What is the difference between FCL and LCL for a household move?

FCL gives you a private container, LCL shares space to cut the cost.

FCL means a full container loaded with only your goods. LCL means you share container space with other people's shipments. FCL is faster and private. LCL costs less but takes longer and gets handled more. Both travel on the same ships.

With FCL, we load and seal the container at your door. It ships on the next available vessel. Nobody opens it until customs or delivery. Your goods travel alone from your old home to your new one.

With LCL, your shipment first waits at a warehouse. It sits there until the shared container fills with other loads. Then it gets handled again at the destination, where the container is sorted. Timing is also less exact, since sailing waits on consolidation. More waiting and more handling is the price of the cheaper rate.

Which one fits you? A full household usually earns its own container. A small load, like a one bedroom flat, often ships smarter as LCL. Strong packing matters more when you share, since more hands touch your goods.

We price both options on your free estimate, so you can compare real numbers. Tell us your home size and destination, and we will lay out both. Learn more on our container shipping and ocean freight pages.

Related services

• Container Shipping
• Ocean Freight
• Overseas Moving