For a mixed order of sheet and rod going overseas, freight is usually the second-largest line on the invoice after the material itself. It is also the most negotiable, and the lever is not the rate — it is the fill.
A 20 ft container holds around 28 cubic metres usable. A typical sheet load uses 60 to 70 percent of that because panels are stacked flat and the voids are structural. Rod loads fill better because rod packs nest. Mixing the two is where the gain is: rod bundles fill the space beside and above a sheet stack.
We plan the load before confirming the order, and we will tell you when adding a modest quantity of a second item fills the container without adding freight — at which point the incremental material is effectively free of transport cost. It is worth asking the question rather than assuming the quote is fixed.
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