Can You Ship Alcohol? - A Guide To Alcohol Shipping for Manufacturers and Distributors

Shipping alcohol to consumers is a complicated process. As such, the issue at hand is not can you ship alcohol legally, but how to do it. A shipment successfully reaching your consumers or not will depend on the applicable state laws (and how they interact) and your carrier’s policies.
And, of course, it is essential to have the proper licenses for manufacturing and distributing alcohol. We should note that business-to-consumer shipping, which this article will focus on, is not always the same as consumer-to-consumer shipping. The latter is regulated by separate carrier regulations, which is not the subject matter of this article.
The legal complexities of shipping alcohol stem from the time of the Prohibition. When the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted in 1919, it proscribed “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the U.S., as well as the import and export of alcohol.
In 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified and it repealed the 18th. However, it also allowed each state to set its own laws, rules, and regulations regarding the manufacture and distribution of alcohol.
Thus, even though there was no longer a federal ban, the legalities of alcohol shipments became far more complex, as each shipment needs to conform to the laws of the state it originates from and where it is being delivered to.
This autonomy of each state to set its own laws regarding alcohol continues to this day and is what you need to contend with when you wish to ship alcohol.

The shipping of alcohol depends on the following factors: who is shipping (a business with the appropriate alcohol licenses or an individual consumer), the carrier’s policies, and the applicable state laws. Combining these factors will determine how you should (or even whether you can) ship alcoholic beverages, so let us go over each in more detail.
Many major carriers outright ban individual consumers from shipping alcoholic beverages. If you are thinking of shipping alcohol as a gift or for similar reasons as a non-licensed entity, do not expect private carriers to provide the services you need.
Manufacturers with alcohol licenses, on the other hand, have to follow certain rules but are mostly allowed to ship alcohol if they conform to the shipping agreements and relevant regulations. This includes both carriers' regulations and laws that apply to alcohol shipping and manufacturing.
The process of getting alcohol licenses for shipping will depend on the carrier you are using. Consequently, always check the rules and regulations of each carrier. However, there are two conditions you can expect every major carrier to enforce:
Additionally, besides having a liquor license, each carrier may have specific packaging requirements for shipping alcoholic beverages. It is advisable to contact a representative of your desired carrier so that they could provide you with a list of rules relevant to alcohol shippers.
As was previously mentioned, each U.S. state has specific laws related to shipments of alcohol, so it may be best to consult with a legal expert before you decide to ship large quantities of any cargo. However, the state laws can be divided into three broad categories.
States where the shipping of alcohol to consumers is prohibited are Alabama, Mississippi, and Utah. In Alabama specifically, alcohol shipping is possible, but residents need to apply for special permits and the shipping must be done through the Alabama ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) Board.
In the states that fall into the second category, the shipping of alcohol is restricted, but possible. The consumer must purchase the product on-site at the business that sells the alcohol and only then can it be shipped. The following states are in this category: Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, and Rhode Island.
The rest of the states allow relatively unrestricted shipping of alcohol (presuming you have the necessary licenses for manufacturing and distribution).
However, local and city laws may prescribe additional prohibitions – e.g. Kentucky has dry counties where the shipping of alcohol is prohibited, even though it is not done on the state level.
Once again, we need to reiterate that you should consult the laws of each specific state and locality before you decide to ship a package there.
If you are shipping alcoholic beverages intrastate, only the relevant state laws apply to you. However, the laws of both states apply to interstate shipping – so, where you are shipping from and to. Extra caution should be taken during interstate shipping, as alcohol shipments compliant in California are not necessarily compliant in Utah.
Cross-border alcohol shipments present additional challenges. Besides being compliant with the local and state laws, you also need to take into account the laws of the country you are shipping to. For international alcohol shipments, you will need special licenses and to pay additional customs fees.
Packages of alcoholic beverages are often fragile and easily damaged. Most carriers provide insurance, but rarely for the entire value of the shipment. In case you deal in luxury goods, like shipping high-end wine, even if the limits are agreeable, the insurance rates you need to pay will be very high if you wish to insure your goods for their full value.
However, you can take out full-value private insurance for high-value packages. Private insurance has higher limits, better rates, and an easier claims process. As shipments of alcohol are often expensive, you could consider taking special steps to insure your packages.
