If you go to some container depot in Japan or in your own country, you will notice that there are a large number of container ships which have to be unloaded and the containers distributed all over the country. The same thing is happening in major container ports all over the planet where millions of containers are used annually to transport all kinds of appliances and products in a safe and effective manner. Unless shipped by air, all foreign products around you are shipped to your country in shipping containers. These containers are manufactured from a special type of metal alloy which makes it very resistant to salt water which would have otherwise destroyed a normal metal container. A large container ship could easily handle 2,000 or more containers and some of the ships is even larger. Since the implementation of the container system it has become possible to safely transport high volumes of especially sensitive appliances and other products without the fear that these loads may be damaged during the oceanic journey.
Some people have already heard of these terms if you are thinking of moving or shipping from Japan. At first glance it may seem that a person is looking at some sophisticated code but this is not the case because LCL refers to “Less than container Load” shipment while FCL stands for Full Container Load. In layman’s terms this will simply mean that if you have a lot of products which has to be shipped by container then such a large load may completely fill the container which is being used while a small load may only take up a small part of that container. How the container space will be utilized will be determined by an employee of that shipping company which has the job title of consolidator. This consolidator will determine how much space you will need and will charge you accordingly. This arrangement is a whole lot more sensible since it effectively means that anyone who needs to ship their products or move their belongings to a distant destination will not have to pay for an entire container but rather they will only be responsible for that part of the container which is used by their products which makes container shipping much more reasonable.
The overwhelming benefits is the fact that load sharing makes the shipping of goods a lot more cost effective and practical and it provides the smaller exporter with an equal opportunity to operate their businesses profitably.