Get Your Freight Shipments in Early to Beat the Holiday Madness

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Shipping in a winter wonderland.

 

Whether, you ship via ocean or air freight, shippers with years of experience know of the usual yearly backlogs around Christmas time.

But if you’re a little newer to the game, or are finding yourself dealing with an unusual spike in activity for your particulary industry, an increase in shipments now is likely to have you sweating. But that’s okay, because I feel your pain, and have some great tips for you.

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The facts are, your ocean shipments may be on standby for the next ship or the one after. Your air freight shipments will most likely stay on the ground before taking off. Airlines prioritize US mails over commercial shipments during the Christmas season, which add waiting time for your shipments to the line. On imports, you have the Christmas orders coming in & customs clearances also experience delays with the US Customs.

Early dispatch

In a perfect freight world, shippers need early dispatches of their freight seeking departure and arrival dates that are not too close to Christmas.

You should speak with their international freight forwarders the MOMENT you have a clear understanding of when your cargo can be dispatched. Some forwarders will take steps to peruse all of the carriers servicing the trade lanes as well as evaluating the backlog situation.

Here are a few resources the early shipper should know about:

• Harmonized system number (international customs code to identify your products): https://uscensus.prod.3ceonline.com/
• Ocean Container dimensions: http://www.foreign-trade.com/reference/ocean.htm

Below are indicative freighter aircraft specifications for comparison purposes. Please note that these refer to standard models; modifications may be made by individual operators.

(download the PDF HERE)

Make/Model	Max Payload Tonnes	Max Loadable Volume CBM3	Cargo Hold Dims LxWxH cm	Cargo Door Size WxH cm
Antonov 225	250	1100	4300 x 640 x 440	640 x 440
Boeing 747-800	140	850	5400 x 485 x 300	340 x 312
Antonov 124	120	800	3650 x 640 x 440	640 x 440
Boeing 747-300/400	110	675	5000 x 488 x 300	340 x 312
Boeing 747-200	100	675	4900 x 488 x 300	340 x 312
Boeing 777	100	625	4400 x 488 x 300	372 x 305
Ilyushin 96	90	580	4440 x 570 x 287	485 x 287
McDonnell Douglas MD11	85	500	4800 x 350 x 245	355 x 255
Airbus 330	65	475	580 x 525 x 245	358 x 256
Douglas DC10	65	400	3725 x 448 x 245	350 x 255
Lockheed Tristar	55	420	3300 x 360 x 274	431 x 284
Boeing 767	55	400	3000 x 400 x 250	340 x 254
Airbus 300-600	47	410	4000 x 525 x 245	358 x 256
Ilyushin 76	45	180	1850 x 345 x 325	344 x 340
Airbus 300-200	43	295	3550x477x245	358 x 256
Airbus 310	40.5	270	390 x 477 x 223	358×257
Ilyushin62	40	240	280 x 375 x 200	345×200
Douglas DC8-62	40	200	3400 x 317 x 203	355 x 215
Boeing 757	39	187	3327 x 353 x 218	340 x 218
Tupolev 204	28.5	165	290 x 274 x 200	340×208
Boeing 727	23.5	144	2712 x 351 x 218	340 x 218
Lockheed Hercules	21	140	1707 x 302 x 274	302 x 274
Antonov 12	18	95	1380 x 300 x 250	300 x 250
DC9	17	120	210 x 274 x 205	345 x 205
Boeing 737	16	115	2100 x 310 x 220	340 x 215
Lockheed Electra	15	135	2000 x 280 x 220	355 x 203
BAe ATP	8.2	78	1500 x 195 x 180	250 x 169
ATR 72	8	75	1795 x 225 x 175	294 x 180
Antonov 26	6.5	45	1110 x 220 x 160	230 x 171
Antonov 74	6.5	45	1000 x 215 x 220	226 x 220
Fokker 27	6.3	58	1336 x 210 x 190	228 x 175
ATR 42	4.6	40	1080 x 225 x 143	125 x 153
Saab 340	3.8	40	1300 x 170 x 170	135 x 130
Shorts 360	3.5	40	815 x 190 x 190	142 x 168
Falcon 20 / 200	2.5	11	704 x 156 x 142	190 x 140
Metroliner 23	2.3	18	775 x 158 x 145	127 x 115
Metroliner III	2.1	12	775 x 158 x 145	130 x 115
Metroliner II	1.4	12	835 x 115 x 120	130 x 115
Beech 200 Kingair	1.2	5	280 x 124 x 138	132 x 138
Cessna 406 Titan	1.2	6.5	320 x 120 x 117	124 x 116
Piper 31	0.6	4	350 x 100 x 125	65 x 110

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Your best friend this holiday seasons is the mighty freight forwarder. Folks at ETC will help you find the best routes and prices and timing, and you won’t feel like a nameless number when you work with our team.

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