Top Reasons to Choose Between Air and Ocean Freight
Your supply chain involves everything that makes the production and distribution of a commodity possible. Even the slightest mistake in the entire process can cause delays and damage your relationships with the customers, business partners, manufacturers, etc. The suitable shipping mode, typically via air or sea, is one of a freight forwarder’s most significant decisions. Here, we will help you know the differences between air and ocean shipping and the various factors that influence your decision. Here we go:
Freight Destination
The actual destination range is one of the first things shoppers need to consider while transporting their goods abroad. Apart from all other factors, your freight destination influences your choice between air and sea freight. Being the most economical option, ocean shipping is always the priority of shippers.
However, air shipping is the ideal option if the freight destination is thousands of miles away. The most common reason is to get their goods delivered within the prescribed time and avoid delays. Furthermore, ocean shipping can be a viable option if you need to ship only a few zones away and have no deadlines.
Shipment Size and Weight
You need to consider the various factors when deciding between ocean and air shipping services. The size and weight of consignment influence the decision of shippers between sea freight and air freight. While shipping from the air, you cannot exceed the size and weight limit. If you want to send heavy materials such as machinery, spare parts, and automobiles, ocean shipping is the only option left.
Sea freight allows complete flexibility to the shippers, making it the ideal medium for shipping large and heavy goods. Those who want to ship light-weighted products of standard size can definitely go with airfreight.
Security Measures
Airfreight is considered the safest medium for shippers to transport your goods. With high-end security measures taken by the airport staff and CCTV monitoring every step, your goods can safely reach their destination. On the other hand, ocean shipping involves many risk factors as there are more chances of your goods being lost, stolen, or damaged during the shipment.
One of the reasons for the risks can be the goods going through multiple stages and considerable storage duration. With strict surveillance available at each checkpoint, and less storage duration, this issue is not seen in the airfreight process.
Shipping Budget
Your shipping budget influences your choice between air freight and ocean freight. Ocean shipping is the ultimate choice for shippers with a slightly tight budget. To be more cost-friendly, businesses need to find an economical solution for their shipment needs. Air freight is among the most costlier shipping methods, and with a lot of advantages, you need to pay something extra. Ocean shipping is their go-to option for providing economical services to customers or business partners.
Predictability and Obstructions
Apart from all other reasons, predictability is a significant cause when deciding between air and Sea freight. Several factors can affect the time of arrival of your shipment. While shipping your goods using the airfreight method, many factors can lead to delays, including closures, accidents, traffic jams, rerouting, etc.
Though a freight forwarding company like SLR shipping services will always have a contingency plan by their side, you can still experience shipping delays. However, you won’t have to deal with many obstructions in the air freight process. Of course, you can also experience flight delays for several reasons, but the effects will be only minor.