The transportation of goods through container collection can maintain the cleanliness of the goods in the container, protect the safety of the goods, and reduce the damage. In order to ensure the smooth flow of the container and avoid the stagnation of the container, the owner of the container - the ship owner - has set a time limit for the user of the container - the importer. Within this time limit, the goods can be loaded in the container for free. After this period of time, if the goods have not been taken out of the container and occupied the container, the shipowner will have to pay a fixed fee every day, which is the so-called container detention fee.
The free period of imported containers is mostly within 10 days after the arrival of the ship at the port of destination, and the demurrage charge is calculated from 10 days after the arrival of the ship. Here is the fastest way to return empty containers, so that you can return empty containers as soon as possible, and avoid or reduce the delay charges.
Specifically, while the goods are going through the import customs clearance formalities, the importer can ask the shipowner which yard the container will return to, and then contact the yard. The fleet subordinate to the yard will directly lift the released goods to the yard, unload them in the yard, and then transport the goods to the final destination by rail or car as required. In this way, when the goods are taken out, the container is already empty, which can save at least two days than using other teams to pick up the containers to the warehouse and then return to the empty container to the designated storage yard.
When the number of imported containers is large, this method can not only prepare more time for customs clearance and release, but also reduce the detention charges. For example, a company imported 48 20-foot container cargoes. After learning about the empty container yard of the ship owner, it signed an agreement with the yard, and its subordinate fleet would directly pick up the containers from the port city to the yard, and then pick up the goods from the factory to the yard. However, the customs only released the goods on the 10th day after the arrival of the ship due to the delay in customs clearance due to the customs price review. After getting the customs clearance form, the fleet of the storage yard immediately lifted the container to the storage yard for unloading. In this way, the demurrage fee of USD 480.00 and the return fee of RMB 4800 are saved.
