Insights on shipping rates to Guam

When shipping to Guam, finding the lowest shipping rates and prices to Guam do not always add up to savings. Other facets that should be considered in rate savings include:

• How long your shipment will take to arrive to Guam
• How quickly the shipment will clear Customs
• How soon the shipment will deliver on Guam

Though you might not suffer direct out-of-pocket costs when figuring out shipping rates to Guam, consider how much money may be lost by not having the shipment in your customer’s hands in the shortest amount of time possible. If it’s not in your warehouse, you can’t deliver it. If it’s not on the shelf they cannot sell it.

The possible loss of time can cause delays on a job with workers standing by idle or machinery down waiting for parts and not making money. Or worse, your customer elects to buy from another vendor because the product is taking too long to get there.

Another consideration is cash flow. The sooner the customer receives the product, the sooner you will be paid, reducing the time between when you are paid for the product and when you received you’re reimbursed.

By using our sister company to ship to and from Guam, DGX – Dependable Global Express, you get the latest shipping cut offs for weekly sailings to Guam, with expedited Customs clearance and delivery of shipments within 48 hours of container availability at the port.

When thinking of shipping to Guam, contact us for an affordable rate quote!

What is included in the cost to ship to Hawaii?

Do shipping costs into Hawaii seem high? Ever wonder why?

Moving freight from the mainland into the Hawaiian Islands is a detailed and complex venture and unlike moving ground freight within the continental United States. It doesn't have to be difficult if you understand the cost to ship into Hawaii and use a trusted, experienced and quality freight forwarder like DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express.

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express has been moving freight into the Hawaiian Islands since 1980, and does handle both LCL (Less than Container Load) and FCL (Full Container Load) ocean and air freight. The cost to ship into Hawaii is driven by several key factors. One would be the distance as well as the majority of freight moves via ocean vessel or the more expensive option of air. Currently, there are only two ocean carriers that move freight from the mainland into Hawaii. Think supply and demand.

Consider the steps and labor cost of picking up freight, handling and reloading into ocean containers, trucking to port, handling at the port to reload onto ocean vessels, then departing with a minimum of four to five days over water in transit to Hawaii, off-loading of containers onto chassis at the port, trucking back to a terminal for unloading of freight. Then reloaded on to box trucks or flatbeds for delivery. Your shipment finally ends up at your customer’s door which may or may not have a dock, forklift or even a pallet jack so additional labor could be required at time of delivery. Sound expensive?

Let's review a few more items that drive the cost of shipping into Hawaii. The amount of fuel required to move these large vessels and cost of fuel. There’s limited land space in Hawaii along with the cost of warehouse buildings and labor in Hawaii. Intra-island movement of freight and all the logistical support of making sure your freight arrives on time. Then, last, but not least, there's the Jones Act which ensures American built and crewed vessels call on Hawaii.

Additional points to consider when evaluating the cost of shipping into Hawaii are the key parts that make up pricing. The Hawaii tariff is expansive and detailed with many items to consider that could impact the cost of the type of commodities you want to ship and the pricing. Where is the freight originating from? Is it picked up locally near the ports or does it originate back east therefore incurring additional cost? What is the cube, weight, and density of your freight along with exact and specific commodities? Yes, it makes a difference in your pricing.

The more data and information shared during pricing discussions with your carrier will vastly improve your ability to obtain better rates so be open to communicating when you're asked numerous questions concerning freight characteristics. You may want and receive options and help in reducing your costs on shipping.

Other items to consider that drive up the cost of shipping to Hawaii are hazardous materials, over length freight, out of gauge, and any special pickup, handling, or delivery requirements.

There are many factors and things to consider when working on the cost to ship to Hawaii so make sure you work with an asset based, well qualified ocean and air provider like DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express when making your transportation decisions.

We specialize in Hawaii and make shipping easy and cost efficient! Contact us today for a free rate quote.

Shipping to Guam?

DHX – Dependable Hawaiian Express’ affiliate, DGX - Dependable Global Express, is your best option for shipping to Guam. We use the most experienced and knowledgeable personnel and partners in the shipping industry to ensure your transportation is easy and less stressful from start to finish.

