Co-Loader

What is a co-loader?

A co-loader is a third party who consolidates the cargo of two or more LCL shipments in a container before handing it over to an ocean carrier.

Freight forwarders often don't have enough cargo of their own to fill a container bound for a given destination. A co-loader lets several forwarders share the space, so each one pays only for the volume it ships instead of booking a whole container.

How does co-loading work?

A forwarder hands its LCL cargo to a co-loader at a container freight station. The co-loader combines that cargo with shipments from other forwarders, loads the container, and books it with an ocean carrier. At the destination, a partner station unloads the container and returns each forwarder's cargo for final delivery.

Forwarders use co-loaders to reach ports and lanes where their own volume is too low to justify a direct service. Working through a co-loader adds a handoff, so cargo can move more slowly than it would in a full container load.

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