Challenges of International Motorcycle Shipping
Author: carex shippingBuying new & used motorcycles in USA and shipping them overseas is very popular these days. And I’m not talking just about Harleys… We have customers in South Korea and Hong Kong who buy Japanese motorcycles in USA even though Japan is much closer. It’s all about finding the best deal, folks. Some Japanese motorcycles are cheaper to buy in USA than in Japan. Especially used ones. Even after paying for international motorcycle shipping cost you can still profit and save money.
We usually don’t ask our customers why they want to ship motorcycles overseas from USA – we just try to find the best transport solution and save our customers some money. I must admit, however, that international motorcycle shipping is not without its challenges:
1. International motorcycle shipping can be arranged via roll-on roll-off service. It’s as easy as it can get. Deliver your motorcycle to the port of export, it gets loaded inside the ro/ro ship (specialized vehicle carrier), pick it up at the port overseas. The only problem is that roll-on roll-off service is limited in worldwide coverage and sometimes it won’t be available to your port or country of destination.
2. What about international motorcycle shipping in ocean containers? Well, first of all the motorcycle will need to be crated before it can be loaded inside the container, which is an extra cost. Second of all, it cannot be loaded with other general cargo. Why? Because international motorcycle shipping requires export title clearance from US Customs which takes time. A lot of shipping companies will not want to hold the whole container while US Customs clears the motorcycle for export. The only way to save on the international motorcycle shipping cost is to load it inside the container with other cars or vehicles. It’s a good solution but it’s mostly available to major ports in Europe. Paying for the 20′ container just to ship one bike overseas just doesn’t make sense.
3. International motorcycle shipping via ocean vessels sometimes is just not an option. Many customers think that if there’s a sea port in USA and there’s a sea port at the destination country – there must be an ocean shipping service that can accept their motorcycle for shipping. It’s not always true… Sometimes the ocean shipping route between two international sea ports just doesn’t exist. In this case shipping your motorcycle via airfreight may be the only option. Sure, it’s more expensive but it’ll get the job done and get it done fast.
Our company handled hundreds of motorcycles shipping from USA to overseas destinations. If you’re buying a bike in USA or if you sold your bike on ebay to an overseas buyer – use any of the forms on this site to find out how we can help with international motorcycle shipping.
