Sea freight

You want to bring a promising product to the Netherlands. Are you going to use parcel post, road, sea freight or do you need (part of) a sea container? Every option has its advantages and disadvantages. Which option is most advantageous for your situation depends on your requirements.

Shipping parcel post

The prices of parcel services are based on weight and dimensions. The costs for these services can increase very quickly. For a single package of 30 KG you quickly pay 70 euros or more, especially if you import from from China, for example. The number of days before you have your package at home can vary a lot; in some cases this is 6 days, it also happens that packets are on the road for 5 weeks or have been left in a distribution center. The number of days also varies per supplier. On arrival in Europe, the goods must be cleared through customs and import duties will be charged on the goods.

Import by Air Freight

Do you have slightly larger shipments and should the shipment be delivered quickly? Then air freight can be a good option for you. The costs of larger shipments via the air are relatively lower than shipping via parcel post. The disadvantage is that the shipment takes a number of days longer than when shipping by parcel post. At Air Freight you also have to take care of the correct customs formalities and handling of any import duties.

Import by sea freight

An extremely cost-efficient and flexible way of sending is shipping by sea freight. You can ship pallets, sea containers and bulk goods by sea freight. You can rent a full container (FCL) for your sea freight or a part of a container (LCL) if you do not have freight enough for a full container. Normally you pay a freight forwarder the full price for a partial container. To reduce these costs, you can use The Freight Hero. The Freight Hero gives you the possibility to rent a part of a sea container that you share with other shipments from other importing companies. The advantage is that you pay the lowest prices and you get your goods faster.

The biggest shipping companies:

In the case of sea freight, your goods are transported by a shipping company. Depending on the port where the goods come from, or have to go to, The Freight Hero determines which shipping companies are eligible. We then compare the prices, after which we can offer you the best price.

In recent years a number of shipping companies have bought up competitors or they have merged to take advantage of economies of scale. Moreover, the shipping companies work partly together, which means that there are now three big shipping company partnerships worldwide.

• 2M (Maersk, MSC and HMM as final charter)
• Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO and Evergreen)
• THE Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd, ONE (K-Line, MOL and NYK) and Yang Ming)

The table below shows the consolidation of the shipping companies as from 2011.

Your wishes and requirements play a role in the consideration of which import or export method is best for you. The Freight Hero advises you, offers you the best prices and the fastest transport times. In addition, we help you with customs clearance. With the help of our online platform, every step of your import or export process can be followed online at any time. If you become a regular customer of The Freight Hero, The Freight Hero will pay all costs during transport and you will receive a clear invoice afterwards, on which you can read exactly what the total costs consist of.