Roll on & Roll off (RORO) Shipping Costs

1. Why Not Use Containe
2. When To Use A Container
3. Tips To Lower Your Ro-Ro Shipping Costs
4. Other Costs To Expect

RORO or “Roll on and roll off” refers to the term international shipping companies use when they ship cargo with wheels which can be driven or rolled on and off the ship. This kind of shipping was introduced by Japanese car companies who needed to ship their cars overseas by driving them directly to these specially designed ships called “vehicle carriers”. RO-RO is a good way and efficient way to ship your car from one country to another, especially since RORO shipping costs are quite low.

Why Not Use Containe.

You can use RO-RO or container to ship your car but why do most people recommend RO-RO and not container? Simply put, RO-RO is very easy and is also cheaper than using a container. It works out cheaper because of the following reasons -:

• The cars are just driven into the vessel and then secured down on the decks. Once secured, you can be sure that they are safe from wind, rain and from rolling waves.
• There is no packing required and there is no need to hire or pay for export warehouse for car crating.
• Also when you opt for a container, be prepared to face a lot more paperwork for international shipments. So get in touch with a company who will be able to advise you on what to choose for your car.

When to Use a Container.

While RO-RO shipping is done for all major international ports, it is not available for remote and smaller ports. In such cases, when there is no RO-RO shipping service available for a port, then the only option left is taking a container. Also, use a container when you want to get protected shipping for your car.

Tips to Lower Your RO-RO Shipping Costs.

Even though RORO is the cheapest way to get your car shipped, here are a few tips to lower your RORO shipping costs.

• Condition of the car – when your car is not in a drivable condition, then there will be additional charges to get it hauled or towed inside the ship. So to avoid paying extra, make sure that your car is in a good condition.
• Door-to-door shipping – this is the most expensive kind of shipping and you can cut costs when you drive your car to the terminal and then pick it up from the destination terminal again.
• Insurance – get only the cargo insurance that you actually need and not what the moving company tries to foist upon you. Usually, insurance will cost around 2% of the total value insured and there might also be a base fee which could be an additional $65 to handle the processing charges and to get it mailed or faxed to you. So it does not hurt to look around for companies that sell the same package at competitive rates.
• Protection – when the car that you are getting shipped is not a new or expensive one, you can choose the lower protection deals and not go in for the more expensive protection schemes.
• Choosing the route – shipping companies will charge a whole lot more when they have to change their route for you. Instead just look around for ships that take your route to avoid custom shipping rates.
• RORO tracking - When time is not a constraint, you do not have to choose things that will cost you extra, such as RORO tracking.
• Shipping time - Generally the shipping costs will be higher during summer and lower during winter. So if your car is not going to be affected by the weather, then get it shipped during the cheaper winter months when the business is low.

Other Costs To Expect.

There could be a terminal handling fee which you might be required to pay at the starting point. It could be anywhere around $40 -$190 depending upon the destination port. There might be import duties as well, which the shipping company must find out for you beforehand from the Consulate of the destination country or you can do the same yourself by taking a look at http://www.embassy.org/ . There might also be an extra cost of $175 when you expect your shipping company to clear your title for you but you can also do it on your own to cut costs.