LCL (Less than Container Load)
Groupage cargo: your goods travel in a shared container and you pay only for your own cargo spaces, not for the whole box.
Definition
LCL (Less than Container Load) is groupage cargo: your goods travel in a container together with consignments from other shippers, and only your own cargo spaces are charged. With Tranzit3 this starts from €200 per cargo space and from €500 per Euro pallet, door to door from Europe; the minimum service fee is €200. LCL works best for 0.5–15 m³.
The trade-off is extra handling at the consolidation warehouse and a slightly longer transit time than a full container.
How it works in practice
Tranzit3 groupage from Europe runs through Rotterdam: consignments from different suppliers are consolidated at the warehouse, loaded into one container and dispatched to Russia every week. Your Russian customer pays for the cargo spaces your goods occupy, not for the entire container — from €200 per space, from €500 per Euro pallet. We do not quote per-kilogram or per-cubic-metre rates.
At the consolidation warehouse your cargo is received against your packing list; we check the marking and securing and repack if necessary. Door-to-door transit is 20–35 days, including consolidation, the sea leg and customs clearance in Russia. For you as the supplier this means one hand-over at your premises or our warehouse, and the export formalities are handled for you.
LCL: frequently asked questions
When is LCL better value than a full container?
As a rule of thumb, up to 12–15 m³ or 6–8 pallets. Beyond that the cost of a groupage shipment approaches the rate for a whole 20-foot container, and FCL becomes cheaper and faster: no waiting for consolidation and no transhipment at the warehouse.
How is the cost of groupage cargo calculated?
By volume in cubic metres or by weight — whichever gives the higher figure (for sea freight 1 m³ is usually equated to 1 tonne). On top come fixed charges: terminal handling (THC), documents, delivery from the consolidation warehouse and the “last mile” in Russia.
What are the risks of LCL and how can they be reduced?
The main ones are damage during transhipment and delays if another shipper’s cargo in the same container fails an inspection. Rigid packaging on a pallet, cargo insurance and a forwarder who builds the container himself and knows every shipper all help.
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