The moving services we’ve contacted so far (Yamato and Nittsu, among others) want somewhere in the ballpark of 130,000 yen per cubic meter shipped door-to-door. I’m sure they’re convenient and that they do a good job, but for someone like me who has around ten cubic meters of stuff to ship, I’m doubtful that their pricing is particularly advantageous.
I live in Fukuoka city, with a port roughly fifteen minutes away from my home. In America, my destination is a seven hour drive from Seattle. I’m aware of the global supply-chain situation, but it still looks like I should be able to do better than 1.3 million yen for ten cubic meters of stuff, especially if we can package everything and get it to the port ourselves.
Does anyone have experience just shipping an entire container and doing the logistics themselves? Even if it wasn’t cheaper, per se, if we had an entire container, we could bring absolutely all of our stuff and even buy some more before we go. I’d like to do it if possible.
I speak Japanese, and my wife is Japanese, so we can deal with local shippers. We’re still fish out of water, though, and I’m trying to figure out whether this route is really feasible. Getting someone to receive the container in Seattle and get it onto a truck bound for our home seems particularly daunting, but it might not be all that hard. I just don’t know.
Thanks for any help. 🙂
5 comments
Contact Yamato. They will pack your shit and put it in the container for you.
Edit:
Kuro neko
Black cat
We do a lot of container shipping at our company. There isn’t much you can do about the price because of the cost of fuel and the shipping backlog caused by the global situation. You should be able to send one out of Hakata. Contact Nittsu to arrange it.
I do some container shipping, and a big part of the cost is the tail end; doing customs and shipping to your place.
If you can do that yourself, you usually can save a good chunk. Incoterms FOB or CFR are your friends.
It’s still expensive though these days compared to 5 years ago.
Container rentals have gone through the roof. We’re shipping by air now instead of boat because of the cost/backlog. It’s better to just eat the extra shipping than pay that much for that long a wait.
I do corporate sales at a move company.
You will not have much luck getting flat rates for a container as it is not how move companies operate.
Contact one of the (ideally more than 3) FIDI affiliated move companies and ask to get a free pre-move survey and quotation.
Depending on your volume you might want to send your goods as LCL shipment which should be cheaper.
They should also be explaining customs regulations and necessary documents etc. during the survey.