Effective Ways to Reduce Your Container Shipping Cost from Russia
Keeping freight costs low is an essential factor when shipping from Russia. Freight forwarders can help you with this. However, some added expertise and a little creativity can reduce container shipping costs.
Ways to Maximize Payload
Freight forwarders charge the same rate to ship a container half as full as its capacity. You should fit more in the box to pay less per pound or unit. Not maximizing payloads for heavy freight could inflate your spending by as much as 20 percent.
Passover Steamship Line Guidance
Steamship lines in Russia say containers need to be 44,000 pounds or less to be within the legal limits. The cost-effective solution for door-to-door shipments is to maximize the capacity of containers. Russia, Moscow, Novorossiysk, and Saint Petersburg are the ideal ports for container shipping.
Adjust the Packaging
Try to make your cases longer, wider, or taller. Get more product into each case and fit to increase the volume in a single container. Good freight forwarders will help you do that efficiently.
Squeeze the Air Out
While shipping inflated goods from Russia, try to minimize air in the containers. For example, don’t ship inflated basketballs; ship them flat and inflate them further in the supply chain. Similarly, for heavy-duty products such as furniture, get more of them in a container as “ready-to-assemble” to ship in dense, flat boxes.
Use Load Planning Software
Numerous software is available in Russia for fitting cargo into a container. Freight forwarders or their service partners invest in load planning software. They quickly produce a pallet loading plan to fit all the cargo into the container with correct weight distribution.
Ways to Ship Oversized Load
Oversized loads are costlier to ship and subject to more regulations in Russia than standard cargo. To avoid issues while shipping out-of-gauge cargo from Moscow, Novorossiysk, or Saint Petersburg, and to keep the cost low, try these ideas.
Oversized Equipment into Container-sized Cargo
Disassembling and reassembling large equipment on both ends of the international shipment can sometimes be significantly less expensive. Containers shipping a machine like a bulldozer disassembled in a standard container will save 50 percent or more.
Restrict Load Dimensions
The best solution is to reconfigure your freight to fit into a container. If it is not possible, try to restrict its dimension. In most parts of Russia, a comprehensive load permit is applicable only if the load is more than 102 inches from side to side. Arrange your freight to keep its width less than 102 inches to avoid the expense and trouble of getting a permit.
Provide Accurate Information
In case of misinformation, freight forwarders need to redo permits which costs extra and delays the delivery time. Ensure accuracy by measuring carefully and giving the freight forwarders technical drawings and trucking company photos.
Leave Conveyance at Port
Shipping from Russia, Moscow, Novorossiysk, and Saint Petersburg ports is efficient. But if the cargo is oversized, it requires a particular container. Unless the delivery destination is close to the port, arrange to transfer the load from the container to a truck. Freight forwarders can help you do this.
Ways to Work with Smart Freight Forwarders
Container shipping from Russia, Moscow, Novorossiysk, and Saint Petersburg is a busy logistics operation. It pays to work with smart, reliable, and proactive freight forwarders. Here are some ideas to reduce container shipping costs in Russia by employing the best freight forwarders.
Single-Source Partner for Global Shipments
All freight forwarders managing transportation by rail, vessel, or truck add a handling fee to the rate of the carrier. Working with three different logistic partners will cost three handling charges. Working with one freight forwarder for the complete door-to-door freight move will cost much less.
Leverage Transloading
Transloading is the process of including one or more stops between the port and the consignee. More time means more money. However, good freight forwarders advise transloading whenever it is necessary.
Higher Rates During Winters
Harsh winter weather in Russia incurs extra operational costs due to some unavoidable things such as icy conditions and convoy restrictions. For example, shipping lines thrust a surcharge of about $75 per TEU on the container shipping to or from Saint Petersburg port in Russia during winters.
Container Types
Container types matter a lot for container shipping in Russia. It costs significantly more to ship a 40ft container than a 20ft container. In some cases, the load companies plan to ship in a light 40ft box would move cost-effectively in a heavyweight 20ft footer.
Shortest Route
While routing a shipment in Russia, strike a balance between how soon the commodity needs to arrive and its cost. If it is not a hurry, select a slower and cheaper option to ship in Russia. Good freight forwarders understand all the options and make appropriate recommendations regarding the shortest, fastest, and most affordable routes to or from Moscow, Novorossiysk, and Saint Petersburg ports.