With the rise of e-commerce, many businesses are finding it challenging to schedule their freight shipment due to increased demand that is causing scheduling congestion and a global container shortage. This situation has only been exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic and other global supply chain issues, like the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction.
To combat these issues, many companies are turning to alternative shipping methods, such as airfreight shipment, to ensure they can deliver their products on schedule. However, the sky-high airfreight rates have made it an unviable option in the long term.
These factors have contributed to an increased demand for less-than-container load (LCL) shipping services. And we foresee this demand to remain strong even in 2022 amidst the global supply chain disruption. Allow us to further explore why we believe LCL shipping is the ideal shipping solution in today’s global logistics market.
Combating today’s congested ocean market
Consumer spending in the e-commerce industry has remained consistently high throughout the past few years. This has only increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic as Singaporeans opt to shop online to minimise the amount of time spent outside, thereby reducing their risk of contracting the virus.
However, this has led to several constraints as there are now insufficient freight vessels and container boxes to meet this increased demand, which impacts various businesses’ ability to deliver their goods on time.
And that is not the only impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on the global supply chains. The various lockdown regulations implemented to curb the spread of the virus has led to a shortage of staff and containers being stranded in key trade locations, like China, causing a disruption in transporting goods to various locations. Even with the gradual lifting of these restrictions, many countries are still facing a tremendous backlog, leading to shipment delays.
While delays may seem inevitable amidst the global supply chain disruption, there are multiple solutions available for businesses to reduce the impact of these issues. One way for companies to do that is to diversify their freight forwarding options through various shipment methods like LCL shipping.
LCL shipping provides businesses with greater flexibility and helps to alleviate the global container shortage since companies are only looking for a specific amount of container space as opposed to an entire empty container. By sharing space with other shippers, it is easier for businesses to secure capacity and ship their goods at a quicker rate, albeit with smaller cargo volumes.
How companies can benefit from LCL shipping
Faster transit time
LCL shipments are typically routed with the fastest available option and the shortest transit times chosen. This is in contrast to full container loads (FCL), where various transit times and routings are required, depending on the service type selected.
Greater flexibility
LCL shipping provides businesses with tailored solutions that offer them greater flexibility. For example, if a product experiences a surge in demand in a specific area during transit, the company can easily reroute the shipment for faster delivery to meet the demand.
Reduced costs
Small and medium enterprises with planned shipment sizes that do not fulfil an entire container will find LCL shipping to be the more economical option as they do not have to incur the cost of renting a full container to ship their goods.
Furthermore, it can help businesses save on inventory holding costs since they can ship their products more frequently. Even though companies are moving less stock per trip, the increased shipping frequency helps to significantly reduce high inventory levels and lower the risks of an unexpected shipment delay.
Given the current issues many companies face in today’s global logistics market and the multiple benefits LCL shipping provides, it is easy to see why this shipment method will remain one of the go-to options for many businesses for the foreseeable future.
If you are looking for a reliable LCL consolidator in Singapore, do not hesitate to reach out to us today to find out more about our weekly shipping schedules and destinations, as well as our rates!
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