International and domestic shipping prices have gone up since 2019, just like the price of everything else. There are many different reasons for this, from Covid and the blockage of the Suez Canal (and its ongoing effects) to the war in Ukraine and the rise in fuel prices worldwide. 

We know raising your prices could significantly affect how much money you make. Because of this, we work extremely hard to ensure every single client gets the best price possible. 

We pay attention to every detail and promise to treat each shipment as if it were your first. 

This means we’ll always double-check your deadlines, and if we can find a cheaper way to meet your deadlines with a slower delivery, we’ll suggest that. 

In the same way, if you’re in a hurry and need European freight or worldwide shipments the next day, we can make the impossible happen. 

But partial loads are one of the tricks we have up our sleeves. 

If we think you could save money on freight by using part loads, we’ll run some numbers and help you see how we can help you save a lot of money. 

Part loads are ideal for small value goods. 

Since Brexit, haulage has become more complicated because full container prices have increased, and fuel prices are still incredibly volatile. Price changes are happening constantly, making it hard for businesses to cap their freight shipping costs.  

This is where part loads, a popular way to ship, have come into their own. 

Small-value goods, especially those made in countries like China, where production costs are much lower, work best in partial loads. If your business depends on importing small items, like toys or other things with low consumer value, your shipping costs may have gone through the roof. The price of a full-load container could not only slow down your supply chain while you wait for a load to fill up, but could also make or break your business. 

According to the ONS, “In 2021 (the latest available data), the UK imported £63.6 billion of goods from China”. When broken down to specifics, the ONS has confirmed that “The UK imported £17.9 billion of miscellaneous manufactures from China in 2021, accounting for 26.2% of all imports of this commodity. This consisted of consumer manufactures (£5.5 billion), which includes video games consoles, exercise equipment and toys, while clothing accounted for £3.5 billion of the miscellaneous manufactures’ imports. 

That’s an awful lot of small goods being imported to the UK every year. 

You can better manage your imports, exports, and UK road haulage needs thanks to partial loads.  

Rather than waiting until you have a full container load, ship precisely what you need when you need it. 

And more importantly, partial loads mean only paying for the space you’re using – therefore, it’s significantly cheaper and more accessible for smaller businesses.  

How do partial loads work? 

With a part-load shipping solution, you have the benefit of making the most of each and every container shipped to or from (or across) the UK. Rather than filling an entire container load or owning your own container, you simply rent the space you need when needed.  

It makes perfect sense.  

After all, if you’re only transporting something small or with minimal sell-on value, the cost of paying for an entire shipping container could be hugely prohibitive.  

But how does such a scheme work? 

If you’re focusing on your own haulage needs, you simply won’t have time to try and find partner organisations you can share delivery costs with. Let alone partnering with others whose shipments match your exact delivery dates.  

Luckily, that’s where our expertise comes in handy! 

We can match you to a suitable container load 

With our support and network of UK and global contacts, we set up your consignment so it is delivered alongside other shipments through a partial loading system.  

Rather than finding the partners yourself, we manage all the heavy lifting. 

We arrange the container load, any customs clearance needs and even the freight forwarding, so you’re confident your goods are getting from A to B as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. We work across UK haulage, rail, sea or air freight – or even a combination of them all.  

All you need to focus on is your deadlines and pressing priorities.  

Scaling up from 3PL to 4PL or even 5PL shipping solutions 

A huge advantage of partial loads is they help you scale up your business quickly and easily.  

If you’re new to importing, exporting, or even distributing your goods across the UK, you may be nervous about investing heavily in freight forwarding and transport logistics. But scaling up into a 3PL, 4PL, or even a 5PL solution could be extremely cost-effective and work wonders for your bottom line.  

That’s because we can start to take advantage of economies of scale.  

Your transport logistics costs aren’t just the financial fees you incur in hiring a container and paying for transport. It’s also your time and productivity. By outsourcing and collaborating with our team, we can focus on shipping while you focus on other areas of your business.  

With partial loads particularly, it’s essential to have full communication from start to finish so you know exactly where your goods are at any part of their destination. We offer exceptional part load haulage for ad-hoc deliveries or small, individual pallets to help with seasonal fluctuations.  

With our support, we can use the latest state-of-the-art technology to give you real-time tracking of each shipment. This can help to manage the supply chain more effectively, helping to scale up your business.  

Maximise the profitability of your low value goods 

If you’re transporting low value goods across the UK (or even further afield), talk to us about partial loads.  

We are confident it could be a more cost-effective solution for your business.  

In today’s economic climate, no one can afford to carry on maintaining the status quo, especially if there are cheaper alternative options available. You may have been used to transporting your goods through full loads but the rise in container prices may have made it impossible to sustain. We want businesses like you to maximise your profitability, and switching to part loads could be a key part of this.  

Talk to us to find out if you could increase your efficiencies by switching to a part load option. We’ll talk you through the processes and explain which shipping solutions are best for your business. 

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