Container Shipping from and to the Philippines

Twill provides Inland Transportation services, including trucking services. These services enable transportation from the factory of your goods to the loading port or from the discharge port to the cargo discharge point.

We offer a digital end-to-end logistics service, so you can quickly get the trucking price on our platform. Sign up now and search for routes and costs to transport containers from port to door or door to port in the Philippines.

The transit time for your cargo will vary based on a few factors – including the vessel schedule, whether containers need to be connected to other vessels on their journey and how many calling ports there are on the route.

Twill, supercharged by Maersk, offers market-leading transit times for the Philippines from all its key markets – like the United States, Germany or the UK – and many more destinations. Here are few transit times for popular routes to and from the Philippines on average:

• The transit time from Manila to Savannah (USA) can take up to approximately 62 days

• The transit time from Cagayan de Oro to Rotterdam (The Netherlands) can take up to approximately 42 days

• The transit time from Cebu to Hamburg (Germany) can take up to approximately 50 days

Our strong transit times ensure you keep your lead times to a minimum, while being able to keep cargo moving at a good pace.

In Philippines, there are no real peak seasons in logistics as we always have our local team to support you. However, there might be an impact on the vessel space around holidays such as Chinese New Year and Chinese Golden Week. We therefore strongly recommend you keep these holidays in mind and book your shipment in advance.

Cargo insurance is not required to ship to or from Philippines, but cargo transportation can entail various risks. So, you should always keep in mind which Incoterms you have agreed on with your supplier.

If you're shipping your cargo overseas, you should know that you could get quickly compensated if your cargo is damaged or lost. That's why Twill offers Value Protect, giving you peace of mind as your cargo is protected while being transported with us. When you add Value Protect, it is easier and simpler to make claims compared to traditional insurance. It helps you avoid the many difficulties and annoyances businesses face when shipping cargo while protecting it from risk and damage.

When you are exporting from Philippines, we suggest you add Value Protect to your booking if you are shipping goods such as machinery, automotive, and chemicals. These goods mostly have a high cargo value.

Customs clearance procedures are an important step in your cargo's journey, and you will need to follow them to import your containers into the Philippines. The key step of customs clearance is to have the right documentation. Find out more about our Customs Clearance services here.

Export:

Our setup in the Philippines splits Demurrage and Detention. This means you will have separate free time and compensation for utilising equipment inside (Demurrage) and outside (Detention) terminals or depots. The Demurrage export will be calculated based on the container's actual "Load" date. There will be a change from vessel ETD to Load. Maersk uses a progressive method to calculate export demurrage and detention charges upon expiry of free time.

You may reach out to our Twillers if you need to know a specific vessel departure schedule and more details.

Import:

Our free time offer combines Demurrage & Detention (D&D). Standard free time is 9 days combined D&D for dry containers. This means you will have one combined free time period and compensation for equipment utilisation inside and outside terminals or depots. It is referred to as combined Demurrage & Detention, from vessel discharge to empty gate-in.

Export restrictions

There are a few restrictions for commodities when it comes to exports from the Philippines:

• Used products: We will not accept any shipment of used products (used cars, machinery, equipment, furniture, spare parts etc.) to Yemen as per local customs law.

• New motorcycles: The export of new motorcycles to Yemen is not acceptable, as advised by their local customs authorities.

• Scrap metal: We will not accept any shipment of scrap metal to India. For other destinations, acceptance will be on a case-to-case basis and subject to local management's approval.

Import restrictions

There are a few restrictions for commodities when it comes to importing goods to the Philippines:

• Right-hand drive vehicles (RHD): Imports of all right-hand driven vehicles are banned from entering any Philippine port.

• Used vehicles, used car parts and components: Imports of all used vehicles, used parts and components is banned from entering any Philippine port except the following:

  • Used parts and components for replacement purposes

  • Trucks above 2.5tons (not including pickup trucks)

  • Buses above 6tons

  • Diplomatic cars

  • Special purpose vehicles (includes fire trucks, ambulances, funeral hearses, crane lorries, tractor heads, boom trucks, tanker trucks, tank lorries, refrigerated trucks, mobile drilling derricks, pump trucks, aerial flat-form trucks, street sweepers, vacuum trucks, garbage compactors, self-loader trucks, man lift trucks, lighting trucks, trucks mounted with special-purpose equipment, and all other types of vehicles designed for specific use)

  • Parts and components of the vehicles mentioned above

Important: We will not be accepting any freight collect shipments of used vehicles, used car parts and components. However, exemptions can be made after prior consultation with import offices in the Philippines.

• Used clothing merchandise: Imports of used clothing such as garments, bedclothes, bags and shoes are prohibited in the Philippines.

Other restrictions

• Donation/Relief cargoes: No acceptance. For shipments not declared as donation/relief goods but consigned to local government units or representatives, i.e. "Province of..." or "Governor of..." or "Mayor of...", please check consignee details with our Import department before the booking acceptance. These checks must be made before the shipment takes place.

• Rice, cigarettes, vegetables, garlic: IMO classes 2-6, 8-9 are accepted in the Philippines. IMO 1 & 7 are restricted. Various clearances from government agencies should be secured prior to the arrival of the feeder's vessel. The consignee must present the required documents to our operations and/or import departments for approval to load and move cargo.