Full Container Load.
Your cargo, your container, one seal.
Book a whole container on a fixed sailing, loaded at your supplier and opened at your door. Fewer touches than LCL, a flat rate for the box rather than a rate per cubic metre, and a schedule you can plan production around.
Past roughly half a container, the whole box is usually the cheaper unit.
FCL means you buy the container, not the space inside it. You are quoted a flat rate for a 20', 40' or 40' high cube regardless of how full it is, so the more of it you use the less each cubic metre costs. The break-even against LCL usually arrives somewhere around 13 to 15 cubic metres, though it moves with the lane, the season and the current LCL market. The second reason shippers move to FCL has nothing to do with rate: the box is stuffed at your supplier, sealed there, and that seal stays on until it is opened at your building. It is not deconsolidated at a container freight station with other people’s cargo, which removes the most common causes of damage, loss and delay in ocean freight.
Sealed at origin, opened at your door — nobody else’s freight in the box.
From quote to POD, step by step.
Pick the box and the sailing
We size the load against 20', 40' and 40' high cube, quote the lane door to door, and book the sailing that matches your ready date rather than the cheapest one on paper.
Stuff and seal at origin
The container goes to your supplier for loading, or to an origin warehouse if several vendors are feeding it. The seal number is recorded and travels with the paperwork.
Sail, clear and release
We track the vessel, watch for roll-overs, and get the entry filed with your customs broker ahead of arrival so the box is released rather than sitting on demurrage.
Drayage to your door
Our drayage desk pulls the container from the terminal inside the free time, delivers it, and returns the empty before per diem starts.
What drives the rate?
Transparent inputs, not mystery margins. Here’s exactly what goes into a full container load (fcl) quote.
Get my rateFCL or LCL — what actually changes
| Factor | FCL | LCL |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The whole container, however full it is | Space inside a container shared with other shippers |
| Rate basis | Flat rate per box | Per cubic metre or per 1,000 kg, whichever is greater |
| Handling | Sealed at origin, opened at destination | Stuffed and stripped at a container freight station at both ends |
| Transit | Port to port plus drayage, no CFS time | Add roughly a week for consolidation and deconsolidation |
| Risk | Only your freight in the box | Damage and delay can come from a neighbour’s cargo |
| Best when | Above about 13 to 15 CBM, or cargo that must not be handled | Below that, or when volume is irregular |
Full Container Load (FCL) questions, answered.
What is FCL in shipping?
How much fits in a 20' and a 40' container?
At what volume does FCL become cheaper than LCL?
What are demurrage and detention?
Can I load a container at my own supplier?
Do you handle the customs entry as well?
What happens if my container is rolled?
Can you deliver the container to a site without a dock?
Rates and transit times change by market.
What a lane costs and how long it takes depends on the terminals, ramps and crossings at each end. Pick your market for the local detail.
We run full container load (fcl) out of every market we cover — Mississauga, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, the United States, Mexico, Asia and Europe. Tell us the origin and destination and we will price the lane.
One file. Multiple services. Same team.
A few pallets by sea, paying for your share of the container.
FCL and LCL worldwide, port to port or full door to door with drayage.
Container drayage from every major port and rail ramp, chassis included.
Entries filed by licensed brokers on both sides — classification, duty, CARM.
Door to door from China by ocean or air — FCL, LCL and final-mile delivery.
Have a shipment? Get rates in 10 min.
Tell us the origin, destination and mode. A Qeep specialist replies within 10 minutes with live capacity, lane price, and a transit window you can actually plan around.