# Shipping a 20' container, US to Europe



## bisonburgher (Apr 6, 2016)

I'm having a hard time getting a general idea of the cost of shipping a 20-foot container of household goods from the US to Spain. For the sake of comparison, we can assume it's going from one major shipping port to another, e.g. New York to Barcelona and the container will have been professionally packed & cataloged beforehand.

Can anyone give us a very rough idea of how these things are priced? I assume there's a flat fee based on container size, distance and other logistics, but how much per pound is charged on top of that? Small package delivery from the US to Europe is about $1.60 per lb, so I imagine/hope it's less than that.

Are there other significant charges like mandatory insurance, import duties, or (as I saw in another thread) charges for x-rays and customs inspections?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Have moved you over here to the Spanish forum, where I think you'll be more likely to get a few replies.

If your shipment will have been professionally packed, can't the company that did the packing give you some sort of an estimate? When I have made my international moves, the cost generally varies based on whether or not the mover has done the packing, whether the load is insured, and who the mover's correspondent is at the other end. In very general terms, US movers seem to charge by weight whereas in European countries, the tendency seems to be to charge by volume. There are also the charges for customs clearance (generally using a clearing agent at the port of entry). 

But perhaps one of our Spanish forum members will have more information for you on this.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Google brought up numerous companies offering their services. Look for a large removal or shipping company in your area, or near the departure port. They will know how the system operates. You will book it in the US, not Spain, surely?

I have experience of shipping crates from the UK to the USA via Heathrow, and the shipping company in London arranges all the paperwork, customs, and so on.


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## samwarren (Jan 6, 2017)

bisonburgher said:


> I'm having a hard time getting a general idea of the cost of shipping a 20-foot container of household goods from the US to Spain. For the sake of comparison, we can assume it's going from one major shipping port to another, e.g. New York to Barcelona and the container will have been professionally packed & cataloged beforehand.
> 
> Can anyone give us a very rough idea of how these things are priced? I assume there's a flat fee based on container size, distance and other logistics, but how much per pound is charged on top of that? Small package delivery from the US to Europe is about $1.60 per lb, so I imagine/hope it's less than that.
> 
> Are there other significant charges like mandatory insurance, import duties, or (as I saw in another thread) charges for x-rays and customs inspections?


Although I haven't done it for a few years, I did send many containers from the U.S. to the UK, and never recall any additions for specific weights. You had to pay for the container by size, and by origin and destination, and just not go over the cargo weight limit. I think the cargo weight shouldn't be more than around 26,000lbs for a 40ft., but I don't recall the 20ft limit. In theory, we could put in 15,000lbs., and the price would be just the same as if we put in 18,000lbs. There are additions for customs clearance, etc., local taxes, though I think those things were less problematic going into the U.K. than they might be for Spain. I've just been advised that I should move from the UK to Spain by road, rather than sea, because seaport entry can be problematic - 'demurrage', customs checks might be somewhat less fluid - although you will have no choice, I guess. It won't necessarily be via Barcelona, it could be Valencia, Alicante, etc. It would be misleading for me to estimate the cost of US-Spain, although I was just quoted ?2,900 (not including arrival port fees etc.) for a 40ft. container, Wales to Spain. However, I'm going with a similar quote in £s, and via road, because (again, I'm told) it avoids other potential hold-ups. In the U.S., we used to use a company called Kuehne & Nagel, who'd give a door-to door quote. I don't know if they do domestic, but you could Google and call, if only to get used to asking. I just spoke to a local K and N office in the U.K., and even though I'm using someone else to move to Spain, they did try to be helpful with a contact. You will find information via google, but in the end the price will largely depend on where you are in the U.S., the size of the container,and any hiccups on arrival at port of entry. Find as many companies as you can, and get as many quotes as you can. Shipping companies can drop a container for you to fill at your own speed, but the longer you take, the more it costs.


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## samwarren (Jan 6, 2017)

Just to add...

I'm getting older, and therefore slightly addled, and I gave you lbs instead of kilos. Here's something more reliable:

http://www.hicargo.com/resource/container-information/ocean-freight-containers/


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

My experience is similar to Sam's. It was all about the volume with the key factor being whether it would be a 20 or a 40. There was one cost which couldn't be fixed up-front, which was for the time the container spends sat at the destination port while it clears customs, so I paid 250 UKP which I hadn't expected.

Last time I did it I used a company called AGS and they were competitive and superb. If they operate in your area I recommend you consider them. 

My employer was paying and insisted I get three quotes and it was easy to find companies that would quote for free. If I remember correctly one of them did it by talking to me on the phone and didn't come to look because they were able to decide that a 20 foot box would do, and that was all that mattered in arriving at the price.


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## surabela (May 13, 2016)

Our things are scheduled to arrive Tuesday. We shipped a 20' container from New Orleans to Barcelona. There was no weight limit. We packed the small boxes ourselves, and they packed the artwork and furniture, and then packed everything into the container. They are going to deliver and unpack as well, and remove the trash. Our cost so far has been about $6000, but we opted to add more insurance. But we were shipping from a port city to a port city. Hope this helps.


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## Montana2Spain (May 20, 2016)

Surabela, Can you tell us which company you went with?


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## surabela (May 13, 2016)

Montana2Spain said:


> Surabela, Can you tell us which company you went with?


RSS. They are in Delaware.


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