This is the lane we move more containers on than any other. Paper and plastic from mills, converters and recyclers across the Southeast goes to buyers across India, and almost all of it rides the rail to Savannah first.
How the lane runs
- Gate-in at the ramp, not the port. Most of our Southeast loads gate in at the NS Charlotte, CSX Atlanta or NS Austell rail ramp. Your trucker does a short local dray instead of a 250-mile run to the coast, and the carrier's rail takes the box to Savannah.
- Sail from Savannah. Garden City Terminal, on a direct service to the Indian west coast with one of the major carriers we book with.
- Discharge at Mundra or Nhava Sheva. Mundra for most of our cargo, Nhava Sheva (JNPT) when the buyer is in western India.
- On to the ICD if the buyer is inland. Northern and central India are served by rail from Mundra to inland container depots such as Sonipat ICD. One bill of lading covers the whole move, port to depot.
Transit time
From our own bookings on this lane: about five to six weeks from Savannah departure to Mundra, six to seven weeks to Sonipat ICD, and about five weeks to Nhava Sheva. Add roughly a week for the rail leg from the ramp to the vessel. We quote with the current sailing schedule, not an average.
FAS or EXW
Under FAS you deliver the loaded container to the ramp and we take it from there. Under EXW we send the truck to your dock, pull the empty, live-load or drop, and gate in. We handle EXW pickups across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama every week, so we know which ramps run smoothly and which yards hold chassis.
Weight and equipment
Nearly everything on this lane moves in 40′ high-cubes. Paper and plastic are heavy, so we plan the load around the rail and road weight limits before the truck is dispatched: payload, axle weights and the overweight rules at each ramp. Tell us the planned gross weight when you ask for a quote and we'll flag anything that needs a permit or a lighter load.
Documents
Commercial invoice and packing list, the US export filing (AES), and the bill of lading or sea waybill we issue as the NVOCC. Recovered paper and plastic need the consignee's Indian import registrations in place before loading; we confirm that at booking so nothing sits at Mundra. Certificates of origin are available if the buyer's bank asks.