Our services to help run your business more efficiently and save you money include:

• air freight
• ocean shipping
• local trucking moves on Guam
• short-term or long-term storage (with our affiliate DDC)

Some of the benefits that differentiate us from our competitors:

• DGX is the only forwarder that offers the latest West Coast port cut-offs to ship to Guam
• We are committed to a 48-hour delivery to your door, starting when your shipment is available in the port
• You have a wide range of electronic notification choices such as an arrival notice two weeks before your freight arrives in Guam
• Conveniently, we also offer website tracking and tracing

Always looking after your best interest, we work to find the most cost-effective way to move your freight from point A to point B. So next time you think about shipping to Guam, contact us for assistance with quotes, shipment routing, local trucking, etc.

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express and DGX - Dependable Global Express.
We are Dependable. From start to finish!

Shipping from Hawaii to mainland

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express, located in Honolulu on Oahu has been shipping eastbound from Hawaii to the US mainland for over 20 years. We have gained the expertise necessary to ensure our customers are happy with the type of eastbound service offerings as well as the quality of our services offered.

Our eastbound shipments represent a microcosm of the Hawaiian Islands: our ocean containers are loaded with “Made in Hawaii” products such as beer, barbecue sauces, coffee, clothes, water, etc. Shipping these products to the USA mainland allows the Hawaiian islands to spread Aloha throughout the Continental United States. Additionally, we also relocate the property of those moving to the mainland as well as the returning of retail merchandise being rejected or/and returned to the seller or a third party.

We offer twice weekly service from the outer Hawaiian islands to Oahu, where the goods/merchandise are transshipped to Oahu and then combined with those items starting the journey in Oahu to the mainland. The containers in Oahu are loaded weekly to come back to the continental United States. Our weekly service for Long Beach and Oakland (and if necessary Seattle) sails to the Port of Long Beach. Our Seattle barge service sails every other week. Freight shipped into Los Angeles and Seattle gets trucked to its ultimate consignee or picked up at our Rancho Dominguez facility, near Long Beach, by the consignee or their agent. The carrier used is dependent on the type of facility and equipment available to handle the goods that the consignee requires.

Because the goods are starting their trip within a state of the USA, there are no customs requirements for these goods to enter the continent.

We realize some customers are not in a rush for goods so we offer a slower, less expensive barge service to the Pacific Northwest. We also use this service to receive freight destined to Alaska as most customers’ shipping to Alaska are not in a rush, and generally choose this routing to Seattle ultimately for Alaska.

However, when a customer is really in a rush to get goods to the mainland, we offer to expedite a portion of their order via DGX Air and load the remaining part of the shipment into one of our weekly ocean containers.

We have dedicated eastbound coordinators on Oahu, Maui and in Kona whose customer service is second to none. DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express is constantly finding solutions for both first-time shippers and our consistent, long-term customers.

We take pride in what we do, and we try to do it better than anyone else!

Dependable. From start to finish.

What is the cost to ship to Guam?

Shipping ocean freight to or from Guam can be a complex situation for a variety of reasons. Only one carrier services Guam directly with a USA stop-off from the USA mainland – Matson Navigation Company (Matson). Matson’s transit time from Long Beach (SoCA), which includes a stop off in Hawaii, is 12 days from Long Beach to Guam, four days longer from Oakland and five days longer from Seattle.

American President Lines (APL) also ships containers to Guam but their transit time is not less than 23 days from Los Angeles, and perhaps longer depending on the vessel the Guam container gets loaded on and the foreign port where unloaded before being loaded onto a feeder vessel into Guam. APL does not offer any alternative transit times for container shipping to Guam from Oakland or Seattle, but modern day trucking services will allow them to service those areas, although less timely than the Matson direct service.

APL and Matson both have fully developed and integrated rail services to complement those container loads shipping to Guam from origins other than the West Coast. They are both well-respected carriers, and have a lot to offer shippers or consignees. Ask yourself how important the transit time is for the container load move to Guam and can you afford a delay in your goods arriving? If these conditions are ok, then a less expensive container load rate to ship to Guam available via APL transshipment is probably your best value. But if you need speedier transit time due to shipment arrival expectations or container content damage, are worried about humidity while on the vessel, need additional handling of the container during the transshipment process, price/value is not the sole focal point, and/or a delay might hurt business profits, then Matson is a better alternative.

