Rates & costs
Air vs road freight to Juba: how to decide
Not a question of which is cheaper. A question of what a week of waiting costs you.
Start with the cargo, not the rate
Air freight per kilogram is a multiple of road freight per kilogram. That comparison is almost never the one that matters, because the two services are not substitutes for the same cargo.
The real question is: what does the delay cost you?
When air is obviously right
- A stopped site or vehicle. A spare part that is holding up a project costs more per day than the entire air freight bill.
- Medical supplies and diagnostics. Time-critical by definition.
- High value per kilogram. Phones, electronics, instruments. The freight is a small percentage of the goods value either way.
- Perishables, where the cold chain can be maintained end to end.
- Documents and samples.
- Recovering a late sea shipment. Flying part of a consignment to keep a customer supplied while the rest comes by road.
When road is obviously right
- Anything heavy. Volumetric weight will make air uneconomic long before you finish loading.
- Building materials, machinery, bulk goods.
- Containers. FCL to Juba
- Regular replenishment where the schedule is predictable.
- Anything that cannot fly. See below.
What cannot be put on a plane
Air cargo is tightly regulated. These need declaration, specific packing and often a separate quotation:
- Dangerous goods of any class
- Lithium batteries, including batteries inside equipment. This catches people out constantly. A consignment of cordless tools is a dangerous goods shipment.
- Aerosols, flammables, pressurised items
- Magnetised materials
- Temperature controlled pharmaceuticals
Never underdeclare these. A misdeclared consignment can be offloaded and the shipper reported.
Doing the arithmetic properly
Compare total landed cost and total elapsed time, not freight rates:
- Chargeable weight for air. Greater of actual and volumetric. Work it out before you compare. Bulky cargo prices far above its scale weight.
- Add both ends. Air has terminal handling, screening and airport charges; road has collection and delivery.
- Add the cost of the difference in days. Working capital tied up, a customer waiting, a contract penalty, a site idle.
- Then compare.
air wins more often than people expect for small, valuable consignments. It loses badly for anything heavy.
Published rates for both
- Nairobi to Juba air freight
- Mombasa to Juba air freight
- Nairobi to Juba road freight
- Mombasa to Juba road freight
A note on transit times
Neither mode escapes customs. Air removes days from the transport leg, not from the clearance leg. If your documents are incomplete, a consignment that flew in on Tuesday can still sit until Friday. Air buys you speed only if the paperwork is ready to match it.
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