In 2015, 108 trillion tonne-kilometers were transported worldwide : 70% by sea, 18% by road, 9% by rail, 2% by inland waterways and less than 0.25% by air.
Ground
Land or "ground" shipping can be made by train or by truck. In air and sea shipments, ground transport is required to take the cargo from its place of origin to the airport or seaport and then to its destination because it is not always possible to establish a production facility near ports due to the limited coastlines of countries. Ground transport is typically more affordable than air, but more expensive than sea, especially in developing countries, where inland infrastructure may not be efficient. Shipment of cargo by trucks, directly from the shipper's place to the destination, is known as a door-to-door shipment, or more formally as multimodal transport. Trucks and trains make deliveries to sea and airports where cargo is moved in bulk.
Ship
Much freight transport is done by ships. An individual nation's fleet and the people that crew it are referred to as its merchant navy or merchant marine. Merchant shipping is the lifeblood of the world economy, carrying 90% of international trade with 102,194 commercial ships worldwide. On rivers and canals, barges are often used to carry bulk cargo.
Air
Cargo is transported by air in specialized cargo aircraft and in the luggage compartments of passenger aircraft. Air freight is typically the fastest mode for long-distance freight transport, but it is also the most expensive.
Intermodal
Intermodal freight transport refers to shipments that involve more than one mode. More specifically it usually refers to the use of intermodal shipping containers that are easily transferred between ship, rail, plane and truck. For example, a shipper works together with both ground and air transportation to ship an item overseas. Intermodal freight transport is used to plan the route and carry out the shipping service from the manufacturer to the door of the recipient.
Terms of shipment
Common trading terms used in shipping goods internationally include:
Free on board –the exporter delivers the goods at the specified location. Costs paid by the exporter include load, lash, secure and stow the cargo, including securing cargo not to move in the ships hold, protecting the cargo from contact with the double bottom to prevent slipping, and protection against damage from condensation. For example, "FOB JNPT" means that the exporter delivers the goods to the Jawahar lal Nehru Port, India, and pays for the cargo to be loaded and secured on the ship. This term also declares where the responsibility of shipper ends and that of buyer starts. The exporter is bound to deliver the goods at his cost and expense. In this case, the freight and other expenses for outbound traffic are borne by the importer.
Carriage and freight : Insurance is payable by the importer, and the exporter pays all expenses incurred in transporting the cargo from its place of origin to the port/airport and ocean freight/air freight to the port/airport of destination. For example, C&F Los Angeles. Most of the governments ask their exporters to trade on these terms to promote their exports worldwide such as India and China. Many of the shipping carriers offer guarantees on their delivery times. These are known as GSR guarantees or "guaranteed service refunds"; if the parcels are not delivered on time, the customer is entitled to a refund.
Carriage, insurance and freight : Insurance and freight are all paid by the exporter to the specified location. For example, at CIF Los Angeles, the exporter pays the ocean shipping/air freight costs to Los Angeles including the insurance of cargo. This also states that responsibility of the shipper ends at the Los Angeles port.
The term "best way" generally implies that the shipper will choose the carrier who offers the lowest rate for the shipment. In some cases, however, other factors, such as better insurance or faster transit time will cause the shipper to choose an option other than the lowest bidder.
Door-to-door shipping
Door-to-door shipping is a service provided by many internationalshipping companies. The quoted price of this service includes all shipping, handling, import and customs duties, making it a hassle-free option for customers to import goods from one jurisdiction to another. This is compared to standard shipping, the price of which typically includes only the expenses incurred by the shipping company in transferring the object from one place to another. Customs fees, import taxes and other tariffs may contribute substantially to this base price before the item ever arrives.
