Inventory glossary

What is LCL shipment?

LCL shipment stands for less than container load, meaning a sea freight shipment that does not fill a full shipping container and is combined with other shippers' goods in the same container.

For a small Shopify store, LCL is usually the only realistic option because you rarely order enough stock to fill a whole container. It costs more per unit than a full container load but lets you order smaller quantities more often, so you do not have to tie up cash in a huge batch of inventory.

The tradeoff is time. LCL shipments take longer at origin and destination because the container has to be loaded and unloaded with other people's cargo, and it has to clear customs with multiple shippers' paperwork. When you plan reorder dates, add extra days to the usual transit time to account for this.

Example

A candle store in Texas orders 40 boxes of jars from a supplier in China. That is not enough to fill a container, so the freight forwarder books it as LCL. Ocean transit takes 25 days, but with consolidation at origin and deconsolidation at the port, the shipment takes 35 days door to door instead of the 28 days a full container would take.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming LCL transit time equals the ocean sailing time and ignoring consolidation and deconsolidation delays.
  • Not budgeting for the higher per unit freight cost compared to a full container load.
  • Forgetting that LCL cargo can get held up if another shipper's goods in the same container have customs issues.

LCL shipment and SteadyShelf

SteadyShelf lets you set a longer lead time for suppliers who ship LCL, so order-by dates already account for the extra transit time.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related terms

Lead time · Transit time · Freight forwarder · FCL shipment · Ocean freight

Full inventory glossary

FAQ

Is LCL cheaper than FCL for a small store?

Per container it is cheaper, but per unit it usually costs more than a full container load. It makes sense when your order size does not justify a whole container.

Does LCL always take longer than FCL?

Usually yes, because the container has to be shared, loaded, and unloaded with other shippers' goods, which adds handling time on both ends.

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