Sea freight is the other end of the same ladder as air freight, and it is priced on a completely different basis. Where a parcel is sold by weight band and air freight by chargeable weight, freight by sea is quoted either by the container or by the cubic metre of a shared one, which means volume rather than weight is what you are buying. That is why seafreight is the cheapest way to move anything bulky and the worst way to move anything urgent.
Full container or shared: the only choice that changes the price shape
A full container load is priced as a container, so the rate is the same whether you fill it or not, and the cost per item falls the fuller it is. A less than container load is priced by the cubic metre or by revenue tonne of a container you share with other shippers, which is cheaper for small volumes and slower, because the container waits until it is full and is then unpacked at a depot at the far end. Most first-time shippers are in the second category and are surprised by the depot time rather than the sailing time.
Why the sailing time is the smallest part of the wait
A quoted transit is port to port. Around it sit the cut-off before the sailing, the wait for a shared container to fill, customs clearance at both ends and the inland leg at each side. On a long route the sailing might be five weeks and the door-to-door figure eight, and the difference is entirely process. It is the single most common reason a sea freight plan misses a deadline, and it is knowable in advance simply by asking which of those the quoted number includes.
Where sea freight sits against the published parcel prices
Nothing in this record publishes a sea freight rate, because it is quoted per shipment. What the record does show is the cost of not needing it: Parcel2Go publishes £10.99 to China and £11.10 to Australia for a parcel on its own destination pages, and Parcelforce publishes £21.40 for up to 30kg in the UK. Sea freight starts making sense above roughly a cubic metre or several hundred kilograms, which is well beyond every published figure here.
The terms that decide who pays what
Sea freight quotes come with Incoterms attached, and they are not decoration. They decide at which point the goods become the buyer's problem, who pays the freight, who pays insurance and who clears customs at each end. Two quotes on different terms are not comparable at all, and the gap between them is often larger than any difference in the freight rate itself. Ask for the term before you ask for the price.
Questions people ask about sea freight
How much is sea freight from the UK?
It is quoted per shipment, by container or by cubic metre of a shared one, so no published rate exists in this record. For comparison, the published parcel prices here run £10.99 to China and £11.10 to Australia, and Parcelforce publishes £21.40 for up to 30kg in the UK.
What is the difference between FCL and LCL?
A full container load is priced as a whole container regardless of how full it is. A less than container load shares a container and is priced by volume, which is cheaper for small consignments and slower, because the container has to fill and then be unpacked.
How long does sea freight take?
The sailing is the smallest part. Add the cut-off before it, the wait for a shared container to fill, customs at both ends and the inland leg at each side; door to door is routinely half as long again as the port-to-port figure quoted.
Do I need Incoterms for a sea freight quote?
Yes, and two quotes on different terms cannot be compared. The term decides who pays freight, who insures the goods and who clears customs at each end.