Steel is the rare cargo where the weight limit arrives first. A twenty-foot container is full of coil long before it is visually full, and that changes every downstream decision, from the container type to whether the yard can take delivery at all.

Why Steel Is Sold by the Tonne and Booked by the Metre

Sea freight charges on weight or volume, whichever is higher. For most consumer goods volume wins. For steel, weight wins, and it wins decisively: a single bundle of sections can exhaust the road limit of the truck that is supposed to collect it.

This is why a quote on steel without a weight and a length is not a quote. We ask for the section list, the total tonnage and the longest piece before we give a number, and we check the destination yard's access before we promise delivery.

Weight distribution matters as much as the total. A container loaded with coils at one end and light sections at the other does not travel the way the loading plan assumed, and the port equipment that lifts it ashore cares about the centre of gravity rather than the tonnage on the invoice.

For heavier consignments the practical question is not which container is cheapest but which one can be handled at both ends. A twenty-foot box that is legal on the road in Guangdong may exceed what the receiving yard's forklift can take off the truck, and that gap is where demurrage starts.

Mill certificates

Buyers of structural steel usually need a mill test certificate matched to the heat number. We collect these at loading and keep them with the shipping documents, because a certificate produced a month later is rarely accepted by the project engineer.

Length limits

Twelve-metre lengths do not fit a standard container. Above roughly six metres the choice becomes open top, flat rack or break bulk, and each carries a different handling cost. The decision belongs at quotation, not at the gate.

Rust and storage

Steel arrives with surface oxidation if it sits in a humid yard. Where the material will be stored before use, we recommend dunnage under the bundles and a covered handover point.

Documents and Classification

Steel is classified by shape, alloy and dimension, not by the word steel. A galvanised pipe, a deformed bar and a hollow section sit in different tariff lines, and a vague description slows the assessment.

We build the invoice from your section list: grade, dimensions, length, piece count and unit weight. Where tonnage dominates, the duty number is large enough that a classification error is expensive in both directions, which is why we reconcile it before sailing rather than after arrival.

Valuation is the second half of the same problem. Steel is traded on weight, so the invoice usually shows a rate per tonne rather than a rate per piece. The declared value has to reconcile to that rate and to the actual weighed tonnage, and a bundle weighed at the port that differs from the mill weight will be questioned.

We keep the weighing record with the entry documents. Where a buyer purchases on a delivered basis and the supplier invoices a lump sum, we ask for the tonnage breakdown anyway, because a single figure on the invoice is the version of events that customs can least easily verify.

How the Shipment Moves

1. Collection. Mill or yard pickup with a piece count, a bundle tally and a certificate check.
2. Export. Booking, lashing plan, and the export declaration.
3. Clearance. Duty and VAT assessed on the declared value, then release to our broker.
4. Delivery. Trucking to your yard, with crane or forklift arranged where the bundle exceeds manual handling.

Our service flowchart shows the checkpoints, and the China to Manila page covers port and yard routing.

Why Shippers Choose Sunny Worldwide Logistics

Heavy cargo punishes optimism. We would rather tell you at quotation that a twelve-metre bundle needs a flat rack than discover it at the loading bay, and we would rather confirm the yard's turning radius before the truck arrives.

One price covers export handling, freight, duty, VAT and delivery. Where a destination needs transshipment, we say so early: consignees outside Luzon are routed through the China to Cebu service.

What we cannot do is change physics. If a bundle is longer than the container and heavier than the crane on site, no amount of scheduling fixes it, so we would rather lose a booking at quotation than explain a problem at the port.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much steel fits in a 20ft container?

It depends on the section, but the weight limit usually binds before the volume does. Send the section list and we will confirm the payload against both the container rating and the road limit at destination.

Can you deliver to a project site rather than a warehouse?

Yes, on DDP terms, where the site is reachable by truck and has equipment to unload. We ask for the access road condition and the unloading method before confirming.

Do you arrange inspection before loading?

We count and photograph bundles at loading and match them to the packing list. Third-party inspection can be arranged on request and is quoted separately.

Send your section list and tonnage through the contact page for a landed cost per tonne.