Cargo Companies in Kenya: Moving Goods From Anywhere to Your Door

Cargo consolidators collect small shipments from many buyers at origin, combine them into one container or air uplift, and split them on arrival. This is how most small importers get affordable rates without filling a container alone. Airlines and shipping lines move cargo between terminals but do nothing about customs or delivery. Clearing agents handle the customs entry and stop at the port gate. Courier companies handle documents and parcels, not commercial consignments at scale.

A full-service cargo company covers all of it — booking, origin collection, freight, clearance, storage and delivery — under one contract. That is what removes the handovers where cargo usually stalls, and it is the model we run.

Air cargo through JKIA moves in days and suits anything light, urgent, perishable or valuable — phones and accessories, beauty products, fashion drops, pharmaceuticals, spare parts that have a production line waiting. You pay more per kilo, but you also pay less in tied-up capital and lost sales.

Sea cargo through Mombasa is far cheaper per kilo and carries the bulk of what Kenya imports: furniture, building materials, machinery, packaging, bulk stock. Transit is measured in weeks, so it rewards planning. Full Container Load makes sense once your cargo fills roughly half a container; below that, groupage lets you pay only for the space you occupy.

The practical rule: if the cargo is heavy relative to its value, ship it by sea. If it is light and valuable, or you needed it last week, fly it. When you are unsure, send us the packing list — we price both and you decide with the numbers in front of you.

China is the single biggest origin for Kenyan importers, and it is where cargo goes wrong most often — a supplier who ships late, a packing list that does not match the invoice, goods that arrive without the certification KEBS requires. We run weekly consolidations from Guangzhou, Yiwu, Shenzhen and Hong Kong by both sea and air, and we handle the origin end rather than leaving you to manage it over WeChat.

That means collecting from your supplier, checking cartons and quantities against the packing list, consolidating, arranging PVoC where it applies, and shipping. On arrival we clear at Mombasa or JKIA and deliver to your premises. One company, one quote, one person to call.

General and containerised cargo is the everyday work: stock, packaging, furniture, spares. Perishables and pharmaceuticals need cold chain from the aircraft door onward, with temperature records you can show a regulator. High-value cargo needs tighter custody, declared-value cover and a delivery plan that does not leave it sitting overnight at a yard.

Project and oversized cargo — machinery, generators, plant and transformers — needs route surveys, abnormal-load permits and lowbed equipment booked well ahead. Dangerous goods need trained handling and correct documentation at both ends. We tell you which category your consignment falls into and what it will require before you commit, not after it lands.

A single lump-sum figure is the most expensive quote in Kenyan logistics, because everything not itemised becomes a surcharge later. A proper cargo quote separates freight from import duty and VAT, from IDF and railway development levy, from port or terminal handling, from clearance fees, from storage, and from inland transport.

Ours does. You see the pass-through costs, you see our fee, and you can compare us line by line against anyone else. Costs shift with season, route, cargo type and volume, which is why we quote from your actual documents rather than a rate card — and why the quote you sign is the invoice you pay.