The following table is compilation of all DHL, Fedex and UPS resources that are available to users WITHOUT first having to create an account or submit information. We find that this is useful to our readers who don’t necessarily want to commit to a carrier in any way while they search for basic shipping information. If we have missed a resource then it is way too hard to find on the website as we have poured over all three.
We have awarded prizes in the following categories: Best International Shipping Guide which goes to DHL for their easy to read and understand primer on international shipping. Best Country Profiles which goes to UPS for their very organized, informative and easy to read country profiles section. Best Free Tool which goes to DHL for their Harmonized Tariff Code/ Schedule B number tool Best Document Library to DHL for their exhaustive compilation of international documents needed for shipping.
Freight shipping involves the movement of large packaging such as pallets or even containers and is usually used by importer/exporters. The table below lists all of the different freight services available from DHL, Fedex and UPS. They are grouped into three sections: Air, Ocean and Ground/Rail. These services mainly address the unique needs of these business shippers such as expediency, security, temperature sensitivity, door to door delivery, consolidation etc.
Two words about freight forwarders
Many international importer and exporters choose to elect a freight forwarder to handle all the details for shipping their commodities internationally. One thing that they should be aware of is that freight forwarders outsource their services and many times use DHL, Fedex or UPS freight services as well for a portion of the shipping-especially if shipping air freight. In the case of air freight you may want to consider using these carriers directly. The nice thing about using these main carriers directly for your freight needs is that a price can be given up front that should not deviate much from the final price. Often freight forwarders cannot tell give a customer a final price because honestly they don’t know what it will be.
Another notable difference between using a freight forwarder and using one of these carriers is that the delivery can be made door to door. Freight forwarders often only deliver to airports. As an importer you always want to maintain a good relationship with your trading company. If they are used to working with freight forwarders it may be to your advantage to continue to use a freight forwarder. However you can instruct your freight forwarder to use one of these shipping carriers and your shipping account to make the arrangements. Having previously arranged shipments through your freight forwarders using their means it would be an easy matter to do a cost comparison of the shipping using one of these carriers. If you decide that there are sufficient benefits to using one of these carriers, you can then try to negotiate greater volume discounts from your shipping carrier by including your import/export shipments in addition to your present shipping volume. Finally and equally important you this would give you better control on the actual final cost of the shipment plus option of door to door delivery if desired.
A changing market outlook…
Importer/Exporters usually are content to allow for a certain percentage of their profit margin to go to shipping and are happy to just pay what is needed. However the United States economy is slowing which means that orders will not be as large and profit margins will suffer. It is usually times such as these when “necessary” costs are more closely scrutinized.
FedEx
Express Freight
Backed by a money-back guarantee.
Freight is
placed on the first flight out.
Airfreight Plus
FedEx Custom Critical
Backed by a service guarantee.
Customized surface air
solutions for delicate, high-security or
temperature-sensitive freight.
UPS
ExpressSM Freight
Day Definite
door to door delivery
UPS Air Freight DirectSM
Day-specific scheduling,
airport-to-airport service, with delivery within one to three days
Air Premium
door to door
UPS Air Freight
ConsolidatedSM
airport to airport only
Consolidation of Freight.
Air Value
Economical
Alternative to Air
Charter
Additional air freight capacity where there is
limited commercial carrier
SeAir
Sea/Air
Service
Combination
of speed of air freight and the lower cost of ocean freight
FedEx
Expedited Freight Services
Blend of
many different services
UPS Air Freight
ConsolidatedSM
Day-specific scheduling,
airport-to-airport service, with delivery within three to five days
Ocean Freight Services
Ocean Freight Good Morning
FedEx Trade
Networks
NVOCC
(Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers) Series
Full-container
load (FCL) or less-than-container load (LCL) shipments.
Ocean Freight Good Morning
Non
Containerised Load
International Ground Freight
Euroconnect road freight service
Covers all business areas in Europe.
Service for palletised and non-palletised shipments of over 31.5 kg.
