Properly Evaluate the Time for Sea Freight Transit

Sea shipping is the most common way of delivery for international trading in the line of business of bubble tea, especially so due to the heavy weight of the items such as syrup and popping boba or drink powder. Let us take a further look into the time it may take for delivery and how and when to apply this method to your logistics.

Generally, sea freight is the method to use while one is trying to transport massive cargo from one location to another. Yet, sea freight can take much longer compared to other methods such as air delivery and express services. For example, assuming the loading port is Keelung, the most commonly used port in northern Taiwan, the shipping time may be as follows:

• To South Asia: 2 weeks
• To North Asia: 1.5 weeks
• To European main ports: 4 weeks
• To USA main ports: 4 weeks
• To North European countries: 5 weeks
• To South or Central America: 4-5 weeks

Above estimations are excluding the export time for Taiwan local clearance (normally one week) and the possible delays, especially at times like this, there might be congestions at ports or vessel schedule changes, let alone the import processing time is also to be considered, which could take as long as 1 – 2 months depending on the local regulations.

Under this kind of circumstances, one could estimate the arrival time after the departure of shipment more easily and properly schedule the opening time within a safe margin of delay, there will also be a number on the bill of lading that one could utilize it to track from the shipping line to locate its current positions and the estimated arrival date and to properly adjust the arrangements accordingly and to prepare the related documents before the clearance.

In another situation that one should urgently require a small amount of goods, normally under 50kg or 100kg, in that case adopting air delivery may be a more viable option, which we would introduce in the following articles about the methods of logistics.