Formwork tie rods are long, heavy and dense. Every one of those three properties costs money in freight, and the first one dictates the packing plan before any other consideration. A quotation that ignores container fit looks competitive until the buyer discovers that the specified length cannot be shipped in the container the price was based on.
Why long threaded rods ship badly
Freight is charged on volume or on weight, whichever produces the larger number, and tie rods are unusual in being bad on weight while being only moderately bad on volume. A bundle of rods occupies a sliver of the container's cross-section but can consume a large share of its payload. That combination means the shipping decision is rarely about the rate per cubic metre; it is about how much of the permitted payload the rods use and whether their length allows them to load at all.
Threads add a second problem. A bundle of plain bar can be handled with a sling and a forklift. Threaded rod cannot, because every contact point with a chain or a fork is a potential damaged flank, and a damaged flank on a tie rod is a scrapped item rather than a repairable one.
Container fit comes first
- A 20-foot general purpose container has an internal length of about 5.9 metres. This is the number that decides the design of every export order.
- Rods of 5.8 metres and under can be loaded in a 20-foot box, often in bundles laid the length of the container.
- Rods of 6 metres and over need a 40-foot container, where the internal length is about 12 metres.
- Rods longer than roughly 12 metres cannot travel in any standard container and move as break bulk, on a flat rack, or in a cradle on deck.
- Cutting a rod to fit is a decision with consequences. A shorter rod changes the tie capacity and the formwork layout, so it must be confirmed against the drawing rather than chosen for freight convenience.
Packing for a sea voyage
The enemy of a fastener shipment is not rain, it is condensation. A container loaded in a warm humid climate and discharged in a cold one will rain inside, and any surface in contact with the container floor stays wet longest.
- Bundle by diameter and length, and keep the count per bundle consistent so the packing list is checkable on arrival.
- Use steel strap, not plastic, for the bundle bands. Plastic stretches and relaxes over a long voyage and the bundle loosens.
- Put timber or purpose-made bearers under each bundle so that air can move and water can drain.
- Protect the ends of each bundle. The thread start is the most easily damaged part of the item and the most expensive to repair.
- Keep galvanized and plain stock in separate bundles, with the coating marked on the bundle tag, so that the site does not mix them after opening.
- For smaller hardware such as nuts, cones and water-stop plates, use bags or cartons inside the container rather than loose bundles, otherwise hand sorting on site becomes the first job after arrival.
The document set
- Commercial invoice, showing the exact description, quantity, unit and total, matching the purchase order line by line.
- Packing list, showing bundle by bundle what is in the container, with bundle numbers that can be found on arrival.
- Bill of lading, with the consignee details confirmed against the letter of credit before the container leaves, because changes after departure are expensive.
- Certificate of origin, which matters where a preferential rate is available and is otherwise a formality.
- Quality documents — mill certificates or batch test reports — which are not customs documents but are what the buyer's engineer will ask for on arrival.
- A conformity file where the destination requires one, such as an EAC certificate for the Eurasian market, which must be prepared before shipping rather than after.
Classification and duty
Threaded rods, bolts and studs are normally classified in the 7318 group, with nuts and washers in their own subheadings, and the rate depends on the destination's own tariff. Two things follow from this. First, a mixed container of rods, nuts and plates may attract more than one duty rate, so the invoice description should separate them rather than describe the whole shipment as fasteners. Second, the classification is the buyer's customs broker's decision, not the supplier's, and the supplier's job is to provide a description complete enough for that decision to be made without correspondence.
Loading and discharge
- Load the heaviest bundles where they will not shift, and always below lighter cartons rather than beside them.
- Strap to the container's own lashing points, not to other cargo.
- Leave the thread-end protection in place through discharge. Stevedores handle bundles with what is available, and the ends are what they will lift by.
- Photograph the loaded container, with bundle tags visible, and send the images with the shipping documents. This costs nothing and settles most arrival disputes about quantity.
A fastener order that ships well is not a more expensive order. It is one where the rod length was checked against a container before it was written on a drawing, where the bundles were protected at the ends rather than in the middle, and where the paperwork described the goods precisely enough that nobody had to open a box to clear them.