SOC, COC, OWC: Difference Between Containers

In international freight, the space provided by the shipping company or the shipping lines platform will be divided into COC and SOC. So what is COC space and what is SOC space?

COC Carrier Owned Space:

It means that the carrier puts the container together with the consignor when releasing the space. At this time, the consignor only needs to take the Shipping Order to the designated terminal to pick up the container.

SOC Self Owned Container Space:

It means that the carrier only provides one freight space without a container when releasing the space. At this time, the customer needs to find the container by himself if he wants to ship the goods. And report the container information to the contractor in time, and then operate the packing and shipping.

In shipping, we often talk about shipowners. In addition to shipowners, there is also a container owner and a Container Owners Association.

According to different owners, containers are divided into three categories, namely:

A. SOC (shipper's own container). Shipper does not use the container of the shipping company, but purchases or rents the container by itself.

B. OWC (one way container), that is, one-time container, one-way container (empty container does not need to be returned). The consignee at the port of destination takes away the container and the goods, and does not have to return the container after unloading, because the seller has sold the container to the buyer as part of the price when the buyer and the seller signed the contract.

C. COC (Carrier's Own Container). The shipping company owns the container, or the shipping company rents the container from the container leasing company. The right to use the container belongs to the shipping company.

1. Export and import SOC container:

If the cargo owner and shipper prepare their own container, after the container reaches the customer at the destination port, it is possible to sell the container directly to the customer, or it is possible to load the imported cargo back to the domestic cargo owner, shipper or consignor.

If the SOC container is a special container that the shipping company does not have, the SOC container has to be used, and the customer does not need the container, and the value of the container is relatively high, so the empty container has to be shipped back. The total cost of the SOC container is higher than the total cost of directly using the shipping company's container, so there is no cargo to be loaded when it is shipped back, and the return fee is pure cost when the empty container is shipped back.

2. Why more and more shippers have SOC containers?

When a container is owned, operated or leased by a carrier, it is called a COC container. Carrier can be VOCC or NVOCC.

When the container is owned by the shipper, it is called a SOC container.

The main reason is that some goods are not immediately unloaded and returned to empty containers after arriving at the port, but take up a long period of time, such as: construction sites, it is difficult to unload immediately, and there is no place to pile up a large amount of construction materials. It must be placed in a container, and the demurrage fee caused by that is high, but it is obviously much cheaper to buy a container separately. At the same time, after the container is unloaded, it can also be used as a temporary office or residence, and the utilization rate is greatly improved.

The marks on the outer packaging of the two are also different. The shipper’s container needs to be forced to replace the sticker of the original container, especially the container number (prefix - changed from HLXU to NONE and check digit - changed from 9 to 6) is actually very easy to distinguish .

3. Which customers use SOC containers?

Some project logistics service providers or large engineering companies that use these containers will choose to use SOC containers if the receiving place is in a remote area.

Because of COVID-19, empty containers cannot return to the port on time, and large enterprises have also begun to use their own containers. However, the COC container is what we usually export the most.

4. What is the difference between SOC container and COC container?

First of all, in terms of price: Generally speaking, SOC space is cheaper than COC space, but the degree of cheaper depends on the amount of space used by the customer, the shortage of the carrier's boxes, and the cost of returning the box at the destination port. Under special circumstances, COC space will be cheaper than SOC. For example, in the transportation of China-Russia trains, the Russian Railway Bureau will use the low price of COC to attract customers to use their containers to export to Russia in order to take back the containers in China.

Secondly, in terms of operation: COC only needs to go to the fixed yard to pick up/return the container according to the carrier’s manifest/return list. The container and the space are integrated, and no additional application and operation are required; the SOC space requires the customer himself Find a container suitable for international transportation, and report the container certificate information to the shipping company in advance to apply for shipment; after the container arrives at the port of destination, follow the instructions of the container leasing company and return the container to the designated yard of the container leasing company.

In addition, in terms of the freedom of using containers, the container-free period of SOC boxes in the industry is generally longer and there are more options for container addresses. For example, rent a container from Shanghai to Hamburg, but the customer needs to transfer the goods to the Netherlands. At this time, using the SOC container, you can use a trailer to tow the container to the Netherlands for unloading after getting off the railway in Duisburg. If you return it to Hamburg If the freight is further away, you can apply to the box owner to return it to Rotterdam nearby.

