Export changes the packing and the paperwork, not the material. Both are handled as part of the order rather than left to the buyer to arrange.
Overview
A domestic order ends when the truck arrives. An export order ends when the documents clear customs at the other end, which is a different job.
The material specification does not change because a consignment is crossing an ocean. What changes is that the packing has to survive weeks of humidity and handling, the packing list has to match the container contents item by item, and the documents have to be correct before the vessel sails rather than after.
We agree the delivery terms, the port of loading and the document set before despatch. Which terms we work on and which ports we load from are listed further down this page, and kept current there.
Process
Eight steps. The documents are prepared alongside the material, not after it, which is what keeps a container off the quay.
Specification, quantity, delivery term, port of loading, port of destination and the required document set are all agreed in writing before production or picking starts.
Cut, threaded, bevelled or machined to the ordered dimensions, with heat numbers carried through every operation so traceability survives to the certificate.
Dimensional inspection recorded, test certificates matched to heat numbers. Third-party inspection arranged at this stage where the order calls for it, because after packing it is too late.
End caps, strapping, corrosion protection and cases or bundles chosen for a sea crossing rather than a city delivery. Marked so each package can be identified against the packing list.
Loaded and secured so nothing shifts in transit. The packing list is built from what physically goes in, package by package.
Commercial invoice, packing list, shipping bill and origin documents prepared and filed. Copies sent ahead so nothing is waiting on a courier at the destination.
Container moves to the port of loading, loading is confirmed and the bill of lading is issued. Documents are released against the agreed term.
Tracking details stay with the buyer through transit. Material arrives with its certificates, packing list and inspection record, which is what turns a delivery into an accepted delivery.
Packaging
The failure mode for exported steel is not breakage, it is corrosion. A container crossing the Arabian Sea in monsoon season is a humidity chamber.
Delivery terms
Incoterms decide where our responsibility ends and yours begins, who pays freight, who pays insurance and who clears customs. They are the most common source of disagreement on an export order, so they are agreed in writing.
We do not publish freight or insurance rates, and this site does not calculate them. Ocean freight moves with the route, the season, the carrier and the container type, and a number generated by a website would be fiction by the time you read it.
For a CIF or CIP quotation, tell us the destination port and we will price the freight and insurance against a real quotation from the forwarder.
Ports
Naming a port of loading is a commitment, so this list shows only the ports entered and confirmed in our own records.
Documentation
Which documents apply depends on the destination, the delivery term and your bank. These are the ones that come up most often.
Containers
Which container suits a consignment depends on the length, the weight and the packing. Steel reaches a container's weight limit long before it fills the space.
Loading capacity is not published here as a general figure, because it depends entirely on the product, the bundle size and the packing. Send the specification and quantity and we will confirm what fits and what it will weigh.
Export enquiry
Destination and delivery term help most. If you do not know the term yet, leave it blank and we will propose one.
