International Shipping FAQ

With Roll-on Roll-off method of ocean transport the shipping price is based 100% on the size of the cargo: truck, boat, motor home, machine, etc. It's not based per unit or the just the length or the heigh of the cargo - the total size must be calculated. You're pretty much paying per each cubic foot or cubic meter of your shipment. So the bigger your shipment is in total size - the more it's going to cost you to ship it via roll-on roll-off service.

Let me give you an example. It will envolve some simple math.
Let's say you're shipping a boat on a trailer from Baltimore, MD to Italy and you estimated the total dimensions to be 30'L x 8.5'W x 10'H. You call a few international boat shippers and receive the best rate of $5,100.

Now, when you finalized the deal with the seller and he made the boat ready for shipping he told you that the actual dimensions are 28'L x 8.5'W x 12'H. So you figure: it's actually 2 feet shorter but 2 feet higher so, you'll probably pay about the same amount of money. But when the final shipping bill arrives you're surprised to see that it's now over $5700! How is it possible?! Is shipping company trying to rip you off?

Well, let's see what math has to say about it. The original size of the boat was 2,550 cubic feet (it's calculated by myltiplying L x W x H - 30 x 8.5 x 10 = 2550). And your price was $5100 which is $2 per cubic foot (5100 / 2550 = 2). The acutal size of the boat was 2,856 cubic feet (28 x 8.5 x 12 = 2856). NOW REMEMBER - THE PRICE IS BASED ON THE TOTAL SIZE OF THE CARGO. By applying $2 per cubic foot your total charge is now $5712 (2856 x 2 = 5712). So the shipping company didn't change their rates - you're still paying the same $2 per cubic foot. You're paying more because the total size of the boat is bigger than you estimated.

Please, remember to always calculate the total size of your shipment for roll-on roll-off service. And also make sure to compare the price PER CUBIC FOOT (or cubic meter) and not just the total price.