Warehouse and transload
Warehouse, transload and container stuffing near the port
Transload moves cargo from the truck or rail car it arrived on into the container, flat rack or trailer it sails on. The weight is spread over the floor[1], the load is blocked and lashed, and the unit is weighed for its VGM before it goes to the terminal[2].
When transload helps
| Method | Use it when | Avoid it when |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidate several pickups | Machines or parts from several sellers go to one buyer in one or more containers. | One machine from one seller can go straight to the terminal. |
| Rail to container | Cargo arrives by rail car and sails in a box or on a flat rack. | It can be loaded into a container at the origin. |
| Hold for the sailing | The cargo is ready before the vessel cut-off, or waits for payment or paperwork. | The terminal’s free time covers the wait. |
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
We quote in this order because it is usually cheapest first. Most machines that look too big for a box fit once our crew takes off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels; larger ones are taken further apart across several containers, and pieces too big or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer go 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.
How cargo is transloaded
Rules that apply
- SOLAS verified gross mass (VGM)IMO
Since 1 July 2016 the shipper must give a signed verified gross mass for each packed container, found by weighing the packed unit or by adding the weighed cargo, lashing and dunnage to the container tare. The carrier needs it before the stowage plan is drawn up; without it the container is not loaded.[2]
Applies to: Every packed container, flat rack and open top
- ISPM 15 wood packagingIPPC, administered in the U.S. by USDA APHIS
Wood packaging and dunnage must be heat-treated to a core temperature of 56 °C for at least 30 minutes, or fumigated, and carry the IPPC mark with the US country code, the facility number and HT or MB. Marked wood can be reused; repaired or remanufactured wood must be treated and marked again.[4]
Applies to: Crates, skids, blocking and dunnage
- Cargo securement on trucks (49 CFR 393.106 and 393.130)FMCSA
The tiedowns on a load must together have a working load limit of at least half its weight. A machine on wheels or tracks weighing 10,000 lb or more needs at least four tiedowns, fixed as close as practicable to its front and rear or to its designed tie points; buckets and shovels are lowered and secured, and articulated machines are locked so they cannot articulate.[5][6]
Applies to: Machines on wheels or tracks moved by truck, and every other load on a public road
- Engines, vehicles and machinery as hazardous materials (49 CFR 173.220)PHMSA
A machine is regulated as a hazardous material when it carries fuel, a wet, sodium or lithium battery, or other hazardous materials. A tank of flammable liquid fuel such as gasoline is drained to 500 mL or less and closed; a self-propelled machine on diesel may keep its fuel if the tank has room for expansion and the cap is closed. Batteries stay installed and secured, wet batteries upright, with the terminals protected against short circuits.[7]
Applies to: Machines with fuel, batteries or other hazardous materials, by road, vessel or air
Questions about transload
Can several machines share one container?
Yes, if they fit the door and the total stays within the container’s payload, with the weight spread along the floor.
Who provides the VGM?
The shipper, who may weigh the packed unit or add the weighed cargo, packing and lashing to the container tare. When we load it, we provide it.
Do you load flat racks as well as containers?
Yes. Flat racks and open tops are loaded with cranes or forklifts and lashed to the rack’s points.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the documents below, each checked on the date shown. Carriers and authorities revise them, so we confirm the current figure when we book.
- [1]Hapag-Lloyd, Weight distribution in containers for safe transport (guideline), checked October 18, 2026
- [2]IMO, SOLAS verified gross mass requirement enters into force (1 July 2016), checked October 18, 2026
- [3]Hapag-Lloyd, Container Specification (2024 update), checked October 18, 2026
- [4]USDA APHIS, Export ISPM 15-compliant wood packaging material, checked October 18, 2026
- [5]eCFR, 49 CFR 393.106 General requirements for securing articles of cargo, checked October 18, 2026
- [6]eCFR, 49 CFR 393.130 Securement of heavy vehicles, equipment and machinery, checked October 18, 2026
- [7]eCFR, 49 CFR 173.220 Internal combustion engines, vehicles and machinery (hazardous materials), checked October 18, 2026
Send us the machine and the destination
Give us the model or the measured dimensions and weight. We come back with the method, the sailing and a price, and the figures behind them.