How we work
The container is the unit of economics.
Construction materials are heavy, low in value per kilogram and acutely sensitive to freight cost. A part load moved as less-than-container-load can cost more in freight than the goods are worth. Consolidation is not a service we offer alongside the product. It is a large part of why buying through us costs less than buying direct.
01Consolidation
We fill the container. You stop paying for air.
A project needs eight hundred square metres of a particular tile, four hundred door sets, a switchgear package and a container of sanitaryware. No single line fills a box. Bought separately and moved as part loads, the freight penalty on ceramic tile alone runs at USD 2.50 to 3.00 per square metre against full container rates, frequently thirty to fifty per cent of the value of the goods themselves.
We receive part loads from multiple factories at consolidation points, check them in against specification, and stuff full containers under supervision. One container, one bill of lading, one set of documents, one arrival.
02The network
Three consolidation regions.
| Node | Serving | Function |
|---|---|---|
| South China | Yantian, Shekou, Nansha | Goods-in check, consolidation and supervised stuffing for the Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangxi supply base |
| East China | Ningbo, Shanghai | Consolidation for the Jiangsu and Zhejiang base: resilient flooring, electrical, plumbing, furniture components |
| North China | Qingdao, Tianjin | Steel, scaffolding, sandwich panel and pre-engineered buildings, shipped direct from mill |
03Loading data
What actually fits in a box.
| Product | Load per container | Binding constraint |
|---|---|---|
| Porcelain tile | 40-foot high cube: 2,000 to 2,400 sqm | Weight. Tile always weighs out long before it cubes out. |
| Dry-back luxury vinyl tile, 2.5mm | 20-foot: approximately 2,200 sqm | Weight |
| Stone plastic composite, 4mm plus underlay | 20-foot: 1,200 to 1,400 sqm | Weight |
| Stone plastic composite, 6mm plus underlay | 20-foot: 700 to 850 sqm | Weight |
| Wood plastic composite, 8mm plus underlay | 20-foot: 500 to 600 sqm | Weight |
| Stone slabs, 20mm | 20-foot: 40 to 50 slabs | Weight |
| Water closet suites | 40-foot high cube: 300 to 400 complete suites | Volume |
| Folding accommodation units | 40-foot high cube: 4 to 8 units against 1 for a rigid detachable | Volume |
04Transit
How long it takes.
05Packing
Packing is not a detail. It is where the claims come from.
- All solid wood packaging, pallets, crates, dunnage and bracing heat treated or fumigated to ISPM 15 with the IPPC mark. Non-compliant dunnage causes container-level rejection at destination and is an entirely avoidable loss.
- Tile in export cartons with heavier board, corner protection and shrink-wrapped pallets, with calibre and tone lot marked on the carton.
- Insulating glass units in plywood crates with desiccant, not steel racks, for containerised movement.
- Sanitaryware with specified insert and carton burst strength. Ceramic breakage in transit is the second largest claims category after tile.
- Steel and scaffolding bundled, strapped and lashed to a specified pattern, with container floor loading calculated.
- Every carton and pallet marked with our order reference, the customer's reference and the destination, so a mixed consolidated container can be broken down at destination without opening every box.
06Incoterms
How we contract.
We buy FCA at a named port and terminal under Incoterms 2020, with the on-board bill of lading option where a letter of credit is involved. We sell CIP or DAP.
We do not use FOB for containerised cargo, and neither should anyone else. FOB, CFR and CIF transfer risk when goods are placed on board the vessel, but a container is handed to the carrier at a terminal three to ten days before loading, leaving the seller carrying risk over goods they no longer control. The International Chamber of Commerce says containers should move on FCA, CPT or CIP. We follow that.
Every consignment ships with a complete document set: commercial invoice with HS code, origin and Incoterm with named place and edition; packing list with marks, numbers, weights, cube, container and seal numbers; bill of lading; insurance certificate at 110 per cent of invoice value; certificate of origin, legalised where the destination requires it; ISPM 15 evidence; and the full conformity pack for the destination market.
07Insurance
Insured before it sails.
Marine cargo cover is arranged by us on annual open cover rather than per shipment, at Institute Cargo Clauses (A), all risks, insured at 110 per cent of the commercial invoice value in the contract currency. Certificates are issued per consignment.
Have part loads across several suppliers?
That is exactly the position consolidation is built for. Send us the lines and the quantities and we will show you the consolidated landed cost.
Request a quotation