Freight forwarder Mercator Cargo has been handling commercial sea freight shipping to the USA from the UK since it was founded in 1991. Our export shipping team handle consignments to the USA regularly, and as such we have strong relationships with the shipping lines that run trade over to the USA, and also with our USA based freight forwarding partners.
Our shipping services to the USA include both air and sea freight. Sea freight shipping to the East Coast of America is a popular option due to the short transit time, usually between 7-10 days port to port. Shipping to the West Coast of the USA takes around 30 days. It is always best to factor in some extra time at each end to allow for loading, cut off times for sailings, customs in the USA and delivery. If you are short on time, air freight to the USA is an alternative option.
Our export shipping team recently arranged shipping to the USA of a 20’ container of baby products from the UK. We instructed for the pallets to be picked up from the customer’s warehouse and delivered to a yard near Liverpool port where they were loaded and secured into a 20’ shipping container. Ordinarily the customer would load and “lash” (i.e. secure) the goods directly in the container themselves, however, it is not always possible for every business to be able to do so (requiring manpower and also forklift trucks on site). The container was then transferred to the port ready to be shipped to New York. Our team completed the export customs in the UK, and liaised with our partner agents in the USA to clear and deliver the goods directly to the buyer.
This particular shipping consignment to the USA was “door-to-door”, Mercator’s services for shipping to the USA cover any or all aspects of the export process. Most exporters from the UK will have a FOB (free on board) term agreed with their buyer in the USA, which means they are only responsible for getting the shipment onto the vessel, and would therefore include loading, export customs, trucking to the port, and port fees in the UK to load the container onto the vessel. However, due to our relationships with freight forwarders across the USA (thanks to our founding membership of the worldwide network MarcoPoloLine), we are well connected to arrange a shipment right up to the door in the USA.
If you have goods which you need shipping to the USA, please get in touch, our export team will be more than happy to assist you: +44 2392 756 575 or email sales@mercatorcargo.co.uk
