Increased LCL adoption as services improve

New service enhancements

are driving some shippers to

reconsider consolidation as a

viable option among the modes

they incorporate in daily and

long-term transportation

planning.

Clas Thorell, senior vice

president and global head

of Ocean Freight LCL for

logistics company Panalpina,

commented

that

historically

shippers

had

considered

less than

container

load (LCL) a

slow, costly

and risky

way to move

freight

across the

ocean, but

necessary

when orders

were too small to make a full

container load (FCL).

LCL services today

offer end-to-end pricing;

direct routes and frequent

sailings; increased visibility

and control; streamlined

processes; and packaged

solutions that provide security,

clarity, speed and certainty, he

added.

“Freight forwarding

companies continue to

introduce new LCL services

in previously under-served

markets, and to customise

solutions to meet ocean

shippers’ specific needs.”

Thorell believes LCL can

help shippers

better balance

orders with

market

demand,

with less

concern about

stockpiling

until they

achieve FCL

quantities.

“Shippers

are selecting

the mode

to move

products

from Point

A to Point B based on actual

need, not historical practice,”

he says. “Rather than holding

inventory to fill containers,

companies are ordering what

they need to feed production

lines and stock stores or

warehouses.”