My wife and I are moving to Boquete in 2 weeks and would like any advice on the best way to move less than a full container to Boquete from the Florida area ( actually we are coming from the US Virgin Islands and were told by local shippers our things must go back to Florida first).
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We also spent around $11,000 to get a 20' container from Phoenix to Boquete. That included complete packing in Phoenix and unpacking into a storage unit in Boquete.
It's all about logistics. From Phoenix to the closest port which would be either LA or Houston is an expensive trucking route. We went to Sams Club and bought 20 plastic stacking containers, 2 rolls of duct tape and a couple of rolls of bubble wrap and packed and sealed it ourselves, Went to a local building supply and they gave us 4 used pallets. I bought a roll of shrink wrap and hired 3 guys to load the container and shrink wrap the pallets @ $10/hr and supervised. It took an hour to load the container, they usually give you 2 hours free and charge by the hour after that.I also bought 6- 2x4's to wedge the pallets and a couple of straps to hold our Viking range in place. So, $280 later the container was loaded, secured and on it's way to port with everything sealed and secured. I had checked on having someone do this for me and found that I could have hired my Law Firm by the hour and come out cheaper.When the container arrived here, I hired 3 local guys to help unload at the house which cost me another $30 and a case of cerveza. Everyone went home with smiles and I lost a bottle of Ermil's essence seasoning and a bottle of powdered garlic in the move. Inland freight from Phoenix to Houston should have been in the $1500 range. If it had been me I would have rented a U-Haul truck, drove it to Houston , unloaded at port and then flown from there to Panama, which probably would have saved money. But they call me a "tightwad" anyway, so I took the 5 grand I saved and spent 3 weeks being pampered on Isla Contadora while the container was on it's way.
LOGISTICS!
Valerie, I paid $5000 to ship a 20' container door to door from Charleston, SC to Poterrilos Ariba which included loading and trucking to port, ocean freight, customs clearance, trucking from PC to David and then trucking from David to Potrerrilos Ariba. This is a good price. Normal ocean freight is about $3800 including bunker charges and drayage, $1200 for trucking charges on both sides plus customs and document fees is about right. LCL's are a little more as they have to unload the containers in a customs warehouse and distribute.
Valerie and Steve,
Again, thank you -- this is all new to us. After talking to Fleming this morning, we only have the choice of Tropical to West Pam Beach (they don't go to Miami's port from here) and then Tropical can get it to Miami and Delvi if that's who we choose. The concern from Mr. Fleming is getting a good choice once we get the goods to Panama City. Delvi said they really can't recommend anyone (even though in an email to me they mentioned Fletes who was mentioned in a previous reply). Mr. Fleming is waiting to hear back from someone in Panama that can get it to our door -- my concern with that is the $$$ like Valerie mentioned. So my question Valerie is who did you use once your tools arrived in Panama? And Steve, I will email Al and see what he is able to do if Tropical gets our LCL to him in Miami. Sounds like the hard part is once it arrives in Panama. Thanks for all your input -- Makes us thankful we're headed to a community that wants to help others out!
Richard,
I don't know how much stuff you have but it might be cheaper to use a 20' FCL to ship your stuff, this would also eliminate loading and unloading multiple times which increases the chance of loss or damage to your property. Again, I would ask Al to check into both. If you ship with Tropical they will have to unload at their consolidation warehouse in W. Palm load in a truck to another consolidation warehouse in Miami, load into a container, ship to Panama, unload in a customs warehouse in PC and then load into a truck to Boquete. If you purchase a 20' FCL they will load once and unload once. There is also the possibility, that if you know the volume in m3, once the container arrives in Miami you may be able to find a person to share the container. Your other option is to use Bernuth to Jacksonville and then CMA/CGM or ZIMs to Panama.
You will have to ship your stuff to Miami via Tropical Shipping to Miami. If you need a forwarder there I can look up agents as we have shipped to St. Thomas and St. Johns. They have a consolidation warehouse there and can be transferred to another shipper to Panama. You can contact Al White in Panama City. alwhite@panamaline.net He has a location in Miami where he ships 3-4 less than a container loads per month. His phone is 507-6613-5375. He is a shipping and customs broker in Panama and may also be able to have your stuff shipped to David and customs clearance done here.There are many trucks from Chiriqui that haul fruit and vegetables to Panama City and return empty. You will have to have a temporary residency visa prior to arrival of shipment or you will have to pay taxes on these items. If you need to ship right away you might be able to store these in a "free zone" warehouse before customs clearance. Talk to Al.
Thank you, Steve. Fleming transport did tell us we would indeed have to ship from here via Tropical. I'll contact Al via email --- our attorney should have everything ready for us to file for temporary residency once there. Thanks for the heads up.
Fleming is good, I have used them before and use Tropical often. You will have to get it moved in Miami, but Al has an office there and may be able to help. It is better to clear customs here in David and much easier but I am not sure if this can be done on less than a container load but Al can answer that. Good luck with your move and if I can be of further help let me know. If Al can't help you let me know, there is another guy here in Potrerillos that ships LCL thru Delvi in Miami and has a truck that picks it up in PC after customs. He was looking for extra cargo for the truck last month.
Thanks. It sounds like Tropical will be the ones to contact the next company -- i was thinking they may deal with Delvi -- not sure how that all works -- Fleming is checking all that out for me.
If we can just get it to Panama that would be a relief!!! There is another transport company here called Bob Lynch -- do you know anything about them?
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