The combined transport method of air-sea shipping may seem unlikely to benefit most importers, but the fact is that in many cases, shippers and importers can take advantage of this unusual shipping strategy. This unlikely combination can come in handy when shippers want a more cost-effective option than air transport alone but faster than sea freight alone. Many business owners have been using this type of service to help them meet urgent delivery deadlines while greatly saving on transportation costs. Using this method, the goods usually travel by sea first and then by air.
Main advantages of air-sea shipping
Lower costs
Air transport alone can be very expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. By partially transporting your goods by sea to a port with a major hub airport, you can get preferred air transport prices, and shippers can save a substantial amount of money compared to transporting the entire shipment by air. In many cases, you only need to add a few days of transit time to meet deadlines while saving over 25% of transportation costs.
Reduced transit times
Sea transport alone can take a long time, but using the combination of air-sea shipping, the speed of goods reaching their final destination is much faster than using pure sea freight services. This combination method is especially effective on longer sea routes. For example, the transport time from Nava Sheva, India, to Toronto, Canada, may take between 30 and 45 days. However, by combining sea and air freight modes together, transportation time can be greatly reduced. In general, the transportation time using the air-sea shipping combination method can be reduced to less than 9 or 10 days. Depending on the route, this air-sea shipping mixing method can also allow you to ship goods from Asia to Europe or the Americas.
Reduced warehousing needs
With faster transportation times, you may not need to store and keep as much inventory locally, which means these costs can also be reduced. Smaller inventories turn into more cash flow for other business activities. Additionally, suppliers can sell their products that they no longer need at their premises, while buyers can take advantage of cheaper storage choices at foreign hubs instead of storing products in Canada or the US at high per-foot costs.
In conclusion, air-sea shipping can be an effective way to save some costs without greatly extending your transportation time. This option is worth considering, especially if your goods don't need to be urgent at the destination.