A shipper to Guam also needs to be aware that Guam has its own Customs offices, officers, and laws, in addition to USA Customs offices, officers, regulations and laws. Guam Customs is responsible for, among other things, ensuring the goods arriving from the USA have submitted a commercial invoice, and consignees pay a Guam Use Tax or Gross Receipts Tax, as appropriate. The tax is 4% of the cost of the goods shipped into Guam if the merchandise is not held for resale and is used in the business. If you are working with a freight forwarder such as DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express, the law requires the forwarder to collect taxes on taxable goods and remit it to Guam authorities. The rule of thumb is that if it’s sold as part of your normal business, no use tax is due; but if the goods are supplies and overhead items to be used in your business rather than sold, then a 4% Use Tax applies.

Another complex issue when using APL is that due to the vessel arriving at a foreign port prior to transshipping to Guam, an Automated Manifest System (AMS) has to be filed, meaning the shipper must provide the Harmonized Code tariff number for what they are shipping. DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express can help you with that should you decide you’d like to move your containers to Guam through us.

There are also eastbound services available from Guam to the USA mainland or Hawaii, and additional information we can provide for shipping from non-USA origins into Guam. DHX also offers container load and less than container load services from the Hawaiian Islands to Guam. We look forward to responding to your requests for further information: call us at (888) 488-4888, Ext. 2017 (U.S. only)!

Shipping containers to and from Hawaii

There are a variety of items to consider when determining how to ship a container to Hawaii. The first couple of items are the transit time and deadlines you may have to meet.

From our experience on timing and deadlines, no one is faster than Matson Navigation Company, a primary mode of ocean transportation for DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express. Matson’s transit times are shorter than the other ocean carrier by a day from Long Beach, and out of Oakland and Seattle. The other carrier, Pasha Hawaii, does not compete time-wise. Barge services offering Hawaiian Island connections also do not compete time-wise to or from Hawaii. So, if you are under a deadline or transit time is important, your first option will be Matson.

Another important factor is the origin of your container being shipped to Hawaii. From most origins within the US other than the West Coast, the rail transit times and rail service between the two are very similar. Pasha’s overall rail/inland may be a little less expensive, usually within $100 of Matson’s. Most intermodal or rail moves get shipped into Los Angeles for the subsequent sailing to Hawaii.

You’ll also want to look into the pricing of your container shipment to Hawaii. Depending on whether your shipment to Hawaii is recurring in nature or not, and depending if you are a business or an individual, your pricing will normally be at published tariff rates. If you are not a business and if your shipment of containers to Hawaii is not recurring in frequency, the ocean carriers have tariff rates allowing them to charge everyone uniformly.

Matson tariffs have evolved over a 100+ years, and they are based on a combination of the service offerings Matson has, the value of the goods in the container, the likelihood that what's in the container can be damaged, the weight of the container’s contents, etc. The competitor to Matson is Pasha and they normally have a tariff that is quite similar to Matson’s tariff, so the pricing is similar except if one of the carriers can be negotiated with to price their shipments differently.

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express has people who are experts in the carriers’ tariffs and have the knowledge to help you ensure your shipment arrives on time, intact, and competitively priced.

We represent a very healthy option for a business interested in reducing their rate basis as well as for those looking for answers to questions with respect to shipping containers to Hawaii.

Congratulations DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express, Oahu!

In June 2017, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of opening our own trucking terminal and delivery operation in Honolulu on Oahu.

A huge gamble and large investment at the time, DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express opened in Honolulu, Oahu. Like all other freight forwarders then, we were using trucking agents to deliver freight across the island. Because we used third-party agents, the quality of the service was not reliable and the scope of services we could offer was limited such as short or long term storage and warehousing, assembly and distribution, or local trucking. We were a freight forwarder to Hawaii, like many others, but opening on Oahu made us distinct among the forwarding community.

Although we had started a trucking operation in Guam in 1989, the Honolulu operation helped us define future strategies in the islands. Once we had quality under control with freight handling being done through a single group of companies with the same management, we evolved into an outstanding service from the beginning of the shipment move to the end.

