The arithmetic everyone starts with
LCL prices per cubic metre; FCL prices per container. A 20’ container holds roughly 28–33 usable cubic metres, a 40’ roughly 58–67, a 40’ high-cube 68–76 — the exact figure depends on your cartons and how they stack. As a rule of thumb, once your cargo approaches half a container or more, a full container usually wins on pure freight cost. Where your volume sits between “a few pallets” and “half a box”, the honest answer is: price both.
What the arithmetic misses: handling
LCL cargo is consolidated with other shipments, moved through a warehouse at both ends, and de-consolidated before delivery. Each touch is an opportunity — small but real — for damage, miscount or delay. FCL cargo is loaded once, sealed, and opened at destination. For fragile goods, mixed SKUs that must arrive sellable, or cargo where a discrepancy claim would be hard to prove, that difference has a value the rate sheet does not show.
Timing cuts both ways
A full container sails on the vessel you book; an LCL box sails when the consolidation does, which can add days to the port-to-port time and depends on the consolidator’s cut-off, not yours. But FCL has its own timing discipline: you must be ready to stuff the container within the free time, or demurrage and detention start quietly running. If your cargo readiness is uncertain, that uncertainty costs less in LCL.
Frequency changes the answer
A monthly flow of 12 cbm is a different business from a one-off 12 cbm. Regular flows can be planned — same supplier, same pallets, predictable cartons — which makes consolidation efficient and LCL stable. Irregular flows argue for the flexibility of booking whatever mode fits that month. Tell your forwarder the pattern, not just the shipment; the right mode may differ per case.
The decision, in one table
| FCL | LCL | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | One price for the box, regardless of fill | Per cubic metre or weight, plus origin/destination handling |
| Handling | Loaded once, sealed, opened at destination | Consolidated and de-consolidated — your cartons meet other people’s |
| Transit | Sails on the vessel you booked | Sails with the consolidation — sometimes a few days more |
| Control | Full: your schedule, your seal, your plan | Shared: the consolidator’s cut-off is your cut-off |
| Typical crossover | Worth it from roughly half a container of volume | Wins below that — and for irregular, smaller flows |
What we do in practice
When a shipment sits near the crossover, we quote both modes, itemised, and show you where each becomes the better deal — including the handling and timing trade-offs that the rate lines hide. The right answer is the one you can defend to whoever audits the invoice three months later.
Not sure which mode fits?
Send the cargo details — we will price both modes and show the crossover.