FTL or groupage: how to choose a shipping method
If your cargo does not fill a whole truck, groupage is usually cheaper, because you pay only for your own space. It is slower, though, and it depends on when the truck fills up. A full truckload (FTL) carries one customer's cargo. Groupage, also called LTL or part load, combines cargo from several customers on one truck. Here is how to choose between them.
How FTL and groupage differ
| Full truck | Groupage | |
|---|---|---|
| Transit time from China | 6–21 days | 9–27 days |
| You pay for | the whole truck | your own space |
| Reloading | none | at the consolidation warehouse |
When groupage pays off
Groupage suits cargo that takes up part of a truck when your dispatch date is flexible. You can send as little as one pallet. The price is based on volume or weight, whichever is greater after conversion. As a rule, 1 m³ is counted as 250–300 kg, and the manager gives the exact calculation.
We receive the cargo at a partner's warehouse, in Tashkent or in the country of origin. We do not have a warehouse of our own. There we check the packaging and marking, photograph the cargo and secure it in the truck. We are responsible for it from the moment we receive it until it is unloaded. Fragile or valuable goods are better packed in crates or on pallets, and we can advise how.
You pay for this in time. The truck is usually put together once a week, and on long routes groupage takes 3–6 days longer than a full truck. More on the groupage cargo page.
When a full truck pays off
A full truck arrives at the shipper on the agreed day and drives on without stopping to collect other consignments. It usually starts to pay off from 10 tonnes or 40 m³. A standard truck holds 82–120 m³ and up to 20–22 tonnes. Volume is not the only test, though. Choose a full truck when:
- the cargo is needed by a fixed date;
- the cargo is fragile, valuable or temperature-sensitive, in which case we arrange a reefer;
- the cargo is oversize (we arrange a low-bed trailer) or dangerous (we carry it under ADR rules).
If your cargo is a little under 10 tonnes or 40 m³, ask for both options to be quoted. The prices may turn out close, but the difference in transit time will remain. Within Uzbekistan we usually provide a truck the day after your request, and for international trips within 1–3 days. In the busy season, warn us in advance. More on the full truckload page.
Example: 6 pallets from Yiwu
Take 6 pallets from Yiwu to Tashkent. Say each one matches the example on our groupage page: 1.2 m³ and 200 kg. That makes 7.2 m³ and 1,200 kg in total. At 250–300 kg per 1 m³ the chargeable weight is 1,800–2,160 kg, so the volume counts, not the actual weight. This is less than one fifth of the 40 m³ from which a full truck usually pays off.
Yiwu is about 5,700 km from Tashkent. A full truck takes 12–21 days and groupage takes 15–27 days, a difference of 3–6 days. We count transit time from loading at the shipper to unloading in Tashkent.
If your date is flexible, groupage makes sense: you pay for about 7 m³, not for the whole truck. If you need the cargo by a fixed day and the 27-day upper limit does not work for you, book a full truck, whose upper limit is 21 days. What this costs in money depends on the quote: rates change every day, so there are no prices on the site. The actual weight of the pallets and the next groupage departure are also confirmed per request. For transit times on the route, see the China to Uzbekistan page.
What to ask the carrier
- How often does the truck fill up?
- Where is the consolidation point, and who is responsible for the cargo there?
- Does the quote include customs?
To have both options quoted, send a request: where the cargo goes from and to, what it is, its weight, volume and the date it will be ready. During working hours, 9:00 to 18:00 (Tashkent time), a manager replies within 5 minutes with the price and transit time, and then tells you where the cargo is at every stage.