Tips From Your International Moving Company in Thailand: Shipment Options

Relocating from one place to another can be exciting and stressful. When it entails crossing borders into another country, it can be even more so. To help alleviate some of that stress so you can focus on the excitement, you need a reliable company on your side. Allied Thailand is such an international moving company in Thailand, with a broad-ranging network around the world.

As you contemplate your plans to move abroad, there are a range of options you need to weigh. In this article, we present some of the different shipment options available to you, depending on your various needs.

Different ways to move to another country: Land, air, or sea

As an international moving company in Thailand, we work with customers to deal with every step of their relocation, but ultimately, it is your decision as to how your cargo is hauled to your new destination. Do you have a lot of things? Will you need to move valuables? Are you taking your car or other heavy machinery with you? Whether you are moving your home or business, all these questions and more need to be answered. To help you do so, here are some of the options available.

Air freight

Moving cargo by air is by far the fastest and often the most direct way for long distances, and even some shorter ones. Flying at around 900 km/hr, cargo planes are rarely victims to traffic jams (except perhaps at takeoff and landing at busier airports), so you can get your possessions to your destination within days, maybe a few weeks, compared to a possible months-long wait for sea freight.

Furthermore, air travel occurs under strict conditions regarding security, so you could consider air freight a safer, less risky option. This may be a consideration for perishable items. However, you may want to consult with your international moving company in Thailand regarding clearing customs and quarantine in your destination country if you plan on transporting food or plants. Also, since this is a quicker transport method under secure conditions, you may want to consider airfreight for your more valuable items.

However, air freight can be the most costly, in terms of finances and environmental impact. This all revolves around weight, as that is what determines how much fuel is used (and CO2 is emitted). Any international moving company in Thailand will usually charge airfreight based on a calculation using your cargo’s actual weight and volume.

Typically, air freight would be an option for highly valuable or perishable items or items you would need immediately. It would be rare to complete your entire move by air freight. More often than not, if you opt for air freight at all, it would be in conjunction with land or sea freight as well.

Land

Air freight may be fast, but for some distances, especially if there are direct highways, trucking may be just as efficient, and more cost-effective as well. Consider that you still need to get your freight from your home or office to the airport and then from the airport to your destination. With trucks, it is typically one pickup and one drop off. So, depending on the distance, the valuables/perishables benefit (customs and quarantining aside) mentioned above may be served just as well by land. And the costs are usually much more affordable.

However, there are some issues. Freight forwarding by land can be impacted by weather delays more than air or sea, and there may be issues with traffic, either on the road or at border crossings, especially if there is one or more countries between your starting point and your destination. To mitigate some of these issues, your freight forwarder may suggest adding rail transport.

Nevertheless, your international moving company in Thailand can help you figure out if land freight is an option for you. If you are willing to wait a little longer, you may want to forego air for land. If time is not an issue, and the distance is significant (or there is an ocean between them), you may want to rely on sea freight.

Sea freight

Sea transport is the most economical freight forwarding method. It is also the most environmentally friendly as well. Also, you can move items of almost any size by sea, although you still need to get them to the port first, and weight is not usually a factor when it comes to determining cost. By sea, there is often a cost per container that fees are based on. You can pay for an entire container (full container load – FCL), part of a container (less than a container load – LCL), or for a consignment arrangement (groupage).

Of course, there are potential risks with sea cargo as well. Bad weather can still hold up ships, and customs clearance could be an issue whether you are transporting your goods by land, air, or sea.

While it may take longer than air or land transport, sea freight has a greater reach with a worldwide network of container ports. You can find a ship going to almost every part of the world. Of course, there may still need to be a road component as, with air freight, you will need to get your shipment to and from the ports.

Allied is your moving company in Thailand

This is just one aspect of planning your international move. After deciding on which method, or combination of methods, if land or sea is part of it, you may need to discuss the FCL, LCL, and groupage options with your moving team. Then there are also special instructions, such as for vehicles or potentially hazardous items, as well as deciding what type of insurance coverage you would need or want.

Allied Thailand is always living up to our tagline “The Careful Movers”. We will discuss what your needs are, from a site inspection to taking an inventory for a proper estimate to planning out timelines, and work with you to come up with the most appropriate solution for you. Contact us today to find out how Allied can move you!