News & Insights
Industry news, guides, and best practices from the CargoLinked team.
Reefer, Flat Rack, Open Top and Tank: Special Equipment
Special equipment is scarcer, dearer and slower to position than a standard box. Here is what each type is actually for and when a standard container will do.
Shipping Lithium Batteries by Air and Sea in 2026
Lithium batteries are the most heavily regulated everyday cargo in freight, and the rules changed on 1 January 2026 for batteries shipped inside equipment.
Pallet Sizes Around the World and How They Fit a Container
A container floor is 2.35m wide, and no common pallet divides into it neatly. Which pallet you use decides how much of the box you actually pay to ship as air.
General Average: Why Another Shipper's Fire Can Cost You
Your cargo is undamaged, the ship is safe, and you still owe money. General average is the oldest rule in shipping and the one that surprises shippers most.
GDP Pharma Shipping: What the Rules Actually Require
GDP is about documented control, not about how cold the box was. Most forwarders who say they are GDP compliant cannot produce what compliance actually requires.
Dunnage, Lashing and Bracing: Securing Cargo for Sea
Cargo at sea is not sitting still. It is being accelerated in three axes for weeks, and restraint has to be designed for that, not for the drive to the port.
The Dangerous Goods Declaration: How to Get It Right
Most dangerous goods declarations are refused for the order of words in the shipping name, not for anything about the cargo. Here is how to complete one properly.
Container Weight Limits, Payload and VGM
A container can legally hold far more than a truck can legally carry it. Loading to the plate figure is how shipments become undeliverable by road.
Cold Chain Data Loggers and Temperature Excursions
An excursion is not automatically a loss. The damage is usually done by whoever decides on the spot to write the shipment off, or to accept it without telling anyone.
Carrier Liability Limits: What You Actually Get Paid
Carriers are liable, but only up to a limit set per kilo or per package. On most cargo that limit pays out a fraction of what the goods were worth.
Reefer Setpoints, Ventilation and Humidity: What to Specify
Most reefer claims trace back to three lines on a booking that nobody filled in properly. Here is what each setting does and what happens when it is wrong.
ISPM 15: Wood Packaging Rules and Why Shipments Get Rejected
The pallet under your cargo is regulated cargo in its own right. Untreated wood gets shipments refused entry, and the piece that fails is usually not the pallet.