If you ship consistently, then you know that freight shipping costs can sometimes go through the roof and if you were bringing in goods for sale, high costs could easily eat into your margins. This is why it pays to know how to lower your shipping costs and here are a few tips worth considering-:
Know the market as well as the prevalent rates
You should never pay more because you don’t have any idea of what is currently going on in the market and the prevailing rates. The best way to find out more about this, is to simply ask different forwarders for freight quotes so that you know what they are charging. You can then use this information to get a realistic picture of what you can expect to pay.
Choose the right mode of shipment
Depending on the type of cargo you want shipped, you should choose wisely whether to use full containers, FCL or LCL. Usually, there are multiple charges involved in LCK or groupage and these may make the rates slightly higher compared to FCL.
Avoid unnecessary charges
Most shipping customers usually incur unnecessary charges in the form of POD or POL simply because of detention or demurrage which ultimately adds up to the shipping cost. But all these could be easily avoided with proper or timely documentation. Watch out for them if you want to lower your shipping costs.
Optimize your route
The other way to get lower freight shipping costs is to optimize your route. Check out the routes used by various vendors or carriers and choose the one that seems to be optimal for your needs. In most cases, the longest routes are usually the most expensive, but again, the cheapest route may not necessarily imply that you will get overall cost savings.
