goods from the USA overseas, you can either self-deliver your load to a carrier's terminal or request to pick up (collect) your packed goods at their location. The transportation procedures and associated prices differ significantly depending on the option selected.

The online calculator provides three options when quoting and booking an international delivery.

Three Opinions to Deliver a Load to CFS

Here are the options:

1. Self-deliver your load directly to an ocean carrier's terminal (called CFS - Container Freight Station). This is the most cost-effective method for shipping goods overseas.
    
2. Self-deliver your load to the nearest U.S. domestic transportation terminal to line haul the shipment to a CFS in the United States. Typically, that will be a U.S. domestic LTL carrier's terminal.
    
3. Request a pickup of packed goods at their location for further delivery abroad.

The First Option. Deliver cargo at CFS.

You deliver your packed goods to the nearest ocean freight carrier terminal. Such terminals are known as Container Freight Stations (CFS).

Our calculator lists CFSs in uppercase and highlights them. CHICAGO, IL, for example.

By delivering a shipment to CFS, you submit your goods directly to a sea freight carrier. A single carrier will handle the entire international transaction process. Price rates should be calculated by cubic meters or cubic feet. The rest of your shipment, until it arrives at the designated delivery location specified in your bill of lading, will be supervised by a single carrier.

The CFS can properly palletize goods delivered at CFS in boxes or other smaller items on certified pallets.

Self-delivery to a CFS is the most cost-effective way to ship goods from the U.S. to overseas destinations.

The Second Option. Delivery at Line Haul.

Suppose CFS is too far away. In that case, you can deliver your load to the nearest U.S. domestic Less Than Truckload (LTL) carrier's terminal for transfer to a Container Freight Station (CFS) for further shipping overseas.

We refer to such terminals as Linhe Haul terminals. Our online calculator displays line haul terminals in lowercase with asterisks (*)—for example, Denver, CO*.

If you deliver a load to a line haul terminal, a line haul charge will be added to the ocean freight. U.S. domestic ground transportation prices are calculated per kilo or pound. The LTL rates depend on Freight Class and the U.S. National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC). Rates for moving goods from a line haul terminal to CFS are calculated based on the dimensional weight of the load.

Typically, line-haul terminals temporarily palletize everything for easy transportation at no additional charge. However, they never followed ISPM15 rules, as these rules do not apply to U.S. domestic cargo transportation. Line-haul terminals may occasionally request a small fee to palletize boxes. You should pay the fee directly at the terminals.

The third option. Pickup (Collection).

You can also select a pickup. You should specify the type of location for pickup, such as a warehouse, small business premises, or a residential address.

With this option, depending on the distance of the location from the nearest terminal, your goods will be transported to a CFS or a line-haul terminal for further transfer to a CFS.

Pickup rates are the same as those for line haul, based on the dimensional weight of the load.

In our business, we typically schedule pickups with LTL cargo transportation companies. LTL is mainly designed for cargo transportation between warehouses with loading docks. If there is no loading dock, you should be aware of some limitations when making pickups at small business premises and residential addresses.

What is LCL Freight?

LCL means "Less than Container Load."

It is a method to ship overseas cargo that does not fill an entire container. Instead, different shippers share a container, allowing them to split the costs. This is an excellent option for smaller shipments that cannot fill a full container.

How It Works: When you choose LCL, your payload goes to a consolidation warehouse. There, it is combined with other shipments going to the same place. Once the container is full, it is shipped by sea. The container is opened upon arrival at the destination, and each shipment is separated for delivery to the intended recipient.

Benefits of LCL

• Cost-Effective: With LCL, you share a container with other shipments. This means you only pay for the space your cargo occupies, making it a more cost-effective international shipping option for smaller loads than a Full Container Load (FCL).

• Flexibility: LCL allows smaller businesses to ship goods internationally without waiting until they have enough cargo to fill a whole container. This helps make logistics more efficient.

• Accessibility: LCL allows smaller companies and e-commerce sellers to ship goods internationally without the need for large shipments regularly.

When to Choose LCL

Choose LCL (Less than Container Load) if you don’t have strict timing and want to save on shipping costs. This option is best suited for shipments of less than 15-18 cubic meters (CBM). If your shipment exceeds this limit, consider using FCL (Full Container Load), which may be the most affordable international shipping option.

LCL lets you share a container with other shipments. This can help your business save money and increase flexibility.