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Shared Container Shipping From the UK

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Boxes/bags

Boxes, bags, or personal items. No furniture

Small Move

Partial move; Boxes + a few furniture items.

1 Bed

Contents of a studio or 1-bed flat

2 Bed

Contents of a two-bedroom home

3 Bed

Contents of a three-bedroom home

4+ Bed

Contents of a four+ bedroom home.

About Your Move (optional)

Shared container shipping lets you move household goods overseas without paying for an entire shipping container. Your belongings travel in the same container as other customers’ shipments, and you pay for the space your own packed shipment occupies.

1st Move professionally packs and palletises each customer’s shipment separately, measures the finished shipment in cubic metres (cbm) and books it onto regular scheduled international shipping services.

Also known as groupage, part-load or LCL shipping, shared containers are particularly suitable for flats, apartments, smaller household moves, furniture shipments and personal effects.

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Quick links:

Why choose shared container shipping?
How it works
Scheduled shipping
When to compare options
What can I ship?
FAQs
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Why Choose Shared Container Shipping?

The main advantage is simple:

You only pay for the space you use.

If your belongings occupy 8cbm, 10cbm or 15cbm, there is usually no reason to pay for a complete container.

Shared-container shipping is particularly suitable for:

Studio and 1-bedroom moves
Flats and apartments
Smaller 2-bedroom moves
Furniture-only shipments
Boxes and personal effects
Customers taking only part of their household overseas

How Does 1st Move Shared Container Shipping Work?

Our shared-container service is designed specifically for international household goods and personal effects.

Collection and Professional Packing

We collect your belongings from your UK home and professionally export-pack furniture and household goods for international sea freight.

Individual Palletisation

Your belongings are secured onto their own numbered pallet or pallets.

They are not simply loaded loose amongst other customers’ belongings.

Each shipment is:

Individually identified
Securely packed
Shrink-wrapped
Labelled
Measured
Photographed before shipping

Final Volume Measurement

Shared-container shipping is normally charged according to cubic volume, expressed as cubic metres or cbm.

One cubic metre is:

1 metre × 1 metre × 1 metre

An inventory or home survey can provide a useful estimate before collection, but the final packed shipment may differ.

At 1st Move, we measure the shipment after professional packing and palletisation, so the volume reflects what is actually being shipped.

Photographic Evidence

We photograph the completed palletised shipment before container loading.

This gives customers visible evidence of both how their belongings were packed and the final volume being shipped.

Volume Guarantee Certificate

Customers receive a Volume Guarantee Certificate confirming the final measured cubic volume of their completed shipment.

When volume affects what you pay, it is worth asking:

How and when is my final shipping volume established?

Scheduled Shipping

The completed pallets are booked onto the appropriate scheduled service for the destination.

Customs Clearance and Delivery

After arrival, the shipment is cleared through local customs and prepared for onward delivery according to the service booked.

Each customer’s goods are separately packed and palletised before container loading, helping to reduce loose handling throughout the shipping process.

See our safer packing process.

Does a Shared Container Have to Wait Until It Is Full?

Not necessarily.

Some traditional groupage services involve collecting enough household shipments for a particular destination before a mover can fill and dispatch its own container.

That can add waiting time before the sea journey begins.

1st Move operates differently.

Because our customer shipments are separately palletised, they can be booked onto regular scheduled shipping services rather than waiting until we have accumulated enough household moves to fill our own container.

This is why one of the most useful questions to ask any international mover is:

When will my shipment actually leave the UK?

Departure frequency and shipping times vary by destination, so our individual country pages provide the latest route-specific information.

When Does a Shared Container Stop Being the Best Value?

Shared-container shipping is usually most economical for smaller and medium-sized moves because you pay according to the amount of space your shipment uses.

As the volume increases, however, the cost of paying by the cubic metre can begin to approach the price of a dedicated container.

As a simple illustration, if a professionally packed door-to-door shared-container move averages around £400 per cubic metre:

Illustrative Shared-Container Costs

Shipment Volume	Approximate Cost
10 cbm	around £4,000
12 cbm	around £4,800
15 cbm	around £6,000
18 cbm	around £7,200

Shared container shipping cost comparison for 10, 12, 15 and 18 cubic metre shipments

These figures are average door-to-door guide estimates only and can include collection, professional packing, palletisation, shipping, customs-clearance support, destination handling and final delivery.

Actual prices vary by destination, route demand and the services required.

For this reason, once a shipment approaches around 18cbm, it is sensible to compare the shared-container price with a dedicated-container quotation.

18cbm is a comparison point, not a fixed cut-off. Always obtain a current quotation for your actual shipment and destination.

What Can I Ship in a Shared Container?

Shared containers are suitable for most normal household goods and personal effects, including:

Furniture
Beds and mattresses
Clothing
Books
Kitchenware

Artwork and mirrors
Bicycles
Sports equipment
Boxes and personal possessions

Import restrictions vary by destination.

Food, alcohol, plants, medicines, weapons and other controlled or restricted goods may require additional documentation or may not be permitted.

Always check the customs requirements for your destination before packing.

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Shared Container Shipping FAQs

What is shared container shipping?

Shared container shipping allows several customers’ shipments to travel inside the same container.

Instead of paying for the whole container, you pay according to the amount of space your own shipment uses.

Is shared container shipping the same as groupage?

Groupage is a commonly used term for combining several smaller shipments within one container.

You may also see the service described as part-load, part-container or LCL shipping.

How is shared-container shipping priced?

For household removals, pricing is generally based on the cubic volume of the shipment together with services such as collection, packing, handling, shipping and delivery.

At 1st Move, the final packed shipment is measured after palletisation so its actual cubic volume can be confirmed.

Are my belongings mixed with other customers’ goods?

No.

Although several customers share the same container, each 1st Move customer’s shipment is professionally packed and palletised separately before container loading.

Does shared-container shipping take longer?

It can do if a mover waits until it has collected enough household shipments to fill its own container.

1st Move’s palletised shipments can instead be booked onto regular scheduled services.

Actual departure frequency and door-to-door shipping times vary by destination.

When should I compare shared shipping with another option?

Once your shipment approaches around 18cbm, it is worth comparing the shared-container price with a dedicated-container quotation.

This is a guide rather than a fixed cut-off because shipping costs vary by destination and route.

Get a Shared Container Shipping Quote

The most economical shipping option depends on how much you are moving and where it is going.

For smaller and medium-sized moves, paying only for the space you use can make shared-container shipping considerably more economical than paying for unused container space.

As your shipment volume increases, we can compare the available options and advise which service offers the best value for your move.

Get started with a free quote now

Your Move Packed.
Posted Live on Facebook.

Your life, carefully wrapped, beautifully packed, and protected for the journey ahead.

We are extremely proud of our unique packing process. We are the only international removals company to provide this photographic proof of the finished, measured shipment.