Still the Greenest Transportation Option

You may think that vehicles as large as tankers and freight carriers have a pretty immense carbon footprint because they burn tremendous amounts of fuel throughout each trip. The truth is that, when compared to trucks and planes that move goods to distant places, ships consume much less fuel thereby producing less greenhouse gases. Furthermore, there are plenty of easy ways to reduce shipping’s carbon footprint, and increasingly more shipping companies are beginning to adopt them.

Shipping Can Save You Huge Sums of Money

Of all the transportation solutions available for international traders, shipping is the least expensive. When it comes to exportation, charges are often based on the cargo’s size more than on its weight. If you are to transport large and heavy cargo, it is usually cheaper to ship by sea. Take note, though, that the actual shipping cost will normally vary depending on the shipping company you will hire but the discrepancy remains tolerable.

Speeding Up as Time Passes

A lot of international traders are reluctant to ship their goods because of the considerably long span of time for each trip to complete. A single trip may take a week to a month depending on the distance and the kind of vessel used. Of course, you can choose the service package that comes with the shortest shipping period. Many traders deal with this problem by allocating extra time to prepare for the arrival. Thankfully, modern ship designs and the creation of more canals are speeding up the shipping process.

Shipping Companies Form Networks

Although shipping companies or international freight forwarders are naturally competing against one another, most of them form unions or associations to expand their networks. Most of these associations, especially the well-known ones like the Octopus Freight Network or World Business Logistics Network, both of which, Pioneer Freight are active members, implement stringent policies and standards that the members should comply with to maintain membership. This can be particularly helpful for international traders who are having difficulty looking for trusted shippers. They only have to look at the affiliations of the shipping companies on their list to determine their reliability.

These are just some of the facts that you need to know when looking for a shipping company to entrust you cargo to. You also should familiarise yourself with tons of other aspects, including the customs requirements and the typical barriers in the shipping process and how to deal with them. Thankfully, freight forwarders like Pioneer Freight can walk you through the process to make sure that you won’t make any costly mistakes.