When you decide to source from overseas, choosing between airfreight and ocean freight is an important decision that you have to make very wisely as it greatly affects the optimization and profitability of the entire sourcing process. Both solutions offer a myriad of advantages and disadvantages and the right solution is something subjective to your needs and priorities.
At BlinkGlobal, we offer a wide range of transportation solutions with procurement to our clients. Depending on the destination, goods consigned to a foreign market can be transported by road, rail, air, sea, inland, waterways, or a combination of any of these. In this article, our experts share their knowledge so that you make the best decision for your shipment in the given circumstances.
Cost Comparison:
For shipment over 100 lbs, ocean freight is a wise choice. It is the cheapest and the best option as shipping by sea scale well. For instance, a shipment of 100lb might cost you let’s say 100$, a shipment weighing 1000lb might cost you only 200$ making it the best option for transporting in bulk.
Contrary to ocean freight, air freight can be very expensive. In certain cases, it can get 10 times to 100 times more expensive than maritime transport. Airfreight is regarded as the costliest mode of shipping. Airfreight rates are so high that it is not feasible for low-value products.
Time:
Shipping via oceans may take months, particularly if you choose LCL (Limited Container Load). LCL shipping requires a longer time. The reason is pretty straightforward. Your shipment will wait at the loading port until it finds consolidation partners. This will be again required at the destination port. FCL (Full Container Load) shipment is faster. The shipment will be sealed by the original supplier. The entire shipment will be loaded and transported directly to your final destination. Time is the most important factor why many businesses decide to choose air freight over sea freight. However, air traffic can also be affected by adverse weather conditions, so you must always be prepared for unexpected delays.
Airfreight and the environment
When it comes to reducing our ecological footprint, sea freight almost always wins the battle over air freight. This is why you should pick your transportation mode wisely based on what type of goods you need to ship, to and from what destinations, and what your priorities are.
Customs Clearance
Custom clearance at seaports is way less complicated compared to airports. A good freighting partner such as Blink Sourcing will make sure that you meet all the legalities and have adequate clearance documents and necessary fees have been paid beforehand. Meeting all these simple prereqs will ensure a smooth passage of goods from the port authorities.
About BlinkGlobal
Your Global Sourcing Partner. With our deep understanding of global sourcing, we supply B2B industrial and consumer products with centralized procurement and high delivery precision
