Ocean Shipping
We’re here to make your global ocean freight move around the world with ease. Optimize your ocean shipping by accessing more capacity and competitive rates through our major ocean shipping alliances.
Ocean Freight Solutions
Get the right ocean freight service for your business, even within short timelines and tight budgets. Our experts analyze your freight characteristics in the context of current market conditions and help improve your strategy.
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Full Container Load (FCL)
Move your FCL ocean freight reliably and cost-efficiently—we’ll help tailor the movement of your goods for maximum speed.
All Regions
Less than Container Load (LCL)
For your smaller ocean freight shipments, leverage our LCL services and scheduled departures from all major ports to ensure your LCL sea freight deadlines are met.
Explore LCL services
All Regions
Expedited LCL
Achieve the perfect balance between cost and speed—even when your freight doesn’t fill a container. Expedited LCL offers consistency, reliability, and speed without the price of air freight.
Explore expedited LCL
North America
Asia
Drayage
Reduce your ocean freight costs and keep your ocean shipments moving. Streamline processes with our drayage services that bridge the gap between ocean, customs, and inland transportation. Work with a single provider skilled in marine drayage capacity management to improve handoffs between parties and get your ocean freight delivered.
Explore drayage services
North America
Latin America
Oceania
Asia
South Asia
Africa
Middle East
Buyer's Consolidation
Reduce your costs and increase your capacity options—we’ll combine and palletize your cargo with different manufacturers and load it into dedicated full-load containers.
All Regions
Expedited FCL Services TAWB
Quickly move your ocean freight along the Trans-Atlantic Westbound (TAWB) trade lane—from any major port in Europe to the United States. Combat delays with more capacity options and leverage transload and direct delivery services.
North America
Europe & UK
Expedited FCL Services TPEB
Deliver your time sensitive cargo from Asia to the United States via one of the fastest ocean shipping services. Then, save even more time with transload and direct delivery services out of any U.S. port.
Explore FCL Services TPEB
North America
Asia
Coastal Shipping
Save up to 60% from your transportation budget with domestic coastal shipping in Australia. It’s your natural choice over air, road, and rail service.
Explore coastal shipping
Oceania
Customs Brokerage
Integrate your ocean shipping with customs brokerage services to efficiently clear your sea freight through customs. Work with our Trusted Advisor® experts to get assistance calculating taxes and duties, classifying goods, and ensuring compliance.
Explore customs brokerage services
All Regions
Trade Policy Consulting
Work with our Trusted Advisor experts to help calculate taxes and duties, assist in classifying goods, and conduct risk assessments—so you’re compliant with changing laws and regulations.
Explore trade policy services
North America
Oceania
Marine Cargo Insurance
Protect the value of your ocean shipments with all-risk cargo insurance. Explore your policy choices—including transactional coverage and annual policies—to ensure your coverage matches your exposure risk.
Explore insurance services
North America
Europe & UK
Latin America
What sets our ocean services apart
Stay agile—no matter what the market has in store—with our expansive ocean capacity offerings and competitive rates.
- Secure capacity even in tight markets, with a leading forwarder of ocean freight from China to the U.S. in the Transpacific Eastbound (TPEB) trade lane.
- Plan for fluctuating market demand and stay agile. Trust our ocean freight experts who will troubleshoot in real time, across time zones.
- Reduce your need for multiple providers with our global suite of services—from ocean, air, and customs to surface transportation.
Testimonials
During the unprecedented global supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Henry Schein, an industry leader and worldwide distributor of medical supplies, turned to C.H. Robinson for help meeting their growing needs and demanding deadlines. When thousands of shipments of essential supplies—millions of masks, gloves, and other PPE supplies—needed to be delivered around the world, they leveraged our global suite of services, including air, ocean, customs brokerage, and surface transportation.
Smooth sailing for your global ocean freight
As a leading NVOCC, our information advantage and full suite of logistics solutions deliver the real-time support and solutions your supply chain deserves.
Whether you have enough freight to fill an ocean container or only want to pay for the space you use, our full container load (FCL) and less than container load (LCL) solutions can cover all the angles.
Related services
Air freight shipping
Deliver on your customer promises, while you operate on your schedule. With our industry-leading air freight services you can better meet increasingly globalized market demands and capacity requirements across multiple trade lanes—even at the last minute.
Learn more
Less than container load
Keep your freight moving on schedule. With our less than container load (LCL) services, you only pay for the space you use while efficiently delivering your freight.
