International freight guide
Air is fast but volumetric weight can be high. Ocean is cheaper per unit but adds lead time and inventory financing. Compare total delivered cost and the cost of delay.
Air normally uses the greater of actual and volumetric weight. Ocean LCL commonly uses the greater revenue-ton value from CBM and metric tons. Low-density cargo can become expensive by air.
Air can bring sales forward and reduce safety stock. Ocean can tie up product payments and inventory for longer and may require more buffer for schedule variation.
Do not test only all-air or all-ocean. Send stockout-prevention units by air and the balance by ocean, then include the cost of two clearances and document sets.
Yes. Small, valuable, dense freight or shipments with high stockout cost may favor air on a total-cost basis.
Compare door-to-door time including pickup, booking, customs, release and final delivery, not only airport-to-airport or port-to-port.
It helps when volumetric weight is the billing basis. Once actual weight is greater, volume reduction has limited direct rate impact.
Enter CBM, weight and rates to calculate air chargeable weight, ocean RT and estimated freight difference.
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