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Part load USA for furniture, boxes and individual vehicles
LCL shipping to the USA transports individual boxes, pieces of furniture, or a vehicle across the Atlantic in a shared sea container. Because your shipment only occupies part of the loading space, goods from other customers fill the rest. The Global Logistic Group picks up your freight at the American collection point, consolidates it with other shipments, and brings it to Bremerhaven.
Our work begins after the purchase. As soon as the goods are ready at the seller’s, we coordinate collection, packaging, and all paperwork. A purchase or procurement is expressly not part of this service.
LCL shipping to the USA is always in demand when a shipment is too small for its own container: inherited furniture, workshop equipment, collector’s items, or spare parts for a classic car. This page exclusively deals with imports, i.e., the route from West to East. Conversely, our page on moving to the USA will help you.
Only pay for the space actually occupied in the container
Where does the price advantage come from? From the shared loading space. For very heavy goods, weight is the determining factor; otherwise, billing is based on volume in cubic meters. A 40-foot container holds approximately 67 cbm of cargo. If your furniture occupies 6 cbm of this, you only pay for these 6 cbm for the USA part load.
This saving costs time. Before the shared container departs, enough freight must have accumulated. Therefore, plan for a buffer instead of relying on a fixed arrival date. In return, you eliminate the risk of paying for a half-empty steel box.
With every transshipment in the port, your goods are moved, stacked, and re-secured. Stable packaging is therefore not a mere formality for USA part loads, but a prerequisite. We have sensitive items placed in wooden crates on site.
Not all goods are permitted for USA part loads. Excluded are, among others:
- Hazardous goods such as paints, solvents, or compressed gas cylinders
- Loose lithium batteries outside the associated device
- Food, plants, and seeds due to import controls
For vehicles, an additional condition applies: the tank must be empty except for a small residue before loading.
From what volume is a consolidated container from the USA worthwhile?
The decision between less-than-container-load (LCL) and a dedicated container depends on a single number: the volume of your shipment. A rough guideline is one-third of a 20-foot container. Below that, shared space is more cost-effective; above that, your own container pays off. The following overview categorizes common shipment sizes and shows which option is suitable in each case:
| Sendung | Ungefähres Volumen | Sinnvolle Variante |
|---|---|---|
| 10 bis 15 Umzugskisten | 2 bis 3 cbm | Beiladung |
| Einrichtung eines Zimmers | 8 bis 10 cbm | Beiladung |
| Motorrad mit Ersatzteilen | 3 bis 5 cbm | Beiladung |
| Pkw im Container | 10 bis 12 cbm | Beiladung oder RoRo |
| Hausstand ab drei Zimmern | ab 25 cbm | Vollcontainer |
Up to approximately 10 cbm, a consolidated container from the USA is almost always the more economical choice. For a complete household, the calculation changes, as handling and waiting time consume the volume advantage. Vehicles are a special case: a single passenger car travels in a consolidated container from the USA or alternatively via RoRo, depending on its condition and value.
If you wish to import your car from the USA, we will evaluate both options. For classics and muscle cars, our US Cars Import service with dedicated loading is available, while small parts can be shipped concurrently as part of a USA partial load.
Which factors determine the price of your consolidated shipment to the USA
Why do we not quote fixed list prices? Because every consolidated shipment to the USA consists of pre-carriage, sea freight, handling, and customs clearance. Each of these items depends on your specific shipment.
The distance from the collection point to the loading port has the strongest impact. Goods from New Jersey reach the terminal in a few hours, while a collection in Arizona means several days of trucking across the continent. In addition, there is the volume, packaging effort, and the value of the goods, which determines the amount of duties.
We carry out customs clearance for each partial shipment individually, even though several customers use the same container. This means that the same import rules apply to your consolidated shipment from the USA as for any car import to Germany from a non-EU country. We prepare all import documents according to the applicable regulations and register your goods with the competent customs office. We will inform you of the expected duties upon request before the container departs.
Intermediate storage in our own customs warehouse near Bremerhaven
Upon arrival, not everything has to move on immediately. Our warehouse in Geestland is located a few hundred meters from the A27 and thus just before the port. As an approved customs warehouse, we are allowed to store your shipment before duties become due, for example, if a proof is still missing or your collection date is later. Both indoor and outdoor areas are available for this in our warehouse and storage facility.
This is particularly beneficial for shared containers. If your LCL shipment from the USA arrives earlier than expected, the goods remain with us instead of incurring charges at the terminal. Each item remains clearly assigned to your shipment, even if it arrived with other freight.
Documents determine the speed. For your LCL shipment from the USA, we require a packing list with individual values as well as a purchase receipt or commercial invoice. On the American side, an electronic export declaration in the AES system is required for goods valued at 2,500 USD or more per item, which our local partner will handle. If a document is missing, our team will contact you before the container is packed.
For a reliable calculation, we need a packing list, pickup address, and destination. Please contact Markus Freiknecht by phone or WhatsApp, and we will calculate your LCL shipment from the USA in detail.
Good reasons to work with GLG Global Logistic Group
high quality standards
Long-standing experience & expertise
Close & direct contact
Trust and reliability
Process & Handling
1. Delivery to us / pickup by us
Our warehouse is in Bremerhaven not far from the port. You can have your items delivered to us or we will pick them up from you throughout Germany.
2. Transport with customs clearance in destination country
We pack everything professionally and create both a parts list and all necessary customs documents in accordance with export and import regulations.
3. Complete handling with fees & delivery to destination address
Our service naturally also includes handling at the destination port from receipt through interim storage to delivery to the final destination.
