Shipping from China to New Zealand – The Simple Guide

“Shipping from China to New Zealand – The Simple Guide
Importing from China to New Zealand is a multi-billion dollar industry. Every year, people buy thousands of products from China. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get started.
Our goal is to tailor transport solutions for all types of customers. Whether it is express freight from China, sea or air. No matter the size of your shipment, we can help handle it, and no matter how large your shipment is, we can help arrange it. We are available 24/7 for your shipments. We’re here to help you get started today.

Air Freight from China to New Zealand
The biggest advantage of air freight is its speed. Items leaving China can arrive in New Zealand within 5-8 days. This is the best option for high-value items as they take less time in transit. However, with this speed, there are some tradeoffs.
Air freight is usually more expensive than ocean freight. It’s also better for small items, as airlines have weight and volume restrictions. Air freight also uses more fuel than alternatives, so if carbon footprint is an ethical concern for you and your company, you’ll want to choose ocean freight.
Keep in mind that air freight usually only involves delivering the goods to an airport in New Zealand, not to the final destination of the inventory. Additional shipping facilities must be provided to deliver your shipment to its final destination. The exception is, of course, if you have arranged door-to-door shipping. As mentioned above, door-to-door delivery can be arranged to transport the goods from the airport to the final destination and clear them through New Zealand Customs.
Shipping from China to New Zealand

FCL by sea
FCL, or full container, means your product fills a 20″” or 40″” wide crate.
If you’re shipping in bulk, shipping a full case will save you time and money.
FCL charges are applied at a flat rate regardless of whether your container is full or not.
LCL by sea
LCL or below holder load means your product will not fill the entire compartment and will be sent with a different case or bed.
Please note that when you ship LCL, your merchandise should be cured at the port of origin and unpacked at the port of terminal.


That’s why LCL shipping takes days longer than FCL.
What are the benefits of using air freight to ship from China to New Zealand?
Due to the geographic locations of the two countries, it is impossible to send goods from China to New Zealand by land.

So we only have options for air freight from China to New Zealand and sea freight from China to New Zealand.

Here I specifically talk about air freight.

So the advantages are:

It takes less time to ship goods from China to New Zealand. If you choose Air Freight, your shipment from China to New Zealand will take no more than 10 days.
You pay less for insurance when shipping from China to New Zealand. This is because there is less time involved in the whole process, which makes air freight a less risky mode of transportation.
When you choose air freight, you have more time to ship from China to New Zealand. Assuming you miss a time slot for some reason, you can send your shipment as soon as the next day in your next shipment. This makes the time pressure of the whole process greatly reduced
When your shipment is en route from China to New Zealand, you can also easily track where your item is using the tracking code provided by the courier.

If you decide to use air freight, you can ship your goods to almost anywhere in New Zealand you want. There are airports everywhere, but not every city can find a seaport.
When you ship your goods by air, you don’t have to add too much packaging. When shipping things by boat, it takes a lot of time and money to ensure that items are packaged correctly to reduce the chance of damage in transit from China to New Zealand. But this is not necessary for air freight.
The main difference between China to New Zealand by sea and air?
There are many differences between sea and air freight from China to New Zealand.
Air freight time is less than half of sea freight time
Air freight costs more than ocean freight
Air freight is less dangerous due to shorter transit times
Is it cheaper to ship from China to New Zealand by air or by sea?
Yes, sea freight from China to New Zealand is cheaper than air freight.
This is the cheapest shipping from China to New Zealand.
When people have more cargo to import and export and don’t mind waiting longer, they choose sea freight.
How do Incoterms affect shipping costs from China to New Zealand?

Keep in mind the level of service that freight forwarders provide when evaluating freight quotes.
For example, if you are sailing from Shanghai, China to Wellington, New Zealand, you will need to know some information about the price difference for shipping from the supplier’s distribution center in Shanghai, which means using EXW incoterm and from Shanghai port (CNSHA) means FOB incoterm is used.
FOB prices are usually cheaper, but FOB delivery doesn’t necessarily mean your overall cost is justified.
Paying your distributor to ship your product to port may cover the cost. Keep all costs in mind when evaluating prices.
Remember that some Incoterms are only used for ocean freight, such as FOB.
Documents to prepare when shipping from China to New Zealand
Bill of Lading (Ocean bill of lading is a document issued by the shipping company or its representative in exchange for receiving the goods. Issued by the relevant shipping company, but does not show the exact time of shipment of the goods. The bill of lading is called ON BOARD. The bill of lading is usually called “”AIR WAYBILL”” or AIR CONSIGNMENT NOTE”” or “”AIR FREIGHT NOTE”” issued a total of 12 copies, of which 3 copies have commercial value, and the rest are used within the airline.)
Invoice (It is a document issued by the seller on behalf of the buyer containing information about the goods or goods sold.)
Certificate of Origin (a document issued by various chambers of commerce for export goods and issued for each export item. This document certifies the origin (country) of the goods and is part of the document proving the origin (country) of the goods) The buyer needs to clear customs through customs , to be sent to the buyer along with other documents in due course)
Packing List (list of all items to be shipped)
Test or inspection certificate (issued by an international survey company)
Insurance (all items must be insured)
Not all of these are necessary, and documentation requirements vary by shipping method. Keeping abreast of current regulations and consulting with your freight forwarder will help ensure that you always have the proper documentation for your shipment.
If you are not sure which documents you need or feel confused when preparing your documents, please contact us. We provide assistance in preparing commercial invoices as well as import and export customs clearance for each shipment.”