International Freight Shipping

Oversize, Overweight and Right up our Alley The ICAT Logistics DTW team recently put a particularly large package onto a truck traveling from Detroit to Norfolk, Virginia where it was loaded by crane onto a flat rack and then onto a ship to begin the 10,300 nautical mile trip through the Panama Canal and ultimately to Shanghai, China.  Our team called it “The Beast to the East.” How big was it? The package was 30 feet long, 8.5 feet wide and 10 feet high.  It weighed 42 tons.  Certainly large, but not in a class of its own from ICAT’s…

Lacking Papers, Overseas Freight was Dead in the Water A Pennsylvania electronics equipment manufacturer recently learned an expensive lesson about international shipping when it sent a $39,000 X-ray machine to a customer in China. The shipment made it to China, all right, but the freight carrier failed to follow some of the basic extra steps necessary to ensure that the machinery would actually reach its final destination.  The Chinese government flagged the shipment and confiscated it. The shipper frantically tried calling us to fix the problem but…

Meeting the Greatest Challenges with Confidence and Professionalism The ICAT Logistics DTW team never ducks a challenge, and this one, from a loyal Detroit-based customer, was a doozy: Organize and secure the safe delivery of 295 test units — totaling 47,000 individual pieces from nine countries and 29 suppliers. Some parts in India and Brazil wouldn’t be ready until two days before our deadline and normal lead time is 10 days. Many parts required custom crating or special packaging. Some needed to be sealed from the elements so they wouldn’t rust. And customs…