International Shipping & Customs

International shipping is where small paperwork mistakes turn into large bills. The equipment itself is the same stainless steel you would move across the country, but the crate, the documents, and the customs process all have requirements that can stop a shipment cold at the port if they are not handled correctly from the start.

Wood packaging has to meet ISPM-15

Any wood packaging used for international freight has to meet ISPM-15, which means heat-treated lumber carrying the official stamp. A crate or skid built from untreated wood can be refused at the destination port, which strands the shipment and adds cost while it sits. This is not a detail to improvise on move day. The crating has to be built to the standard from the beginning, because there is no fixing it once the box is on the water.

Paperwork and HS codes

Every international shipment needs a commercial invoice and a packing list, and the goods have to be classified with correct HS codes. Classification matters more than it looks: a misclassified oven can trigger a customs hold and a demurrage bill while the container sits at the port waiting for the paperwork to be sorted out. Getting the documents complete and the codes right before the shipment leaves is far cheaper than untangling a hold after the fact.

Line up the broker before the box lands

The consignee needs a customs broker arranged before the container lands, not after it arrives. A broker brought in late means the shipment sits while clearance is sorted, and demurrage accrues the entire time. Having the broker in place ahead of arrival is what keeps a container moving through the port instead of parking there, and it is one of the most common places an otherwise smooth shipment goes sideways.

LCL or FCL

Ocean freight splits into two options. With LCL, or less-than-container-load, your equipment shares a consolidated container with other shippers goods. With FCL, or full-container-load, it has the container to itself. The right call depends on volume rather than weight, since a container fills up by space long before it maxes out on weight with most kitchen equipment. We help size the shipment to the option that actually fits it instead of paying for space you do not use or cramming a load that needs its own box.

Clean equipment clears cleaner

Used kitchen equipment is sometimes inspected for cleanliness on arrival, so it goes out clean and degreased. Grease, food residue, and grime can hold up an inspection, and a unit that arrives visibly dirty invites exactly the kind of scrutiny that slows a shipment down. Cleaning the equipment before it is crated is a simple step that keeps the arrival smooth.

Drayage on both ends

Port drayage, the short-haul trucking between the port and the origin or final destination, is a separate leg on both ends of an ocean move, and it is a common place for schedules to slip. The container does not go straight from the kitchen to the ship or from the ship to the new address; it has to be trucked to and from the port, and coordinating those legs is part of keeping the whole timeline intact.

International moves reward getting the setup right early: treated crating, complete documents, a broker in place, clean equipment, and drayage booked on both ends. Handle those before the container ships and the border becomes a formality instead of a delay.