What Are the Differences Between Sea and Air Transport for Cross-border Logistics?

Cross-border logistics refers to the planning, implementation and control management process of the effective flow and storage of physical goods and information on both sides of the customs border. So what are the modes of cross-border logistics and transportation? What’s the difference? Follow the editor of the shipping system to learn about it!

Common cross-border logistics and transportation methods mainly include: international express, air transportation and sea transportation . The four major international express delivery companies are UPS, FedEX, DHL, and TNT. I believe everyone is familiar with them. So what are the differences between sea and air?

Shipping is a way of using ships to transport goods between ports in different countries and regions through sea lanes, including FCL and LCL.

Air freight refers to the use of aircraft as a means of transport to transport goods across borders.

sea freight, air freight,
freight forwarder

The main differences between sea and air transportation are:

  1. The transport subject is different;

The main body of air transportation is major airlines and logistics companies, and the main body of sea transportation is major shipping companies.

  1. The transportation timeliness is different;

Relatively speaking, the timeliness of air transportation is higher, and the timeliness of sea transportation is slow, so you can choose air transportation for urgent goods.

3.Customs Clearance

Although there is not much difference in the customs clearance process between air and sea transportation, there is a big difference in the time limit for customs clearance. International air freight clearance is usually done within 1-2 days, while sea freight takes about 3-4 days. In addition, in terms of miscellaneous fees, declanation documents. etc.. air freight is less than sea freight. For example. when shipping from China to USA. sea freight needs to declare AMS (American Anti-Terrorism Manifest System), but air freight does not.

  1. 4. Shipping costs are different;

Air freight has high timeliness, but the transportation cost is high and the price is high. Although the sea freight is relatively slow, the transportation cost is relatively low.

  1. 5. Different inspection methods;

When transporting goods by air, the principle of first inspection and then warehousing is implemented, which is faster; shipping needs to pick up and unpack boxes, which is time-consuming and costly.

If you choose large and heavy goods, then sea freight may be your best choice; while air freight has the least resistance and the shortest transportation route. Because the air assist is far less than the frictional resistance of water and the ground, the straight-line transportation distance of air transportation is also far less than the curved transportation of sea transportation.
However, when choosing sea freight, the bill of lading should be carefully checked, and it must be checked with the contract and LC. If there is an error, it should be corrected in time. Insurance should be timely and supplementary insurance should be carried out according to the different goods.

The above is about the difference between sea freight and air freight. If you want to know more, you can follow us! TJ CHINA FREIGHT shipping system can provide logistics track tracking, face sheet printing, container arrangement, shipping notification, logistics node information reminder, financial bill management, delivery order management, quotation management, shipping report management and other systems for shipping dedicated line logistics enterprises. functional service.