International Moving Companies

North American Moving Network has pre-qualified, evaluated, and verified the credentials of each international moving company in our network for your convenience. Read on to learn what to expect from your overseas moving company.

Top International Move Tips:

What to expect from your international mover:

Complete, accurate information and education about your upcoming move.

An experienced, courteous, professional crew.

Proper moving equipment that is clean and well maintained.

Secure, professionally-operated storage facilities.

On-time service.

Figure out who's packing/unpacking - the moving company is liable for any items that are professionally packed. Expert international movers can increase the probability of all your belongings arriving at your new home undamaged.

Confirm your move date/details - never hurts to confirm when they are arriving and the details of the move. You can never be too prepared!

International Move Tips:

Check them out - Use North American Moving Network to find out more about your moving company. We've taken the time to research each company.

Shipping Overseas - There are two ways to ship your household goods: by air and by sea. Moving by sea to a foreign country usually takes from six to eight weeks, depending on your destination. When possible, your entire household will be packed into wooden lift vans, which are about 4 x 7 x 7' (feet). These containers are usually loaded at your residence by the local agent of your international moving company, and then moved by truck or rail from your present home to the port of departure. From there, they are placed inside a steel steamship container and loaded onto the vessel. For larger shipments, the household goods can be loaded loose into the steamship container, which is brought from the port to the warehouse of the local agent. The local agent would transport the container to your residence, load up your household goods, and return the loaded container to the agent's warehouse. From there, the container would be picked up and transported either by rail or truck to the port of exit and then loaded on the vessel. At the port of discharge, the household goods are cleared through customs and then transported to your new residence.

Moving by air is expensive, but is becoming increasingly popular. Heavy cardboard boxes or light plywood containers are used, and in some cases the shipment can be loaded directly into the airline's containers. While it is very expensive, it can actually be more economical for a family whose home is immediately available at the foreign destination. It eliminates the expense of a long stay in a hotel while your possessions are en route. Although moving by air means faster service, it often involves additional handling of your possessions.

International Moving Basics - Typically, a small family with an average living room, dining room, two bedrooms, kitchen, and misc. cartons for all your books, clothes, dishes, paintings, decorations, etc., would be enough to fill one standard twenty foot (20') container. This size container has a capacity of about 1,000 cubic feet, holding approximately 6,000 pounds worth of household goods. Larger households may require use of a forty-foot (40') container, with over 2,000 cu. ft. volume capacity, holding approximately 12,000 pounds of household goods.

Smaller (ocean) shipments can go via "LCL/less than container load" method, with the shipping cost based on the overall volume of goods being sent. If you are not taking furniture and just sending personal effects, a shipment sent by an adult may average about 60 - 160 cu. ft.

Cubic feet can be calculated as follows: multiply the dimensions of an item in feet; height x width x depth = total cubic feet.

Small shipments can often go via airfreight, and the charge for air-shipments are based on: The greater of either the actual weight of each item placed on a scale, or the "dimensional" weight, which is calculated this way: multiply the three dimensions (h x w x d) in inches and then divide the resulting number by 166. If the resulting amount gives you a figure higher than the "actual" weight of that item measured on a scale, then you'll be charged for the higher international "DIM" weight.

This is due to the fact that volume displacement is a big factor in international air shipping. Picture a piece of Styrofoam that is 3' x 3' x 3'. It will probably weigh less than five pounds, but when sending via airfreight, the international "DIM" weight comes to over 280 pounds.