Ocean Freight / Sea Freight

Ocean freight is the backbone of global trade, carrying roughly 80% of the world's merchandise by volume. Goods move in standardized containers – 20-foot (TEU) and 40-foot (FEU) units – aboard container ships, with transit times ranging from a few days for short-sea routes to four to six weeks for transpacific or Asia-to-Europe lanes. Shippers choose between full container load (FCL), where they book an entire container, and less-than-container load (LCL), where they share container space with other shippers – similar to the FTL/LTL distinction in trucking.

Ocean freight costs are driven by container rates, which fluctuate based on trade lane, seasonal demand, fuel (bunker) surcharges, port congestion, and carrier alliances. Beyond the base rate, a dense layer of surcharges applies: terminal handling charges, documentation fees, customs clearance, chassis usage, and demurrage or detention fees if containers sit too long at the port or at the shipper's facility. These ancillary costs can represent 30–50% of the total ocean shipping expense if not managed carefully.

For shippers importing raw materials or exporting finished goods, ocean freight planning ties directly into production schedules and inventory strategy. Because transit times are long, accuracy in booking, documentation, and port-side coordination matters enormously – a missed sailing can delay inventory by one to two weeks. Integrating ocean freight visibility into your broader supply chain tracking eliminates the information gaps that cause downstream scrambling once containers hit port.

The drayage leg – moving containers between port and warehouse – is where ocean freight meets domestic logistics, and that handoff is a frequent source of delays, detention charges, and miscommunication. Having end-to-end visibility from vessel to final destination is what separates proactive shippers from reactive ones.