We started using credos like “on time, intact, every time” because we controlled all aspects of the move. Excuses like, "we'll have to check with our agent to see if they can do that and if there will be additional charges," went away because we were the agent and could easily make these business decisions. For customers, that meant less waiting, more seamless operations and a better quality shipping service to Honolulu. Because Oahu worked out so well, over time we expanded our delivery operations to include the destination ports Kawaihae on the Big Island and Kahului in Maui.

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express Honolulu has earned a big 25th anniversary congratulations! We wish to thank the management and staff for contributing to making us the biggest and best among all our competition there.

Thank you, DHX – Dependable Hawaiian Express, Oahu and Happy Anniversary! You help make us DEPENDABLE. From Start to Finish!

What is the cost to ship to Guam?

Shipping costs to Guam vary, depending on your needs. If you’re interested in ocean transport, here are the areas to consider:

• Do you have a Less-than-Container Load  (LCL) shipment?
• Do you have a Full-Container Load (FCL)? Different rates apply for LCL vs. FCL.
• What is your point of origin?
• What is your ultimate destination?
• Do you want to use a reliable carrier with newer vessels who sails directly into Guam from the West Coast via Hawaii – or – a carrier with a barge service who sails into an Asian port and then barges the goods out of Asia to Guam (adding a week to the transit)?
• Are you using a motorized carriage vs. a barge service (much slower)?

All these variables will make a difference in the cost of shipping to Guam.

Air freight pricing differences can vary too. Again, consider the origin and destination as well as the expected time frame of the service.

So the answer is, shipping to Guam costs depending on the variable factors involved.

To simplify your quest for a rate, we offer online quotes via our Online Rate Quoter, also you can email us, or you can call and ask for the Rate Department at 888.488.4888. Our friendly folks can quickly and more precisely help you determine the cost of shipping to Guam!

Life in Guam

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express started shipping to Guam from the continental USA in 1981, when Founder, Ron Massman, bought a company that shipped to Guam for a grocery distributor. When current president Brad Dechter joined DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express in 1982, the Guam trade lane became the first trade lane for which he was responsible.

Since DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express was shipping from California to Guam at that time, Guam helped with the future direction of the company: helping to refine their mainland trucking network to cover more inland points. Also, it helped them to replace their delivery agent on the Island and realize they needed to begin shipping from Guam to California.

Lessons learned in the microcosm of the Guam trade were eventually used across all services. As DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express listened to the needs of their Guam customers, they changed their name to help the local customers feel their specific needs were being addressed. In 1989, the company opened their trucking operation on Guam, which was so successful it became the impetus behind opening future trucking operations in Hawaii. DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express also opened shipping from Guam to California and the rest of the USA, an eastbound service similar to their operation in Hawaii. Eventually Mr. Dechter became president of the Forwarding Group of the Dependable Companies and was thankful for his Guam experience that helped to launch his subsequent career.

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express wants to thank their many friends in Guam that helped them develop their business on the island and meet the many, diverse needs of the local businesses there.

“Thank you to the people of Guam for the opportunity to handle your shipping to Guam (and Saipan) as well as being good people and helping us in our quest to be the best at shipping to Guam!” -- Brad Dechter, President, DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express.

DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express - ocean freight history

Whether we load them ourselves or our customers load them, DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express specializes in container shipping to Hawaii (and Guam). We’ve built an excellent reputation within the communities we serve by opening operations in the major port cities to better serve our customers. We’ve become members of the community, living and working alongside those we do business with.

Shipping containers to Hawaii isn’t all we do; we also provide local services like public warehousing and local trucking in order to be a One-Stop Shop for our customers’ transportation needs. DHX - Dependable Hawaiian Express opened facilities in Los Angeles in 1980, Oakland in 1981, Seattle in 1987, Guam in 1989, Honolulu, Oahu in 1992, Kahului, Maui in 1996 and the Kona side of the Big Island in 2006.

Striving to do a great job as experts in shipping containers to Hawaii, we use the Matson Navigation company as our exclusive carrier for our container shipping to Hawaii and Guam. Why Matson? When it does not make sense economically, we search for and partner with those who we consider among the best to represent us.With newer, more reliable vessels than their competition, and being in the Hawaii trade for over 100 years, we can’t see using others to do what Matson does so well and with such a commitment to the islands.

Being the best and being committed to our communities is part of who we are. Please visit our Ocean Freight services page to see all of our capabilities.