If you’re struggling to decide whether to send your cargo by air or by sea then we’re going to help you to weigh up the pros and cons of each option to decide which is more suitable.  Choosing the right mode of transport is very important and isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly. There are a few factors that differ between the two types of freight so it’s important to make sure that you’re well informed before making the decision of whether to choose air or sea freight.

Capacity – Think about the cargo that you need to send, how big and bulky is the load?  When sending your goods by air there will be limitations to the aircraft’s capacity and how much weight it can carry.  By comparison sea freight is much more practical for sending very large, bulky or heavy loads.  Cargo ships and ocean carriers are huge and so are much more flexible with the size and weight of the load that they can carry.

Cost – No doubt you will have a budget in mind for the shipment that you need to make so it’s important to make sure that the freight service that you choose is within your budget.  If you’re looking for the cheapest option then generally shipping your goods by sea freight is usually cheaper than sending them by air.  However it’s important to weigh up all the other factors in order to decide whether cheaper is necessarily better in terms of the cargo that you’re sending.

Speed – Think about how urgent your shipment is and what kind of timeframe you have for it reaching its destination.  Air freight is always faster than sea freight.  Depending on how far your goods are travelling air freight usually takes between 1 and 7 days to reach its destination whereas goods being sent by sea can take anywhere from 8 days to over a month to reach their destination.

Reliability – If you’re going to be paying for a service then you’ll want to ensure that the service you choose is going to be reliable.  The reliability of a freight service will often depend on the company that you choose, however generally air freight is said to be a little more reliable than sea freight as they tend to be on schedule, whereas cargo shipments are more likely to be delayed.

Environmental impact – These days we should all be considering the environmental impact of the choices that we make.  Air freight transport emits significantly more CO2 emissions than ocean freight, however the effect that ocean freight has on the environment is not completely innocent as oil spills can effect the water ecosystem.

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