Sea freight
LCL — Less than Container Load
Less than Container Load (LCL) freight consolidates your cargo with other shippers in a shared container, priced per cubic metre or per 1,000kg — whichever is greater — so you never pay for space you don't use. Available on import and export lanes worldwide.
What is LCL shipping?
LCL (Less than Container Load) consolidates your cargo into a shared container with other shippers' goods. It is priced per cubic metre or per 1,000kg, whichever is greater, which makes it cheaper than FCL below roughly 15 cubic metres. Allow five to eleven extra days for consolidation and deconsolidation.
How consolidation works
Your cargo is delivered to a Container Freight Station (CFS) in the origin country — wherever that is — where it's packed alongside other shippers' goods into a shared container. At the other end it's deconsolidated at the destination CFS and made available for delivery or collection.
It's the most economical option for shipments under roughly 15 cubic metres — you pay only for the space and weight your cargo actually occupies.
How LCL is priced
LCL is charged on W/M (weight or measurement) — whichever produces the higher number:
A minimum charge (equivalent to 1 cubic metres) applies to every LCL shipment, plus a documentation fee and a BAF/CAF surcharge — the fuel and currency adjustments carriers pass through. Per-cubic-metre base rates (that is, the price of one cubic metre of cargo) for each country are published on its country page; send us your dimensions on the LCL quote form and we will work out the chargeable volume for you.
Also available
Complete the move with our other services
Cargo Insurance
All-risk marine and air cargo cover for the declared value of your goods, arranged at quote stage on any lane.
View serviceWarehousing
Bonded and general storage at origin and destination, with pick, pack and onward distribution.
View serviceDoor to Door
Collection at the shipper's premises and delivery to the consignee's door, with everything between handled by us.
View serviceProject Cargo
Out-of-gauge, heavy-lift and breakbulk consignments that will not travel in a standard container.
View serviceAsk about any of these when you request a quote or get in touch.
How to pack for LCL
Groupage cargo is handled several more times than a full container: into the consolidation warehouse, into a shared box beside other shippers' freight, out again at the far end, and onto a delivery vehicle. It is also stacked, by people who cannot see what is inside. Packing for LCL is packing for that handling.
Palletise, and keep it square
One rigid unit on a pallet survives handling that loose cartons do not. Nothing should overhang the pallet edge — an overhang is what a forklift catches and what stops the pallet stacking, and it is also charged as though the space were used.
Stretch wrap the whole unit
Wrap from the pallet deck upwards so the load and the pallet become one thing. Corner boards under the wrap stop the film cutting into the top cartons and keep the stack square through several liftings.
Assume something is stacked on top
In a shared container it will be. Cartons should be strong enough to carry weight, and anything crushable belongs in a crate rather than a box. Fragile stickers are not a structural measure.
Label every piece, not just the pallet
Wrap comes off and pieces get separated. Each carton should carry the consignee and the reference so a stray one can be reunited with the shipment rather than sitting in a warehouse unclaimed.
Measure the pallet you are actually sending
Groupage is charged per cubic metre on the outside dimensions, including the pallet and the wrap. Measure the finished unit at its widest and tallest point, not the goods inside it, or the invoice will not match the quote.
Wooden pallets and crates must be ISPM 15 heat treated and marked. Untreated timber in a shared container is a problem for every shipper in that box, not only yours, and it is checked.
Send us the dimensions and weight of the finished, packed unit — not the goods inside it — and the quote will match the invoice.
LCL: common questions
How is LCL priced?
LCL is priced per cubic metre or per 1,000kg, whichever is greater — the shipping industry's volumetric rule, so a dense pallet is charged on its weight and a light bulky one on its volume. On top of the freight rate, LCL carries container freight station (CFS) handling at both origin and destination, usually charged per cubic metre with a minimum.
How long does LCL take compared with FCL?
Add roughly 5 to 11 days to the port-to-port time. An LCL shipment waits for the consolidator to fill the container at origin, which can take 3 to 7 days, and has to be stripped and sorted at destination, adding a further 2 to 4. On a 30-day Asia lane that overhead is proportionally small; on a short intra-European lane it can double the door-to-door time.
What is the minimum shipment size for LCL?
Most LCL lanes have a 1 cubic metres minimum charge, so anything smaller is priced as though it were 1 cubic metres. Below roughly 0.5 cubic metres, an express courier is usually cheaper and faster than groupage — we will say so rather than book you onto the wrong product.
Is my cargo safe sharing a container?
LCL cargo is handled more than FCL cargo — into the CFS, into the container alongside other shippers' goods, out again at destination — and every handling step is an opportunity for damage. Sturdy, well-shrink-wrapped palletised packaging matters more here than on any other product. If goods are fragile, high value or contamination-sensitive, FCL is often worth taking below the cost crossover.
Ready to move cargo by LCL?
Any country to any country, import or export — send us the origin, destination and cargo details and we'll come back with a competitive rate within one business day.