The Whole Box
Full Container Load Shipping from Dubai
In an FCL shipment the container is yours from the moment it is sealed. Nothing else goes in it, so there is no waiting to be grouped with other cargo before it sails and no deconsolidation queue on arrival. That usually makes it faster than the alternative by days rather than hours, and it means the seal on the door is the same one the consignee breaks. Part of our sea freight services.
When FCL Is Right
Take a Whole Container When
FCL costs more per shipment than sharing and less per unit once the volume is there.
- The cargo fills roughly half a container or more
- The delivery date is fixed
- You want the box sealed end to end
- The goods should not be handled at a consolidation point
- You are shipping the same lane regularly
- The cargo is valuable or sensitive to handling
Shipping a Full Container?
Tell us the ports, the cargo and the timing
Get an FCL Quote Call +971 4 239 7107The Half-Container Rule
The crossover between LCL and FCL comes earlier than most shippers expect, and it is not only about the freight rate.
Roughly half a box
Once cargo occupies about half a container, an FCL rate is often close to the LCL cost for the same volume - and you get the rest of the space for nothing.
Time has a price
LCL waits to be consolidated before sailing and deconsolidated afterwards. Those steps add days that no amount of freight rate saves you.
Handling has a price too
Shared cargo is loaded and unloaded alongside other people's. Fewer handlings means fewer claims - see LCL for the comparison.
Container size matters
A 20ft box takes weight; a 40ft takes volume. Dense cargo often fits a 20ft long before it fills a 40ft, which changes the arithmetic.
Around the Container
What We Handle Either Side
The sailing is fixed. Everything before and after it is where a shipment is won or lost.
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Loading and stuffing
Containers stuffed at our own facilities, or at yours, with cargo secured against movement at sea.
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Customs before the vessel
Entries filed in advance by our own brokerage team so the box is not waiting on paperwork.
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Collection and delivery
Road legs at the UAE end on our own trucks, including onward movement into the GCC.
Why Cannata
Booking Space Is Not the Service
A forwarder who only books the vessel hands you back the two hardest parts of the job. Run from our facility inside Jebel Ali Free Zone, alongside the port.
Stuffed by us
Containers loaded and secured at our own facilities rather than by whoever the supplier used.
Cleared by us
Our own customs team files the entry, which is what allows it to be done before arrival.
Trucked by us
The road legs are ours, so a released container moves the same day rather than waiting on a haulier.
Rate Request
Get a price for this shipment
Give us the route and the cargo and we will come back with a rate, usually within one working day.
Our FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What shippers ask about full container loads.