Learn more
Customs brokerage
Keep your freight moving worldwide with less uncertainty and compliance risk. Work with our licensed, in-house brokers to clear shipments through customs quickly—and without extra costs.
Learn moreConnect your global supply chain with a single platform
Automate, optimize, and manage every aspect of the shipment lifecycle across multiple vendors with Navisphere®, our single, global, multimodal transportation management system. It’s a complete digital ecosystem that streamlines complexity and improves efficiency up and down your supply chain.
- Gain connectivity for every step of your shipment journey, from purchase order management and quoting to tracking and invoicing.
- Drive smarter solutions for your supply chain with an unmatched information advantage—you’ll have access to the most shipment, routing, and carrier data in the industry.
- Increase your speed and efficiency with capabilities in our system or in your own TMS or ERP—from bids to billing.
Frequently asked questions
Overview
Q: What is sea freight shipping?
Sea freight shipping is the process of transporting containerized cargo over the ocean via carrier shipping lines.
Q: What are the benefits of sea freight shipping?
Sea freight shipping is typically more cost-effective than other methods of cargo transportation.
Q: Is sea freight a sustainable mode of transport?
Sea freight services are a more sustainable mode of transport. Ocean transport emits only a fraction of the CO2 per tonne kilometre of a truck, train, or airplane.
Sea service options
Q: What is FCL shipping?
Full container load (FCL) shipping is a term used to describe goods transported in a 20' or 40' sealed container that is not shared with other consignees. This option is common for large-volume shipments and results in significantly less handling compared to LCL shipments.
Q: What is LCL shipping?
Q: What is FAK shipping?
Freight of all kinds (FAK) is a pricing strategy used when multiple products with different classes are transported as a single freight rate. This option allows a single shipper to take advantage of filling a sealed container with various goods.
Q: What is a buyer consolidation service?
Buyer consolidation or freight consolidation services groups a shipment from multiple suppliers at a single origin to create one larger shipment. This option allows a business to transport multiple goods with the aim of reducing costs in the overall supply chain.
Q: What is coastal shipping?
Coastal shipping is an alternative to road and rail shipping when moving goods from the east coast to the west coast of Australia. The service uses empty containers as they make their way around Australia on return to origin for a reliable, cost-efficient shipping solution.
Pricing and sizing
Q: How is pricing determined for LCL freight services?
The cost of an LCL freight shipment is calculated based on the actual volume or the space that the shipment occupies in a shared shipping container.
Q: Is ocean freight service cheaper than other shipping methods?
Ocean freight services are widely known to be a cost-effective solution when compared to other forms of cargo transportation.
Q: What size containers are there and how much can fit in each?
Buyers are encouraged to understand universal container sizes and how much can fit in each when assessing their shipping strategy. While there are a variety of sizes and capacity, measured in cubic metres (CBM), options, the following are most common:
- 20-foot container with a capacity of 33.2 CBM
- 40 foot-container with a capacity of 67.6 CBM
- 40-foot-high cube with a capacity of 76.4 CBM
Q: Is there a weight limit to containers?
Yes. There is a weight limit to containers. The max gross weight for 20', 40', and 40' cube containers is 30,480 kg or 67,197 pounds.
Products
Q: Can I ship small parcels via sea freight?
Ocean service is ideal for containerized cargo on pallets rather than small parcels. Consider other modes of transport for shipment consisting of individual parcels.
Q: Can I ship large machines or equipment that does not fit into a container via ocean freight services?
Out of gauge cargo like large machines can be transported via ocean freight services when using open top and flat rack containers. The specialty containers are available in 20' and 40' lengths. They are designed to hold items that must be loaded by crane or that are too tall to fit in a standard container.
Q: Are there hazardous restrictions when shipping sea freight?
There are no restrictions when transporting hazardous goods via sea freight shipping. However, it is important to ensure all requirements for the handling and transporting of hazardous goods are met to protect against risks in the event of an accident.
Get the latest global freight forwarding and market updates
Stay up to date with market changes that impact air and ocean capacity—everything you need to navigate global shipping.
Evolving our global freight services to meet your needs
Supply chains are growing in complexity and moving faster than ever. Due to the nature of our fast-paced industry, there is a continuous need for additional services. Over the years, we have remained committed to expanding our global network in exciting new ways—including strategic acquisitions—that align with your changing needs.
Ocean logistics like no one else
