Shipping stories and guides
How the stuff we buy gets here, with practical help for the paperwork.
- By FreightStow
Why Apple cares how many iPhones fit on a pallet
Apple says iPhone 17 packaging fits 35% more units per pallet than iPhone 16. A simple calculation shows why that is not the same as 35% fewer pallets.
- By FreightStow
H&M and Levi's share a denim manufacturer. Are the jeans the same?
Levi's, Gap and H&M appear in the same manufacturer's denim customer list. That is a real overlap, but it does not prove their jeans are identical.
- By FreightStow
Can you find a brand's supplier by reading shipping records?
Yes, sometimes. Start with the right legal entity, read the shipper field carefully, and check the factory connection before calling a company the manufacturer.
- By FreightStow
What does H&M source from Thailand? The supplier lists tell two different stories
H&M Group's August 2026 factory list has no Thailand rows. An older fibre-supplier list does name Thai sites. Here is what those records establish, and what they do not.
- By FreightStow
How many IKEA BILLY bookcases fit in a shipping container?
IKEA's published carton dimensions produce a 630-package grid inside one example 40-foot container. Here is the geometry, weight check and the stacking question the calculation cannot answer.
- By FreightStow
LEGO is Danish. So why is it expanding a giant factory in Mexico?
LEGO's September 2026 announcement puts more than $400 million into its Monterrey site. The story is about making and packing toys near the people buying them.
- By FreightStow
How much of a $20 shirt is ocean shipping? Let's do the math
A transparent container example puts ocean freight at 5 to 20 cents per shirt. Those are modeled costs, not a leaked H&M invoice or a complete retail-price breakdown.
- By FreightStow
We traced an IKEA bed shipment from Poland to Philadelphia
A public manifest names the shipper, vessel, container and US arrival. Following one IKEA shipment shows how far the paper trail goes before it stops.
- By FreightStow
Bananas and new cars: what actually comes through San Diego's port?
The working waterfront behind San Diego's skyline handles fruit, vehicles and specialized cargo. Its two cargo terminals do very different jobs.
- By FreightStow
Your container missed its ship. A real case shows what happens next
One documented shipment missed a sailing after its paperwork deadline changed. The dispute shows why a replacement date and a clear written record matter.
- By FreightStow
Where does H&M actually make its clothes? We counted the factories
We counted 1,547 factory entries in H&M Group's August 2026 supplier list. China, Türkiye and India lead this particular count, which is different from measuring clothing output.
- By FreightStow
Why your bananas crossed an ocean before they turned yellow
Bananas are harvested green, shipped through a controlled chain and ripened near their market. The supermarket's yellow display is the end of a carefully timed trip.
- By FreightStow
Why your winter blueberries might come from Peru
The country on a blueberry box can change with the season. USDA's seasonal account explains why imported berries matter when US fields are between harvests.
- By FreightStow
Why does Germany export so much coffee? Follow the beans after harvest
Germany exported about 260,783 tonnes of roasted, non-decaffeinated coffee in 2025. The figures describe a processing and trading business, not a German coffee harvest.
- By FreightStow
Your parcel weighs 3 lb. Why is the shipping quote using 28 lb?
The outer box can matter as much as the contents. A worked dimensional-weight example shows how a light shipment can take up an expensive amount of space.
- By FreightStow
Why would Maersk sail around an entire continent?
A dated Maersk advisory explains a seemingly strange detour: sending ships around southern Africa instead of through the Suez route. The consequences extend beyond one late delivery.
- By FreightStow
Does freight increase import duty? Three countries, nine worked examples
A source comparison and reproducible calculation for the US, Great Britain and Australia. See how freight changes the duty and VAT or GST bases.
- By FreightStow
Why a higher freight bill can also mean more import tax
Duty and VAT or GST can use different values. A worked comparison explains why shipping costs sometimes increase both the transport bill and the tax bill.
- By FreightStow
What happens when you drop the country from a port code?
An audit of 24,099 sea and air UN/LOCODE locations: 18,047 share their last three characters with a location in another country or territory.
- By FreightStow
Certificate of origin, declaration of origin, or USMCA certification
Three documents that each do a different job. Buyers often ask for the wrong one. How to tell which one your shipment needs.
- By FreightStow
Why your packing list, your VGM and your freight bill show three different weights
One shipment can have three correct weights. Clerks often assume at least two are errors. Here is what each one measures.
- By FreightStow
Correcting a commercial invoice after the goods have shipped
When to reissue the invoice, when a credit note is the right document, and which other documents must change with it.
- By FreightStow
Demurrage and detention: the paperwork that starts the clock
The difference between the two is simple. The harder question is which document failures use up your free time. All of them can be avoided.
- By FreightStow
House bill of lading vs master bill of lading
Two bills for one container, issued by different parties to different people. Which is which, and which one your bank will accept.
- By FreightStow
LCL vs FCL: what changes in the paperwork
Everyone compares cost and transit time. The differences in the documents are bigger, and they catch people out more often.
- By FreightStow
Why letter of credit presentations get rejected the first time
Most presentations are refused the first time, and almost always because of the documents, not the goods. These are the fields that cause it.
- By FreightStow
What to do when the original bill of lading is lost
The cargo is at destination, the originals are not, and the carrier will not release without them. What the replacement package contains, and what it costs.
- By FreightStow
Switch bills of lading: which fields may change, and which may not
A second set of bills replacing the first is legitimate and common. The line between a switch and a false document is which boxes you change.
- By FreightStow
Telex release: what to send, and to whom
The cargo is released at destination without an original bill travelling there. The conditions the carrier will set, and when not to use it.
- By FreightStow
Incoterms decide who bears the loss, not who owns the goods
The eleven Incoterms set out cost, risk and customs clearance. They say nothing about ownership. That gap between risk and ownership is where the expensive disputes start.
- By FreightStow
Why customs holds a shipment, and how the paperwork causes it
Most holds are not about duty or prohibited goods. They happen because documents disagree with each other: a quantity, a description, or a weight that does not match.