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A part load is not a smaller container. It is a slice of somebody else's container, and you pay by the cubic metre for the space your things occupy. For anything under about fifteen cubic metres it is the cheapest way to reach Thailand by a clear margin.
The trade is handling and time. On a part load relocation your goods go into a UK consolidation warehouse, which doubles as storage while you wait, wait for the rest of the container to fill, cross with three or four other households, and get separated again at the far end. More handling than a container to yourself, and a wait that nobody can pin to a date.
Cubic metres mean nothing to most people until they see them. This is roughly what each band holds once it is properly packed.
| Volume | Roughly holds | Indicative cost | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 5 cbm | 15 to 30 boxes, a bike, a few small items of furniture | From about £650 | Students, a trial year, sending ahead |
| 6 to 10 cbm | A studio flat, or a bedroom plus a home office | £1,100 to £2,000 | Single person moving permanently |
| 11 to 15 cbm | A one bedroom flat, furnished | £2,000 to £2,800 | A couple with no large furniture |
| 16 to 20 cbm | A small two bedroom | Price both ways | The crossover. A 20ft container may win |
A shared container sails when it is full, not when your things arrive at the warehouse. If yours is the first load in, you wait for the rest. That is typically one to three weeks on the UK to Thailand trade, and it is why part load transit runs eight to twelve weeks while a sole use container runs six to nine.
Nobody can promise you a sailing date on a part load. A firm that does is either holding a container that is already nearly full, which is worth asking about, or telling you what you want to hear.
Two practical consequences. Do not ship anything you will need in the first two months. And if you have a hard deadline, either pay for a container to yourself or accept that the deadline is aspirational.
Collected, received into the warehouse, loaded into the container, unloaded at destination, separated from the other consignments, loaded for delivery. Six touches against four on a sole use container. Every touch is a chance for damage, which is why insurance matters more on a part load, not less.
You are under fifteen cubic metres, your dates are flexible, you are furnishing locally, or you are testing Thailand for a year before committing. The price difference against a container is large at this end of the scale.
You have a fixed arrival date, high value or fragile items, more than seventeen cubic metres, or a house you need functioning on day one. The handling and the wait both work against you.
Insure it properly, use a packing service rather than your own boxes, and write an honest inventory. All three matter more on a shared container than on a container of your own.
Space in a shared container. Your goods travel with three or four other households and you pay for the cubic metres you fill rather than for the container. It is the cheapest way to send a household to Thailand for anything under about fifteen cubic metres.
Ocean freight runs roughly £40 to £80 per cubic metre, so an eight cubic metre load is about £320 to £640 of freight before surcharges, handling and delivery are added. In practice a small shared load starts from about £650 all in, and a furnished one bedroom runs £2,000 to £2,800.
Around fifteen to seventeen cubic metres. A 20ft container holds 33 cubic metres and costs about £4,100. Once your part load is over seventeen cubic metres you are approaching that figure anyway, while still waiting on consolidation and accepting extra handling.
About eight to twelve weeks door to door, against six to nine for a container to yourself. The difference is the consolidation wait: the container sails when it is full, not when your goods reach the warehouse. That wait is typically one to three weeks on this trade.
Not usually, and be wary of one offered too confidently. A shared container leaves when it fills. A firm running its own consolidation can tell you how full the container already is, which is the useful question to ask instead.
It is handled six times against four on a sole use container, so yes, the exposure is higher. That is an argument for a professional packing service and proper marine insurance rather than an argument against part loads. Most part loads arrive without incident.
Every item carries your consignment reference and the inventory is itemised specifically so separation works at the far end. That itemisation is why an honest, detailed inventory matters more here than on a container of your own.
Usually yes, if you say early. The price is volume based, so more cubic metres means more money, but there is no penalty for adjusting before the container closes. Adding on collection day is where it gets expensive.
Every firm in the network holds FIDI FAIM certification. Ernst and Young audit them against more than two hundred criteria on a three year cycle: financial standing, insurance, customs competence, staff training and how claims get handled. On a route with a sea leg and a clearance in the middle, that audit is what separates a problem being solved from a problem being argued about.
We have run this service since November 2010 and have handled over 850,000 enquiries in that time. We are a Working Member of the AGM Group network, agm.group. We are not a removal company and we do not own a lorry: your details go to one vetted firm and they survey and quote directly.
Send the UK collection postcode, the Thai address, roughly what is coming and your rough date. One vetted moving company converts it to cubic metres and prices it.
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Written by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies. Darren has run this service since November 2010 and has overseen more than 850,000 moving enquiries.
Rates on this page were checked in DATE against Swift Cargo Solutions, Shipit and MoveHub, and are re-checked every year. Rules and prices change, so confirm your own position before you ship. Questions: 07551 855 064 or WhatsApp. Read our Google reviews.
A free enquiry service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, and a Working Member of the AGM Group network, agm.group. We are not a removal company.
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