How LCL rates are calculated

LCL (less than container load) is ocean freight for shipments too small to fill a container. Your cargo is delivered to a consolidation warehouse (a CFS) at origin, loaded into a shared container with other shippers, and unloaded at a CFS in the US, where you collect it or have it delivered.

Ocean freight is charged per revenue ton, which is your volume in cubic meters or your weight in metric tonnes, whichever is greater. The US CFS and port charges each have their own basis (per CBM, per 100 lb, per tonne or flat per shipment) and a minimum, so a small shipment pays mostly minimums. The board adds every line for your volume and weight.

They are read each week from the consolidation tariffs carriers and consolidators publish for each sailing, with the charges that sailing carries. Each price is the spot rate for the next sailing that can still take cargo, and each rate has a validity date; Gateway confirms the price before you book.

Pickup at your supplier and charges at the origin CFS (usually paid by the supplier under FOB terms), delivery from the US CFS to your door, ISF filing, US customs entry and duties, cargo insurance, and extra charges for hazardous, oversized or non-stackable cargo.

It depends on the lane. Published guidance puts the crossover at roughly 12 to 20 CBM, lower on busy routes such as China to the US once the per-shipment CFS charges are counted. Below about 12 revenue tons LCL is usually cheaper; above about 25 a container usually is; in between, price both.

Yes. Every ocean shipment entering the US, LCL included, needs an Importer Security Filing at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded at origin. Gateway can file it for you.