Insights on trade documentation, export processes, and tips for streamlining your global business.
A 60×40×40 cm carton fits 260 times in a 20ft, 535 in a 40ft and 642 in a 40ft high cube. Worked numbers for cartons, pallets and heavy loads, and why the volume shortcut overstates.
LCL is billed on the greater of volume (CBM) or weight (tonnes). Three worked examples show when weight wins, and what to ask your forwarder.
CBM = length × width × height in cm ÷ 1,000,000. Three worked examples (cm, inches, mixed shipment) and the rounding trap that skews totals.
From 1 October 2026 your Mexican buyer files the customs value declaration electronically. Every input to that filing — invoice, contract, payment proof, Incoterm — comes from you.
Canada's 15/25/50% surtax on U.S. goods started 8 September 2026. It defines the goods by the marking rules, not your CUSMA preference claim — and the in-transit exception runs on dated transport documents.
CBAM's definitive regime started 1 January 2026. You never file it, but your EU buyer's cost is set by emissions data only you can supply, and a 50-tonne threshold decides whether they ask at all.
CBP's final rule for rail export manifests takes effect 26 October 2026. The initial filing is due 24 hours before departure, and six of its seven mandatory fields come off your own shipment documents.
From 18 September 2026 CBP will void importer of record numbers whose Form 5106 details are inaccurate. If your buyer's number goes, your container stops — here is what to confirm before then.
From 1 July 2026, US goods claiming the EU's adjusted duty treatment must prove direct transport. Here's the document-consistency check for small exporters.
