The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the busiest American ports. Every year they process cargo that cost more than $450 billion. Such volume leads to overloading, so it can make the supply chain functioning slower. People who import goods in Los Angeles or Long Beach can use the following tips to save time and money.
The first tip is to understand the difference between terminals. When people import goods in Los Angeles, they send them to one of 13 terminals. Each has its time frame regulations. The main point is to understand the time you will wait and then choose an operator that uses the most efficient terminal.
The second point is a steamship alliance navigation. Earlier steamship lines used only their special terminals. New steamship alliances have changed this. Today cargo carriers can use different terminals either their or partner’s ones. To maximize profit, cargo carriers often use terminals with the lowest cost. It’s clear that if the carriers use the cheapest terminals, there can be difficulties and delays. If partial truckload shipping must be performed immediately, cargo carriers have to pay attention to this aspect.
The third point is to secure the chassis in advance. More than 80% of chassis in the Los Angeles port complex are performed through the main three chassis pools. Receiving goods, a cargo carrier rents a chassis and then takes a container. When it is a high season, you can face a problem. Sometimes there are no free chassis, so the cargo sender loses extra time. It is a common case when a transportation company is informed by the port authorities that there are no free chassis. So if you are a cargo sender, you should cooperate with a cargo carrier that will be able to find free equipment.
One more recommendation is not to forget about the distribution while choosing an ocean carrier. Planning import logistics, many cargo senders often focus their attention on marine transportation expenditures. They don’t care about the time when their freight is delivered to the destination point. But this aspect determines whether the whole project is successful. The clients must get goods on time. In other words, the cheapest marine transportation can lead to extra expenditures. Especially, when you take into consideration expenditures on transportation, storage, and delivery from the port.
The last tip for saving money is to choose the most suitable way of sending. There are two ways called Full Container Load and Less than container Load. The first way means that the containers are full of goods that are ordered by one recipient. It is beneficial when containers are full. The goods are secured and protected from external factors. The second way means that the container is full of goods that are ordered by different recipients. It is beneficial for representatives of small and medium-sized businesses. The cost is divided among every recipient. One nuance is that each point must be processed and fixed in the documents.