The only difference between a SOC and a COC is which party owns it and is responsible for it.

SOC containers belong to the shipper and are constantly reused to ship the same product.

COC containers belong to the carrier or logistics company and are leased to consignees who do not have their own containers.

Once delivery is complete, the COC is returned to the carrier, who in turn rents it out to another customer.

On the other hand, SOCs are returned to the shipper, who needs to store and maintain them independently of the carrier.

5. What is the difference between SOC container and OWC container?

SOC is not necessarily one-off, nor is it necessarily one-way. The SOC container may also be shipped back to the consignor. SOC containers are similar to COC containers, except that the ownership of the container is not the carrier, but the cargo owner.

The OWC box is a one-time container, a one-way container (empty containers do not need to be returned). The consignee at the port of destination takes away the container and the goods, and does not have to return the container after unloading, because the seller has sold the container to the buyer as part of the price when the buyer and the seller signed the contract.

6. Is there a shipping discount for SOC container and OWC container?

SOC containers are freight containers owned by independent individuals or businesses. A COC container is the property of the carrier and is leased to the carrier's consignees, while an SOC is the property of the shipper, who then pays the carrier to deliver the container of goods for them by purchasing a slot in their truck or ship . If the cargo owner prepares his own boxes instead of the shipping company's container, is the shipping company's freight rate cheaper? The answer is: It depends.

If you are a small customer, the quantity of containers is pitifully small, and you make a few containers of your own, which are incompatible with the containers of the shipping company, and they have to take special care of your containers, so it’s fine if they don’t charge you extra.

Of course, if you are a big customer like Wal-Mart and IKEA, almost all the containers on the ship are your SOC containers, and no shipping company containers are used. Of course, they are happy to see the result and will definitely give you a discount on the freight.

7. Will the words "SOC" or "OWC" appear on the export documents?

1) If the owner, as a lessor, rents a container from a container leasing company and uses it as an SOC, and adds the word "OWC" on the export document, then the lease method of the container must be financial leasing, because only financial leasing containers will Add the words "SOC" and "OWC" to the document.

2) If only the word "SOC" is indicated on the document, it only means that the owner owns the container. However, whether to carry out return shipment at the port of destination depends on the instructions of the shipper on the power of attorney or the transportation contract concluded with the shipping company.

3) If not only "SOC" but also "OWC" are marked on the relevant documents, the container is owned by the owner, and it is a one-way transport, and the container does not need to be returned.

8. Why are there so few SOC containers?

Because SOC is more strict and troublesome in sea transportation, it is less used, and there are many companies that rely on leasing containers. They lease containers to large storage yards around the world, which facilitates the circulation of containers and enables SOC containers to play a role. The biggest effect is that in practice, the SOC storage space is limited, and it takes time to go through the review process, usually 3 working days. At the same time, the SOC container needs to provide container certificates/nameplates/photos of each side, four-post photos, etc.

9. What are the SOC shipping methods?

The four most common freight SOC shipping methods are as follows:

A. Cargo ship

Sea freight is the most common way to ship SOC containers, carrying hundreds of standard-sized 20 to 40-foot SOCs, stacked on top of each other. Cargo ships play a key role in global shipping and trading operations.

B. Large Ground Transportation

Shipper-owned containers are also used for overland transport. Trucking is by far the most common form of ground transportation (the sheer size and weight of SOCs and COCs require trucks of enormous size and engine power). However, rail freight continues to service the active flow of goods transported across borders.

C. Aircraft

Air freight is used for expedited shipping and is the most expensive way to ship packages. Air freight requires specially designed aircraft to accommodate SOC, COC and other cargo-friendly containers, but is more expensive.

D. Multimodal transport

Multimodal transit transportation refers to a transportation method that combines the above transportation methods to transport the cargo container to the unloading point. The farther away a shipment is to the destination, the more likely the carrier will have to utilize multiple shipping strategies to complete the delivery.