Today’s global economy has changed the way businesses buy their stock. In the past almost all businesses except for the larger companies would use a wholesaler to obtain the product(s) they wanted to sell. Today, there are few wholesalers left and most businesses, even small ones, can order directly from China or other countries reducing their costs.
China is the largest exporter of consumer goods and that’s because the overall price for goods manufactured there is far less because of lower labor costs. However until the last decade or so the business shipping rates were restrictive as they counteracted any benefits from lower labor costs and material costs.
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The game changed when the shipping companies devised a method where they could make their money by continuously financing the containers, which allowed the shipping costs to drop significantly. The way shippers now made their money was directly tied to shipping container stocks, which changes the way the world traded. They are easy to load, can be shipped by ship, rail, or truck, and if you are shipping from China it only takes about a month to arrive in port.
You can also ship by air for smaller shipments but it’s not as cost effective. For example, 5 to 40lbs will cost approx. $9/lb and it drops as the weight goes up with over 1000lbs costing approx. $3/lb.
Shipping by sea with either your own container you purchased or by partnering with someone else, is one of the most cost effective small business shipping solutions that reduces your business expenses. For example, a pallet is approx. $800, a 20 ft container is approx. $4000, and a 40 ft container will cost $6000.
Of course there are also the port charges, taxes, and duties that you will be required to pay in addition to the cost of shipping your container. You will also have shipping costs from the port to your destination.
This article provides a good idea about what those costs can actually be.
The World Container Operators ranks China Ocean Shipping Company the fourth largest, over 500 ships and 150 container ships in their fleet. The China National Foreign Trade Transportation Corporation operates more than 40 worldwide shipping services.
You can see why you should be entertaining purchasing directly from China or other similar countries, because when you do you can significantly reduce your business shipping cost and cost of goods pertaining to your business. The global market has made it much more competitive both for suppliers and for retailers. You need to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself to reduce your cost of doing business and this one can certainly do that!