Groupage and
Part Load Services
FedEx Freight
Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Europe, as well
as service from Asia
Less than Truckload
DHL EURONET service Pan-European presence
Customised transport
services
Euroline
Shipments within all European countries and across Europe.
Full-load services
DHL COLDCHAIN
European-wide ground transport solution
Fully monitored,
temperature controlled and GDP-compliant (Good
Distribution Practice) network, meeting all customer requirements in
terms of regulation, security, quality and handling
The table below shows the variety of services available by DHL, Fedex and UPS for shipping non-freight items internationally. Let’s take a moment to examine the different services available.
Same Day
“Same day” delivery is available from all three shippers. This service really means that the package will be on the next available flight. If the package is a document and not-dutiable there should be no problem getting the package off the plane and to its destination as if it were hand carried.
Document…to be or not to be…
For international packages customs clearance is an important component of package arrival time. Documents that do not need customs are limited just by flight arrival and delivery. DHL recognizes this and offers a service focused on document or non-dutiable items. The separate treatment of these items contributes to minimal delivery delays. One might imagine that there are probably certain times of day, using DHL Same Day Service, Fedex International Next Flight or UPS Express Critical SM, when a package might have arrived at the same time as with DHL International Document Service at but at a reduced cost.
Are Specialized Services Always Needed?
Along the same lines let’s examine the additional specialized services offered by Fedex and UPS, one wonders if the “expedited” package would have arrived at the same time using DHL Document Service if the package was just a document. While there are definitely instances where dutiable items have time critical arrival deadlines, most time critical international packages are business documents with original signatures. Any other type of documents can be sent by email or facsimile. To pay a premium to insure that documents arrive at 10:30 in 2-3 business days should be considered carefully when a less expensive service DHL International Documents Service may suffice.
An Illustration…
In order illustrate the point let’s take a package leaving New York destined for Germany. The package is picked up in New York by 5PM EST Tuesday (11:00PM German Time Wednesday). This package then leaves Newark at 12:00AM EST on Tuesday Evening (6:00AM German Time Wednesday) arrives in Germany at 5:00 PM Wednesday night where it will be sorted and ready to leave for delivery at 5:30AM German local time Thursday. The chances are very good that a non-dutiable document would arrive in Germany from New York by 10:30 AM on the second day even without the premium service. This should be true if you used DHL International Document Service, FedEx International Economy or UPS Worldwide SaverSM. Of course this all depends on timing and connections however this Gedankenexperiment allowed plenty of time for connections and presumably these billion dollar package carriers have worked all of that out anyway. All three of the carriers have a time arrival estimator which is really a calculation using their established flight plan arrival schedules. This will give you a good idea of when your carrier believes a non dutiable item such as a document would arrive. If there is no advantage in days for using the premium service then it is up to you to decide if you want to pay for the “premium delivery time”.
Dutiable Items and Arrival Time Guarantees
Arrival times for documents or non-dutiable items are usually pretty certain as they do not have to go through customs clearance. Dutiable items are subject to customs clearance and therefore always at risk for delivery delay. While the package may arrive at a specific time at your country, if the customs does not clear it in a timely fashion then the delay is inevitable, in which case the “fault” for the delay is not due to the carrier but to “third party government” influences. Customs delays are almost always paper work problems which can usually be traced back to the shipper. For this reason, the chances of being able to collect a refund for unfulfilled premium service are very small.
The Moral of the Story…
I am reminded of a story that I read in The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford where he outlines how a premium cappuccino does not cost the coffee shop much more than a regular cappuccino but the coffee shop can charge a 25% premium on it because of the perception of additional benefit. A little bit of digging on the part of the shipper may help uncover what flights a package would be on and what service level would be most effective for the shipper. Of course the shipper that actually does that research is few and far between and the carriers know and understand this and so business as usual… Knowledge is power but only if you go after it.
Best International Shipping Guide which goes to DHL for their easy to read and understand primer on international shipping.
UPS for their World Holiday section.
