Importing a 40 foot container?
 

Anyone know the procedure of importing a 40 foot container to the shipping port? When it clears customs etc do I just go their and unload the container pretty much with a Uhaul even if it takes all day to go back and forth? Also if they did door to door service would they likely leave the container there for me to unload and pick it up the next day or would the drive have to wait there until its all unloaded? Importing carpet to Los Angeles port. Any good shipping companies, links, help, etc, would be appreciated.

You should be able to hire a driver and a crew to do the lifting. Had a large one delivered here a couple years ago... about that size... I never touched a single thing.

also is it unheard of to buy the container so i can just transfer the container to a yard or something and when its empty send it back to china or the shipping company until a refill comes in or something?

I've never heard of buying one as an option.

Go with Phoenix. Or a big name shipper and they will walk you through it.

They will drop it off at your place and pick it up later, it depends on how much cash you want to spend. Forget about going to port and unloading the container. DHS won't let you in or they will search you each time you walk in to the port.

Right now I fucked up and went with A cheap shipper and I'm freaking out as I'm not getting any customer service. And have no clue if my container is going to make it.

as getscorecash said call a shipper. You will have to pay a deposite on the container. Get them to bring it to you then they will pick it back up and you get the depoiste back. You cannot unload it thier. Atleast when I did it they told me no. And a 40' contrainer is a shitload of stuff. And dont forget you gonna get a bill from customs as well ;) good times.

Hire a cargo forwarder. They'll tell you the customs you need to pay and all the fees.

Sorry to say bro but your shipment won't make it, the government already seized it.

http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=972429


Just kidding :) Good luck

While I don't think you can buy the actual shipping container you can by retired containers all day long for a few grand.

Ok cool good to know. Yah I used customs broker in the past for crates but not for containers. It would be ideal if they can just drop off the container in the parking lot for a month or two until I can sell the stuff in it and then pick it up. An all in one company that will pick up the container in China, clear customs, bring it to my door and pick the empty container up a month or so later would be really ideal for me. I will look into pheonix. I am getting charged about $3000 for a 40 foot container from china to LA port and $3300 to my door, are both these rates pretty standard?

Contact someone at Roe Logistics, they handle everything for us. We do 30+ containers a month in Canada. They have a USA office as well.

http://roelogistics.com/htm/offices_warehouses.html

how far away are you from port? It cost me about 2k for 200 miles or so in texas

Get your customs broker involved again. They can walk you through all this stuff.

Where do you need the container taken to? Getting it left for a month is not going to happen without significant charges... most drivers/freight forwarders expect immediate turn around... maybe 24-48 hrs unload time without extra fees (that's what a warehouse is for). Is it going into LA or Long Beach? Which shipping company did you go through to get it there? Hanjin, APL, Matson...

Lot of variables you've got left open that should be handled weeks, if not months before you have shipment en route.

I grew up around the shipping business (family's been working the port since it was built)... even spent some really horrible moments myself as a longshoremen lashing those bastard containers 8 deep onto ships and breaking them down. Most of the variables you are asking about are something a proper freight forwarder "should be" handling for you... but they're are some shitty ass companies out there.

My family got a storage company in Sweden. We usually pay around $300 for local transport of a 40 ft container. Unloading we charge $40/hour, tops 10 hours for 40 foot including palletizing dependig on goods, carpets probably alot faster. Storage is about $10 for each m³ and month. Standad 40 ft container is about 67m³ (2,385 ft³). Cost should be about the same or lower in the US.

You can use a fork lift truck.

You can use the narrow isle truck or the counter balance truck.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I've imported and exported 1000's of refrigerated containers over the past ten years with my other business.
You will need to contact a forwarding agent and get a inter-mogul rate. (includes pickup and delivery to and from the sender to your door)

http://www.nipponexpress.com/ is one of the largest, but there are many more.

When the container arrives you usually have a couple hours to unload it, otherwise you will incur extra costs.