Shipping Overseas: FCL, LCL, RoRo and Break-Bulk Explained Simply

Ocean freight has its own language, but the logic is simple once you see it: everything is about whether your cargo fits in a standard box, and what to do when it doesn't.

FCL: your own container

Full Container Load means the box is yours: 20ft standard (about 33 cubic meters), 40ft (67 CBM) or 40ft High Cube (76 CBM, with an extra foot of height). If your cargo fills more than half a container, or you don't want it touched between origin and destination, FCL is the answer. Watch weight: road rules often cap a 20-footer's cargo around 37,000 lbs even though the box could physically hold more.

LCL: pay by the cubic meter

Less than Container Load consolidates your cargo with others and bills by volume, per CBM. It's the right call for anything from a few boxes to a couple of pallets (kept under 8 feet tall). The trade-off is schedule: your shipment sails when the shared container fills, and add a few days at each end for consolidation.

RoRo: if it rolls, it sails cheaper

Roll-on/Roll-off ships are floating parking garages. Anything that drives, tows or rolls, cars, trucks, tractors, excavators on trailers, can skip the container entirely and be driven aboard. RoRo is priced by volume and usually beats flat-rack rates for big machines. Requirement: working brakes, steering and battery at the port.

Break-bulk: the heavy-lift last resort

When cargo neither fits a box nor rolls, a 300,000-lb generator, an industrial press, it ships break-bulk: crane-lifted aboard and secured to the deck, priced per revenue ton. It's the most expensive mode and needs lashing points engineered into the cargo. If you're in this category, start the conversation early; vessel space for heavy-lift is booked weeks out.