The road trip itself is short. Morbi to Mundra is about 180 km by road, and Deendayal (Kandla) sits on the same route and is closer. A loaded truck usually covers it in part of a day.
The time that matters is from the end of loading to the moment your container is on the ship. That depends on paperwork, the port gate and the vessel's cut-off, and it is usually counted in days, not hours.
The steps between factory and ship
- The forwarder releases an empty container from a depot and trucks it to the factory.
- The factory loads (stuffs) the container, and the container is sealed.
- The export customs declaration (the shipping bill) is filed and cleared.
- The container is weighed or its verified gross mass is declared, as SOLAS requires.
- The truck drives to the port and the container enters the terminal before the gate cut-off.
- The container waits in the terminal until the vessel arrives and is loaded.
Hours or days
Each step can take a few hours or a few days. A well-organised factory with a regular forwarder moves through them quickly. A factory that loads late, or a forwarder that misses the document cut-off, can push your container to the next sailing.
What causes delays
Most delays come from timing rather than distance. These are the usual causes:
- Loading finishes after the gate cut-off, so the container rolls to the next vessel.
- The carrier has no empty containers at the depot that week.
- Customs selects the container for examination.
- Weight on the documents does not match the weighbridge.
- Port congestion, weather, holidays or a vessel that is delayed or skips a call.
Why a missed vessel costs more than time
If your container misses its vessel, it waits at the terminal for the next sailing on that service. On a weekly service that is usually a week. On a less frequent service it can be longer. Storage charges can build up in the meantime, and the carrier may need to rebook.
For tiles, a rebooking can also mean a different vessel, a different transhipment port or a different routing. That can change both the arrival date and the number of times the container is lifted.
How to plan it
Plan from the vessel back to the factory. Ask the forwarder for the vessel's cut-off dates, then agree with the factory that loading finishes with some margin before the gate cut-off. Ask for photos and the container and seal numbers on the day of loading.
Ask the factory a few direct questions before you confirm the order. Who is its regular forwarder? How many days before the vessel cut-off does it plan to finish loading? Who pays if the container misses the vessel because loading ran late? Put the answers in writing.
Your full timeline is production time plus this inland step plus sea freight. For production, see tile production lead time in Morbi. For the ports, see which ports Morbi exporters use. Our how it works page shows where inspection and loading supervision fit.
Next step
We agree the loading date with the factory against the vessel cut-off and supervise loading and sealing, so your container leaves on time. To build a realistic timeline for your order, book a free sourcing review.