Grain Handling Equipment Shipping
Grain Bin, Dryer, Auger & Grain Cart Shipping
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Ship Your Grain Handling Equipment
Get expert advice on the best shipping solution for your equipment.
Related Equipment
Overview
Grain bins and bucket elevators are made to be shipped flat: corrugated sheets, stiffeners, roof panels, leg sections and hardware travel as containerised kits. That keeps most of a grain facility on the cheapest rung of the ladder.
Grain dryers, tower dryer modules and large grain carts do not fold into a box. Carts and portable dryers ship on flat racks or roll trailers; tower dryer sections and complete facility packages are planned as project cargo with flat racks and breakbulk where they exceed rack limits.
Used augers, conveyors and carts carry grain dust and residue. They are cleaned out before export, because grain residue is a quarantine concern in many destinations.
Typical Specifications
| Bin Kits | Flat-packed sheets and stiffeners |
| Grain Carts | 500 - 2,000+ bushel, 5 - 20 metric tons |
| Augers and Conveyors | 10m - 40m long |
| Tower Dryers | Modules up to 4m+ wide |
Recommended Shipping Methods
Worked example
Sukup 48 ft grain bin kit, crated: 9 ft 10 in / 3 m long, 3 ft 11 in / 1.2 m wide, 3 ft 7 in / 1.1 m high, 32,000 lb / 14,500 kg.
The ladder below is worked out from these figures. Larger or smaller units of the same type can land on a different rung.
Cheapest first: the shipping cost ladder
We price every machine from the bottom rung up. A machine only moves up a rung when a measurement rules out the cheaper method.
Sukup 48 ft grain bin kit, crated fits a container in one piece, the cheapest way to ship it.
- Rung 1
Container
Lowest cost
Best fit for Sukup 48 ft grain bin kit, crated
When: Fits through a 7 ft 8 in / 2.34 m × 8 ft 6 in / 2.58 m door and under 59,500 lb / 27,000 kg, whole or after we take off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels.
- Rung 2
Flat rack
Mid cost
When: Too wide or tall for a container door, but within 14 ft 9 in / 4.5 m wide, 13 ft 1 in / 4 m tall and 86,000 lb / 39,000 kg on one rack.
- Rung 3
RoRo
Mid cost
When: Drives or tows aboard, under 19 ft 8 in / 6 m tall and 110 US tons / 100,000 kg, going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
- Rung 4
Breakbulk
Highest cost
When: Past flat-rack and roll-trailer limits, or shipped as modules lifted aboard piece by piece.
Container (FCL)
RecommendedBin kits, elevator leg sections, conveyors, hardware and controls packed in 40 ft high-cubes.
Flat Rack Container
RecommendedGrain carts, portable dryers, long augers and over-length conveyor sections.
RoRo (on roll trailer)
RecommendedGrain carts and portable augers on their own wheels where a RoRo lane serves the destination.
Breakbulk
Tower dryer modules and large facility packages beyond flat rack limits.
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
01Container
- Work needed
- We partially disassemble when needed (bucket, boom, cab, wheels), or take larger machines further apart across several high-cubes and open-tops, then crate, block and lash every part.
- Destinations
- Widest: almost every port worldwide, plus inland delivery by rail.
- Typical cost
- Usually the lowest, with no out-of-gauge surcharges.
- Protection
- Sealed steel box; loose parts and attachments travel locked inside.
- Best for
- Most machines: compact ones as they are, others after partial disassembly, and large ones split across several containers.
02Flat rack
- Work needed
- Ships assembled, blocked and lashed. Surcharges apply when wider than 2.4 m or taller than about 1.95 m.
- Destinations
- Most container ports, on the same vessels as containers.
- Typical cost
- Moderate; rises with every centimetre out of gauge.
- Protection
- Open to the weather; we protect cabs, electronics and hydraulics.
- Best for
- Excavators, dozers and loaders too wide for a container door.
03RoRo
- Work needed
- Drives on assembled; non-runners go on a roll trailer.
- Destinations
- Fewer destinations: regular lanes to Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Latin America.
- Typical cost
- Often competitive for large self-propelled machines where a lane exists.
- Protection
- Below deck, but loose items and attachments cannot ride inside the cab.
- Best for
- Running machines going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
04Breakbulk
- Work needed
- Lifted aboard piece by piece by ship’s or shore cranes, on its own skids or cradle, then stowed and lashed in the hold or on deck.
- Destinations
- Ports with breakbulk berths and heavy-lift cranes; sailings are booked voyage by voyage.
- Typical cost
- Usually the highest for a single small machine; often the only option for the largest pieces.
- Protection
- In the hold or lashed on deck; we crate, wrap and protect exposed parts.
- Best for
- Pieces too large or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer: transformers, process modules, mining trucks, crane sections.
Handling & Preparation Requirements
- Bin sheets crated by ring with the erection drawing
- Hardware and fasteners boxed and labelled per kit
- Augers and conveyors cleaned of grain and dust
- Grain cart augers folded and locked; tires inflated
- Dryer burners and controls protected from moisture
- ISPM 15 crates and dunnage
Common Models We Ship
Where grain handling equipment shipments go wrong
Mistakes we see on grain handling equipment bookings, and what avoids them.
- Bin sheets are stamped by ring and gauge, so mixing crates during loading leaves the erection crew sorting near-identical panels, and a short-shipped heavy bottom ring stops construction entirely.
- Used grain carts keep kernels in the auger flighting and under the hopper floor, and grain found by quarantine officers in Australia or Chile leads to re-cleaning at the importer's cost.
- Grain dryer burners are often set up for propane at North American supply pressures, so sites running natural gas or different pressures need conversion parts ordered before the dryer ships.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you ship a grain bin?
Flat. The sheets, stiffeners, roof and hardware ship as a kit in containers with the erection drawings, and are assembled at destination.
Can a grain cart go in a container?
Rarely; most carts are wider than the 2.34 m container door. They ship on a flat rack, or roll aboard a RoRo vessel on their own wheels.
Do you handle a complete grain facility?
Yes. We plan the bins, legs, dryers and conveyors as one project, with containers for kits and flat racks or breakbulk for the large modules.
Plan your shipment
Import Duty & Tax Estimator
Estimate duty and VAT on the CIF value for 70+ destinations.
Dimensional Weight Calculator
Work out chargeable weight before you book.
Container Space Calculator
See how your cargo fits in 20ft, 40ft, and HC containers.
Route Finder
Load port, sailings, duty and rules for a machine and destination.
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