10 Interesting Facts About International Shipping
In today’s internet-driven society, businesses and individuals are more connected with people around the world than ever before. Because of this, shipping internationally has become something that occurs all the time instead of occasionally. As such, understanding the ins and outs of international shipping is important. Before you pack that next shipment, keep in mind these 10 fascinating facts about international shipping!
- Somewhere in the world, one shipping boat sinks every single day!
- 44% of online shoppers abandon their purchase because shipping costs are too high.
- Shipping internationally can be much more time consuming that shipping within the country—unless services like freight forwarding are used.
- Many countries have individual laws regarding what can and can’t be imported or exported.
- International shipments account for a higher percentage of packages mailed each year.
- Offering international shipping can increase sales in nearly every industry.
- On average, U.S. ports typically inspect 5% of the over 17 million freight containers they receive each year.
- There are around 20 million shipping containers actively transporting around the world today.
- Shipping is more affordable when a freighter or other transport vehicle is filled, that’s why freight forwarding can actually be a money saving proposition.
- International shipping is growing by leaps and bounds—including an estimated 6% for the next three years.
As you can see, the international shipping business is growing by leaps and bounds. It can also be a complicated process—that’s why it makes sense to learn the facts and study the process to find out if you are doing everything possible to make things easy on you and your organization.