As with the standard deliveries, full container load deliveries are “kerbside” This means the container will arrive on the back of the truck and you’ll have 3 hours (from the time of arrival) to unload it. The driver isn’t insured to help you unload so you’ll almost certainly need a few extra pairs of hands to help.
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Unloading a Container
Tail lift deliveries are not available for full containers and you won’t be able to use a forklift unless you have a loading bay at your delivery location. Exactly how you unload will depend on how your goods are loaded and what lifting equipment (including of the manual kind!) that you have.
We’d suggest asking your supplier how they have loaded your container if you’re in doubt.
If you specifically ask your supplier to do so, they may be able to palletise them for you (shown above, on the left). If you’re not buying crated products, your cartons will probably be loaded into the container, as shown above (on the right), in loose cartons.
As suppliers can load a lot more into a container when pallets aren’t used this is the most common method of loading. As a result, this means that you’ll almost certainly have to unpack the container by hand.
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Container Delivery Considerations
THE CONTAINER WILL NOT BE LOWERED TO THE GROUND – You will have to unload your products from the container whilst it’s in the back of the truck.
BREAK THE CONTAINER SEAL – Your supplier will close the container and add a plastic seal. This allows you to know whether anyone (customs etc.) has opened the container during the transit. If customs remove your supplier’s seal they will add one of their own to reseal the container so you’ll have to remove this. To remove the container seal you’ll probably need some kind of cutting equipment (e.g. bolt cutters, hack saw etc.).
DON’T BE LATE – Shipping lines allocate you three hours to unload your goods from the container. They typically charge around £80 extra for every hour (or part of) that you take once you go over the three hours.
Here’s our visual guide on how your full container delivery will take place:
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Contact Us
If you’d like to get a quote to ship your goods whether that be a full container or a less than container load, feel free to get in touch with us.
We’re happy to answer any questions and our approachable team will hold your hand throughout the process.