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International Shipping Methods

Beijing, Perth or Haifa, Isaac’s Moving and Storage is your best solution for international moving services to move your household goods anywhere in the world.
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There are three key options for shipping personal items internationally.

By Road

By Air

By Ocean

To view details, please click on the tabs below:

This method is used within North America or Europe for shipments that can be transferred by truck – For example for shipments between Canada the USA or Mexico or within the European Union.

Air shipments are very fast and very expensive. Often it may be sensible to ship a small air shipment with items you will need while in transition – clothes and personal items you will use until you leave or immediately when you arrive.

Ocean shipments are best suited and most cost effective for larger items and shipments – ocean freight takes longer and should be planned to accommodate your move schedule. Depending on your type of shipment, the time from decision to pick up and pick up to delivery is typically weeks to months. Exact scheduling of sea freight is also difficult before the shipment is packed and booked on a vessel. In addition, factors like weather, labor disputes, overbooking and more often change the schedule of an ocean shipment Ocean shipments are made in shipping containers. There are 3 types of ocean shipments to choose from:
1. LCL – Less than full container loads
LCL shipments send your item in a shared container. Imagine a large container that contains your goods as well as the goods of other families and individuals. LCL shipments are normally shipped in crates or pallets.
Advantages:
  • You can ship any size shipment even if you only have a few items.
  • Reasonable cost for small to medium shipments.
Disadvantages:
  • Normally takes a little longer than a dedicated container.
  • Slightly more expensive than larger shipments.
  • Your shipment is handled more times on-route.
  • It is slower since the shipping company needs to consolidate your small shipment with other small shipments to fill a container.
2. Groupage or consolidation
Imagine a container split into 2 to 4 sections with different shippers’ goods packed into each section one after the other. Groupage is when a shipper/agent (like Isaac’s) has multiple shipments to a single destination and combines them. Consolidation is when a shipping line takes multiple small shipments to the same destination and combines them.
Advantages:
  • Reasonable cost for smaller than container shipments.
Disadvantages
  • Normally takes a little longer than a dedicated container.
  • Relatively expensive for large shipments.
  • It is slower since the moving company needs to consolidate your shipment with other shipments to the same destination until a container is filled. The faster they can accumulate shipments, the faster they will ship
3. FCL – Full container loads
This type of shipping arrangement is normally for larger shipments and shipments that need to arrive as quickly as possible. With FCL shipments, you are chartering the exclusive use of a full container for the purpose of moving your personal items.
Advantages
  • It is easier to schedule the shipment and arrival of the container.
  • We will load and seal the container at your house (if access permits). The doors of the container remain sealed until it arrives at your new home
  • Since the container doors are sealed, it is easier for customs to verify the seal is intact and to report any irregularity.
Disadvantages
  • If street access doesn’t allow loading the container directly from your home, we will use trucks to shuttle your goods to our warehouse and then load them into a container.
  • When the container arrives to the destination, you have a short time at the port before storage charges begin. In addition to port storage, the container line will charge rental for the container after approximately 1 week.
There are many types of containers including custom sizes and designs – the most popular containers for residential household goods shipping:
20′ container 40′ container 40′ high-cube container
imperial metric imperial metric imperial metric
external dimensions length 19′ 10″ 6.058 m 40′ 0″ 12.192 m 40′ 0″ 12.192 m
width 8′ 0″ 2.438 m 8′ 0″ 2.438 m 8′ 0″ 2.438 m
height 8′ 6″ 2.591 m 8′ 6″ 2.591 m 9′ 6″ 2.896 m
interior dimensions length 19′ 3″ 5.867 m 39′ 6″ 12.032 m 39′ 4″ 12.000 m
width 7′ 9″ 2.352 m 7′ 9″ 2.352 m 7′ 7″ 2.311 m
height 7′ 10″ 2.385 m 7′ 10″ 2.385 m 8′ 9″ 2.650 m
door opening width 7′ 8″ 2.343 m 7′ 8″ 2.343 m 7′ 6″ 2.280 m
height 7′ 5″ 2.280 m 7′ 5″ 2.280 m 8′ 5″ 2.560 m
internal volume 1,169 ft³ 33.1 m³ 2,385 ft³ 67.5 m³ 2,660 ft³ 75.3 m³
empty weight 4,850 lb 2,200 kg 8,380 lb 3,800 kg 8,598 lb 3,900 kg
net load 61,289 lb 28,200 kg 57,759 lb 26,600 kg 58,598 lb 26,580 kg
Shipping Delays: Containers are given priority on vessels based on their content and personal items are not the top priority so we are often at the mercy of the shipping lines. Other factors that may cause delays include:
  • High traffic of containers arriving to specific destinations based on seasonal traffic.
  • Port congestion or strikes.
  • Security issues.
  • Shortages of labor, trucks or containers (especially in the summer).
  • Overbooking of the vessel.
It is wise to be flexible. Work with your coordinator and Isaac’s Moving and Storage will do our best to ensure your shipment remains on schedule

Isaac’s Moving and Storage
For over 25 years, Isaac’s Moving and Storage has been helping families, international businesses, government agencies, international organizations and educational institutions re-locate their people all over the globe. Our years of experience and attention to detail are the formula for a stress free international move.

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PROVIDENCE, RI

56 Pine Street 3A
Providence, RI 02903

PORTSMOUTH, NH

One New Hampshire Ave.
Portsmouth, NH 03801

SAN DIEGO, CA

11870 Community Rd Suite 220, Poway, CA 92064

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