So, can you ship alcoholic beverages? Although complicated, shipping alcohol legally is possible. However, you need to consult the relevant state laws and carrier regulations, and acquire all of the necessary permits and licenses. Additionally, taking out full-value insurance could be a wise move to safeguard yourself and your business from unnecessary losses.
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.105 per ton-mile. Reducing truck transport and opting for the optimal rail transload facility can help increase expense savings through rail.</p> <h2>Rail Freight and Intermodal Strategy</h2> <p>Intermodal is the use of two or more freight transporting modes. When combining rail and road, trains are utilized for the long-haul chunk of the transport. Trucks are used to ship loads from the origin to the terminal and then from the terminal to the recipient, known as drayage.</p> <p><strong>Using rail freight as part of an intermodal strategy has many benefits</strong>, which you can discover below.</p> <h2>Rail Freight Is Eco-Friendly</h2> <p>Given the current state of our environment, caring for it is imperative. From an ecological point of view, rail freight is a great transport alternative compared to air, sea, and road freight. <strong>The biggest advantage of rail freight is the reduction of CO2 emissions</strong>. Compared to other transport modes, rail freight leaves the smallest carbon footprint.</p> <p>For example, air freight consumes 138 tons of CO2, and the combination of air and sea consumes approximately 76 tons of CO2. However, rail freight consumes only 5 tons of CO2 over the same distance. That’s why, now more than ever, rail freight deserves more attention.</p> <h2>Rail Transportation Is Safe and Efficient</h2> <p>Railway safety has notably improved over the past couple of decades. Now, <strong>rail transportation is one of the safest shipping options</strong>. With steady investments in railway infrastructure, routings, tracks, terminals, and border crossing stations, there’s a significant enhancement in the performance of rail freight.</p> <p>Moreover, GPS tracking in trains prevents theft and losses, protecting the goods in transit. Since carriers can locate their customers’ shipments and follow up on milestones, they can deliver information on container position and detect if something unexpected happens during the transportation.</p> <h2>Rail Freight Is Fast and Reliable</h2> <p><strong>Rail freight is a fast and reliable shipping mode</strong> with shorter lead times when compared to sea freight. Although not always possible, there are many situations when rail freight is a more optimal choice than other transport modes.</p> <p>For instance, one of the biggest challenges for companies with production in China is the long lead times to northern Europe when shipping by sea. Sea shipping from China to that part of Europe typically takes around seven weeks.</p> <p>With rail freight, the shipping times can be cut in half, significantly reducing the lead time. Shorter lead times can make it easier to predict business operations and costs, positively impacting capital binding.</p> <p>In addition, rail freight transport is a <strong>punctual mode of transport</strong>. Compared to sea and road freight which can be subjected to bad weather and congestion, not much can hinder the rail path, reducing the risk of unexpected delays.</p> <h2>Are There any Drawbacks of Rail Transportation?</h2> <p>Intermodal containers experience a lot of movement during transit that can damage their contents. There’s a risk of a denied claim if cargo isn't appropriately blocked and braced by rail standards.</p> <h2>Rail Freight Shipping Can Be Your Optimal Choice</h2> <p>Rail shipping has many benefits and very few drawbacks. Apart from being extremely reliable, rail freight is also cost-effective. On top of that, it leaves the smallest carbon footprint compared to other shipping modes.</p> <p>With rising challenges in sustaining our environment, it’s vital to do everything we can to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce the impact of global warming. For those reasons, using rail freight as a part of intermodal strategy can be an optimal choice for many companies that wish to see improvement in our environment.</p> <p><a href="https://unival-logistics.com/">Unival Logistics</a> provides end-to-end logistic solutions and we always choose optimal routes, so that your packages arrive on time and cause the least amount of pollution. You can also take out <a href="https://unival-logistics.com/package-insurance">full-value insurance for high-value goods</a>, track your packages in real-time, and integrate your business with Unival’s API.</p> <p>If you need a logistics partner that combines traditionally effective methods of transport with modern solutions, contact Unival Logistics.</p> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://unival-logistics.com/rail-freight" }, "headline": "What You Need to Know About Rail Freight", "description": "Rail freight is reliable, fast, and green and can be an excellent choice for various businesses. 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