LCL

For smaller shipments, Less than Container Load (LCL) or groupage is an excellent cost-effective alternative to air freight.

Many shippers don’t have the regular volume to fill a 20ft container, but still have strict delivery deadlines to meet. This might be due to nature of their business; there may be regular orders, but these might be in relatively small quantities, or they might be entering a new market. When weighing up the pros and cons of FCL (full container load) vs LCL, these shippers may consider the lost sales and knock-on effect on their bottom line if the goods are not available in good time, against the cost savings of shipping a whole container.

Transit times for LCL can be surprisingly fast.  Shipments from Europe to West Africa can arrive in as little as 13 days, which means that often the customer’s delivery time-scale can be met with all the security of container shipping, but without the high cost of air freight. For goods that need to be received on time, but which are not urgently required, LCL can be the perfect solution.

LCL is a service offered by our Principals (NVOCCs and freight forwarders) who consolidate the different shipments into one container and send this to the appropriate port.

Once the container arrives in port, Mauritrans Shipping handles the transfer, warehousing and storage, de-consolidation of the containers and liaison with clients for final onward delivery or collection.

Mauritrans Shipping is proud to be partner agent for world-leading NVOCC (non vessel operating common carriers) service providers Saco Shipping GMBH, SSC Consolidation, CFR Freight and Shipco Transport, and through our network of global agents, we can arrange the import of LCL shipments from, and to, virtually anywhere in the world.