Your container lands on a Tuesday and the house completes a fortnight on Friday. That gap is normal, it is manageable, and it costs several times more if nobody planned for it.
We connect your enquiry with a vetted international moving company from our network that can build storage into the quote rather than bolting it on afterwards.
There are two different clocks. Charges at the port for a container not cleared or collected promptly work on one basis, and storage at a warehouse works on another. The first is the expensive one.
Clear customs promptly even if you cannot take delivery. A cleared shipment can move into ordinary storage. An uncleared one stays where it is, at rates set by somebody whose business is not storage.
goods that cannot be delivered go into storage, and where that happens matters enormously. Arranged in advance at a warehouse it is reasonable, and left sitting at the port it is not.
A container sitting at a terminal is occupying space a port needs for containers. Charges for that reflect the port's priorities rather than the cost of keeping your belongings safe, and they rise quickly.
Warehouse storage is a different service with a different economics. Your goods are unloaded, held and released when you are ready, priced by volume and time in the way storage normally is.
The route between the two is customs clearance. Until the shipment is cleared it cannot move, which is why a paperwork delay and a housing delay compound each other rather than simply adding up.
| What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Tell the mover the housing dates honestly | A quote built around a gap that exists is cheaper than an emergency arrangement made when the ship has already docked. |
| Clear customs even if you cannot take delivery | Clearance and delivery are separate steps, and clearing promptly moves your goods out of the expensive queue. |
| Ask what a delivery reschedule costs | Dates slip. Knowing the cost of moving a delivery date is better than discovering it. |
The goods go into storage. Arranged in advance at a warehouse that is a reasonable cost, and left at the port it is considerably more expensive.
Because a terminal charges for occupying space it needs for other containers, rather than for the service of keeping your belongings safe.
No. Clear promptly regardless, because a cleared shipment can move into ordinary storage while an uncleared one cannot move at all.
Usually by volume and by week or month, in the same way as storage anywhere. Ask how volume is measured.
Not always. Transit cover and storage cover are different, so ask whether the policy follows the goods into the warehouse.
It varies, and it is worth knowing before you need it. A few days is common but busy periods stretch it.
Storage is extended, usually at the same rate. Tell the moving company early rather than on the day.
Sometimes, with notice. If you know you will need specific items, say so before the shipment is packed so they are accessible.
You do, by instructing the moving company. Give them as much notice as they ask for, because delivery slots book up.
Send your collection address, your US destination, the move date and your likely housing date. A moving company from our network builds any storage gap into the quote.
Send your move detailsA Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.
We are an enquiry service and not a storage provider. Port charges are set by terminals and carriers, and storage terms by the moving company.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.