LCL Shipping UK: Groupage Sea Freight Priced per Cubic Metre

LCL (less than container load) shipping means your goods travel in a shared container with other shippers' cargo, and you pay per cubic metre (CBM) rather than for the whole box. A forwarder consolidates several consignments at a warehouse near the origin port, ships them as one container, and splits them again at a UK container freight station. You don't wait to fill a container, and you don't pay for empty space. LCL is also called groupage or consolidated sea freight.

LCL is charged on whichever is greater: the volume in cubic metres, or the weight at 1,000 kg per CBM. This is called the weight/measure (W/M) rule. A 2 CBM consignment weighing 600 kg is billed as 2 CBM. A 2 CBM consignment weighing 3,000 kg is billed as 3 revenue tonnes.

Freight rates move with fuel surcharges and seasonal demand. Treat these as planning figures, not a quote. Estimate your duty and VAT with our UK import duty calculator.

LCL is cheaper while your shipment is small. As the volume grows, a dedicated 20ft container (about 28 CBM usable) becomes cheaper per cubic metre. For most lanes into the UK, the break-even is around 13–15 CBM once LCL destination charges are counted.

To check your own shipment, compare two totals: your CBM multiplied by the LCL rate, plus LCL destination charges, against the all-in price of a 20ft container. Speed matters too. FCL skips consolidation and devanning, so it usually arrives 3–7 days sooner. If you ship above 15 CBM regularly, see our FCL sea freight service.

Port-to-port sailing times below match our trade route guides. LCL adds 3–7 days for consolidation at origin and devanning at the UK end.

Most LCL into the UK arrives through Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway.

An LCL container carries one master bill of lading, but each shipper inside it has its own house bill of lading. Every consignment needs its own UK import declaration. Your goods cannot leave the container freight station until that entry is accepted and any duty and VAT are accounted for.

Shared containers get held more often than FCL for three reasons:

• One exam holds everyone. If Border Force selects any consignment in the box for examination, devanning can wait until the exam is finished.
• Late entries queue. Consignments without an accepted declaration are set aside at devanning and start to accrue storage.
• House and master details must match. A mismatch between your house bill, the invoice and the entry triggers a query before release.

We pre-lodge your declaration against the house bill before the vessel arrives, from £45 per entry. Your goods clear as soon as the container is unpacked. See how our UK customs broker service works.

• Missed consolidation cut-off: if cargo reaches the origin warehouse late, it waits for the next weekly sailing. We confirm the cut-off with your supplier when we book.
• Wrong dimensions on the booking: the warehouse re-measures every consignment and bills on its own figures. We check the packing list volume before the booking is made.
• Commodity code errors: a wrong code causes a hold or overpaid duty. We classify your goods before the vessel sails, not after it arrives.
• Container freight station storage: free time at UK devanning warehouses is short. We book delivery in advance so your goods leave inside the free period.