Demystifying LCL and FCL Shipping: Making the Right Choice for Your Ocean Freight

LCL (Less Than Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) are the two types of major shipping available when goods are shipped across the sea by using containers. Shipping your goods in a full container is involved in FCL.

Only your goods occupy the whole space of the container as you pay for the entire container with this option. Usually, this option is selected by shippers who have a large volume of goods or their goods are near enough to fill the container that the difference does not matter by choosing LCL. Around 10 cubic meters (CBM) is the tipping point for this.

Sharing container space with shipments belonging to other people is involved in LCL. You can control an entire container with FCL, whereas your shipment will be consolidated with those of others with LCL. It is more suitable for people shipping smaller volumes or looking for flexible delivery options. Shipments that weigh between 1 to 10 CBM is typically considered in LCL. 

LCL and FCL have many fundamental differences. Usually, you are sharing space with the shipments of other people with LCL, compared to FCL which is the primary difference between the two. Other differences include:

The price of a full container must be paid with FCL, whether your shipment fills the container or not. However, LCL may cost you more because it charges per CBM for your shipment. How much space your shipment needs to take is measured by CBM. So, you will have to pay for all of the space other shipments cannot use because of your goods if you are shipping goods that take up a lot of space or that cannot have anything stacked on them.

Shipment loads as little as 1 CBM, or at least less than 10 CBM are ideal for LCL. It may be more cost-effective to consider air freight if  you are shipping less than 1 CBM and your shipment weighs less than 200 kilograms. But, the price difference between a FCL and LCL may be close enough that does not matter if you are shipping more than 10 CBM.

Marginally more time is taken by LCL to arrive than FCL shipments because additional days are required to consolidate your goods with the goods of other shippers. The time required to sort, load, unload, and separate the goods at each port is included in this. The shipment must also await other goods that will be moved to the same destination before it can depart the port. On the other hand, a much shorter time is taken in FCL as compared to LCL since the entire shipment is being delivered directly to you.

FCL shipments are more secure than LCL. There is less risk of damage, theft, or loss since FCL experiences far less handling than goods shipped through LCL.

LCL is flexible as compared to FCL. LCL is ideal if you are delivering to multiple Amazon FBA facilities or multiple 3PLs, for example, or need to split your deliveries across destinations. But, you must consider extra costs of warehousing, unloading, sorting, and trucking to the delivery address if you need to do this through FCL.

It can be harder to get FCL shipments during rush periods or holidays. A better and even faster option is provided by LCL in this case since you don't have to wait for a full container to become available.

The relative security of your goods is the biggest advantage of FCL over LCL. FCL is a better option if you are shipping fragile goods or goods that must be undisturbed during the voyage.

FCL shipping is much faster than LCL. You do not have to account for consolidation and de-consolidation time as your shipment travels alone. Traveling with other shipments may also potentially expose your shipment to problems with customs. The entire container will be delayed if the custom decide to examine any of the goods that is being shipped in the same container with your shipment.

However, LCL may be a better option for startups and small businesses as a flexible pricing arrangement can be provided where you can fit your shipping needs to your budget. This is beneficial, especially if the shipments are of low volume.

I general, it can be hard to figure out which shipping option is much better than the other as very different shipping options are represented by them which suits to completely different circumstances. They can even present complementary solutions to shipping problems when used in the right circumstances.

For example, you can consider FCL shipment for the bulk of the goods and and LCL for the spillover goods, if your goods take up more space than a full container which saves you the cost of renting a much bigger container or another similar-sized container.

Volume, cost, security, and urgency should be considered while choosing between LCL and FCL. FCL is a better option if your shipment is larger than 10 CBM, but, LCL will likely be your best option for low volume shipments.

You should next consider the cost, where the volume is close enough that things seem confusing. It makes a lot of sense to choose FCL for shipments that are larger than 10 CBM because you have to pay a flat fee for a full container. FCL may turn out cheaper considering that LCL costs can be more when more space is taken by your goods. But, FCL will likely be more expensive if your shipment is much lower than 10 CBM.

FCL is a better option if protection from mishandling and security is a big consideration for you. It is also ideal when you want the goods to be delivered as soon as possible and don't have flexible delivery dates.