6 Types of International Courier Services - Which One Should You Choose?

There are six main different types of international courier delivery services available to customers all over the world. Each one has its pros and cons depending on the lead-time, size and bulk of the parcels, budget and type of goods that you are having delivered.

Please refer to our simple table below to help you find the best courier service for your requirements:

	Description*	Transportation	Speed	Cost	Pickup time*
Airfreight	Goods delivered by air, perfect for urgent or perishable deliveries, e.g. foods, magazines, etc	Air	Fast	Cost - effective depending on weight ratio	Same Day - Available 24/7, 365 days a year
Special Deliveries	A service for timed specific deliveries, e.g. legal contracts, periodical, event supplies	Mixed	Very Fast	Medium -depending on the time specified	Within Hours - Available 24/7, 365 days a year
Hand Carry	On-board couriers treat delivery as luggage, with a specialized personal taking care of the goods with high security and speed. Service suitable for semi-conductors, retails samples, telecommunications devices. Deliveries are real-timed from picked-up till destination	Mixed	Very Fast	High - Value for money for urgent and important goods and documents	Within 30 mins - Available 24/7, 365 days a year
Next Flight Out (NFO)	Goods will be sent on the next flight out, usually need on urgent goods that needs to be delivered immediately, e.g. fashion/electronic samples	Mixed	Very Fast	High - Value for money when shipping urgent goods.	Within Hours - Available 24/7, 365 days a year
Road freight	Usually used as a transit transportation means from port-to door	Railway or Road	Fast	Low to High - Depending on goods, time and volume	Same Day - Available 24/7, 365 days a year
Sea/Ship freight	Normally used to deliver bulky and non-perishable goods, such as, textiles, cars, furniture. Goods are transported on cargo ships for port-to port delivery	Sea	Slow	Low to High - Depending on goods, time and volume	Same Day - Available 24/7, 365 days a year (depends on the nature of goods, volume and weather conditions, e.g. frozen ports etc)

*Description and pick-up time are only applicable to Royale International Service.

When speed is an issue, the best services to use are airfreight, next flight out and hand carry. These services are able to ensure your delivery arrives as quickly as possible, ranging from a few hours to 24/48 hours depending on the destination.

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