What is groupage freight and is it suitable for your move?

Published on 18 July 2022

When you move abroad, you naturally want your household effects and personal items to be moved to your new home. There are several methods of moving your household goods, one of which is groupage. We explain what groupage freight entails and whether it is suitable for you.

What is groupage freight?

Groupage means that several small shipments are combined into one large shipment. This option is chosen when several shipments go to the same location and separately from each other, for example, only take up a small part of a container. By combining the shipments, the space is used more efficiently.

Why choose groupage freight?

A sea container has a large size and not everyone has enough furniture or equipment to completely fill the container. It is a shame if there is space left over, which you do pay for. In that case, it is better to opt for groupage freight, because you can then share the space of the sea container. And that has the positive consequence that you can also share the costs.

However, there is also a disadvantage to groupage. Because you share the space with others, you will have to wait until the container is completely filled. As a result, it can take longer before your goods are put on transport and you will therefore have to wait longer.

For example, take the transport of your household goods to the east coast of America. If you opt for regular sea freight, your household goods can be on its way for 4 to 6 weeks. If you opt for groupage, it can take 10 to 12 weeks. However, if you don’t have any problems with your belongings being on transport for longer, you can save a lot of money by choosing for groupage freight.

Our partner Transpack specializes in groupage freight

Do you think the possibilities of groupage sound attractive and would you like to read more about this? Then you can contact our partner Transpack. They specialize in shipping household effects to many foreign destinations, such as America, Curacao, Canada, New Zealand and many more.