FCL (full container load) books an entire container for one shipper at a flat all-in price per box; LCL (less than container load) buys space in a consolidated container, billed per revenue ton on the weight-or-measurement basis (1 m³ or 1,000 kg, whichever is greater) plus container freight station handling at both ends. The cost crossing between them commonly falls around 13 to 15 CBM against a 20-foot container, but it is a per-lane arithmetic, not a constant.
The full article will cover the consolidation chain (CFS receipt, stuffing, deconsolidation and the days it adds), the destination-charge economics of cheap LCL headline rates, co-loading and master/house bill structures, damage and pilferage exposure differences, and how dense cargo interacts with the W/M rule and container payload limits on both sides of the decision.
Find your lane’s exact crossing with the FCL vs LCL break-even calculator, and compute consignment volume with the CBM calculator.