UK-based freight forwarder, Mercator, regularly handles freight between the UK and the USA. One of our customers recently requested a service for pallet shipping from the USA to the UK. This particular routing was shipping from Los Angeles, USA to Southampton, UK. The transit time port to port was 40 days.
The UK importer purchased the goods from the USA on a free on board (FOB) incoterm. Using a FOB term means that as the UK importer, you are responsible and bear the risk of the transit once the goods have been loaded on the vessel for export. In this example, the US shipper (the supplier of the goods) arranged for the freight to be transported to the port in Los Angeles, export paperwork completed and loaded into a shared container (LCL) for shipping to the UK.
Once the freight was on the vessel, the responsibilities and risk passed to the UK importer who was then responsible for the sea freight to the UK, UK customs, any import VAT and duties payable (applicable for some tariffs), and transit to door.
Mercator handled the process of pallet shipping from the USA to the UK for the UK importer. Our import team settled the LCL freight, completed UK customs clearance at Southampton port, liaising with the depot as to unloading of the pallets from the shared shipping container, and finally, delivery of the 3 pallets to the UK importer’s door.
If you have a shipment from the USA for import into the UK, no matter which incoterm you have based your purchase on, Mercator can handle your shipping for you. Whether you have a single pallet or several full container loads, our team will be able to assist you. Your shipment will be assigned to one of our import team who will be your single point of contact throughout the process. If you would like to request a quote for shipping from the USA to the UK, please get in touch by calling (+44) 02392 756 575, emailing sales@mercatorcargo.co.uk or completing the form below and someone will be in touch.
