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International Ocean Freight Consolidators | Freight-Academy™

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GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 25, 2026

International Ocean Freight Consolidators

A mid-sized furniture manufacturer has eight cubic metres of export goods bound for the US market—far too little to justify a full container.

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A mid-sized furniture manufacturer has eight cubic metres of export goods bound for the US market—far too little to justify a full container.

That is exactly where an international ocean freight consolidator steps in: it groups less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments from multiple shippers into a single full container load (FCL), so each…

The consolidator handles warehousing, container stuffing, issuance of the master bill of lading and the individual house bills of lading, and coordination with the ocean carrier.

Last updated: 25 June 2026Published: 19 June 2025

Source: https://www.freightos.com/freight-resources/what-is-freight-consolidation/

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International Ocean Freight Consolidators

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Definition & Explanation

A mid-sized furniture manufacturer has eight cubic metres of export goods bound for the US market—far too little to justify a full container. That is exactly where an international ocean freight consolidator steps in: it groups less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments from multiple shippers into a single full container load (FCL), so each shipper pays only for the space actually used. The consolidator handles warehousing, container stuffing, issuance of the master bill of lading and the individual house bills of lading, and coordination with the ocean carrier. Unlike a pure freight forwarder, who focuses on planning and documentation, the consolidator also performs the physical groupage and acts as the named shipper on the carrier's bill of lading. For shippers with irregular or small cargo volumes, LCL consolidation is often the most cost-effective alternative to booking a full container.

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Recommended format: Source: Freight Academy – International Ocean Freight Consolidators (https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/international-ocean-freight-consolidators), accessed 2026-09-12
APA style: Freight Academy Editorial Team. (2025). International Ocean Freight Consolidators. Freight Academy. https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/international-ocean-freight-consolidators
BibTeX: @misc{internationaloceanfreight2025, title = {International Ocean Freight Consolidators}, author = {{Freight Academy Editorial Team}}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/international-ocean-freight-consolidators}, note = {Freight Academy, accessed 2026-09-12} }

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