LCL — Less than Container Load — describes an ocean shipment that doesn't fill a container on its own. An NVOCC or consolidator combines the shipment with cargo from other shippers in a Container Freight Station (CFS) at origin, ships the consolidated container as a single FCL booking with the ocean carrier, then deconsolidates at destination.
LCL is priced per cubic meter (or per 1,000 kg, whichever is greater — "weight or measure"). Typical lanes price between $40 and $200 per CBM all-in. Beyond roughly 15 CBM, FCL is usually cheaper on a per-volume basis.
Each LCL shipper gets a House Bill of Lading from the consolidator. The ocean carrier issues a single Master Bill of Lading covering the whole container to the NVOCC.
Customs filing in LCL:
- The carrier files vessel and MBL data in AMS under the 24-Hour Rule
- The NVOCC files HBL-level data in AMS separately
- Each underlying importer of record files its own entry against its HBL
Trade-offs versus FCL: LCL exposes cargo to more handling (stuffing, deconsolidation), longer dwell times at origin and destination CFS, and higher per-CBM damage rates. It also tends to clear customs more slowly because the whole container often holds.