Remember when you could personally deliver all the gifts on your Christmas list, with maybe one or two trips to the post office to mail Great-Aunt Joan’s fruitcake, or to get Snoopy stamps for your cards? These days, with people on the move all over the world, you just about need a logistics expert to tell you how to ship packages worldwide–even your college roommate in Vancouver needs their gift internationally shipped!

Brush Up on the Regulations

The first thing you need to do when you’ve got to send packages out of the country is research any regulations the recipient country has that might hamstring your package. For example, if you want to send green coffee beans from your favorite local roastery to your brother in Australia, you can’t–they require an import permit from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.  If you are shipping a container full of goods for a relocation to another country, make sure to have all your paperwork in order.

Logistics- By Air or Sea?

Then, you need to figure out if air or ocean travel is easiest and more cost efficient. Air costs are based on the weight and dimensions of the shipment, while sea shipping is calculated on cubic meters. For most international shipments, ocean  is cheaper and slower, but if you’ve shopped early and are concerned about your logistics’ carbon footprint, send by sea. Air is usually faster, but the cost is usually higher.

There’s an Easier Way

If all of this seems entirely too tedious and maybe you’ll think about sending an Amazon gift card instead, let a local shipping company that specializes in international freight shipping take care of all the logistics for you. The right company can do the following for you:

We are here to help you navigate international logistics. With over thirty years in the Houston area we are experts in all phases of packing and transport.  Please let us know how we help you arrange your overseas shipping needs.