“Shipping from China to the US
China is the factory of the world and has been for many years. While the U.S. is increasingly inclined to shorten supply chains and increase domestic production, trade opportunities between East and West giants are unlikely to diminish anytime soon.
There are many articles about sourcing from China. However, there is less information on the practicality of sea and air freight from China to the US. On this page, we aim to change that by giving you some practical guidelines for using either mode of transportation.
Do you want to start your first export from China to the U.S. by air, or simplify your ocean freight business? Either way, there’s a lot here to help you be more successful in freight from the East to the 50 great states in the United States.
Shipping from China to America
FCL by sea
FCL, or Full Container Load, is when your cargo fills an entire 20-foot or 40-foot container. If you’re shipping in bulk, you can save time and money by shipping FCL. FCL pricing is flat whether your container is completely full or not.
LCL by sea
LCL or less than container load means your cargo will not fill the entire container and will be shipped with other boxes or pallets. Please note that when you ship LCL, your cargo needs to be consolidated at the port of origin and unpacked at the port of destination.
This is the reason why LCL shipping takes several days than FCL shipping.
Air Freight from China to America
If you don’t want to wait weeks for your shipment to cross the ocean from China to the US, air freight will cut the transit time down to just a few days, albeit at a much higher cost.
What is the best way to ship from China to the US?
While this is a good question, there is no universal “”best way”” to ship from China. You should carefully consider the following variables:
Product and load – what is being transported and how big is it?
Destination – to a small office or a warehouse?
Time requirements – do you need to be in the same week, or can you wait? This is a crucial consideration, especially during Chinese holidays.
Product and load: Some goods, such as aerosol cans and strong magnets, are difficult to transport by air. Other products, such as lithium-ion batteries, can be shipped by air, but the required documentation is often difficult for suppliers to provide and can only be shipped by dedicated aircraft. Because of this, it is often easier to ship batteries by sea in China.
Some products may be too heavy or too large to be shipped by air and can only be shipped by sea or rail.
In some cases, it is better to ship the product by air. Products smaller than 1 cubic meter are usually ideal for air shipment. High-value cargo is sometimes safer to transport by air and is sometimes required by Chinese freight insurance companies.
Destination: End-to-end shipping services provided by most of the well-known Chinese 3PLs are able to deliver goods to warehouses, small commercial buildings and residential areas. However, it is sometimes difficult to transport the container to a location where there is no equipment to unload the container. Because of this, the final destination and how the cargo will be unloaded should be considered to determine the most ideal shipping plan.
In some cases, buyers may find it easier to ship smaller-sized shipments by air from China, while others may benefit from unpacking services after the shipment arrives at a U.S. port.
Time Requirement: If the goods are urgently needed, there is no faster way than air freight.
For some seaborne containerized shipments, transit time can be reduced by shipping to the West Coast instead of the East Coast, and then completing it by truck or rail after the shipment arrives in the United States.
If time is not a priority, shipping by sea to a popular port close to the final destination and trucking at the last leg of the journey is likely to be the cheapest option.
Shipping time from China to US
Transit times for sea, air and express shipments from China to the US
How long does it take to ship from China to the US?
The transit time of your shipment is affected by location, shipment size, and season. Shipping times are not always the same. Shipping may be delayed depending on market conditions, natural behavior and other events.
Use the table below to estimate the time for each shipping method from China to the United States.
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Shipping from China to USA
Shipping charges can often be calculated based on the shipping method used by looking at the weight and/or volume of the item being shipped and the speed at which the item is being shipped.
If you can fill a container, the FCL service will save you the most on shipping as the unit cost will be lower than LCL. This is because LCL shipping is calculated using the dimensional weight formula. In contrast, FCL is a flat rate per container.
On the other hand, it is rarely cost-effective to rent and transport a container that is only partially full. If your shipment only takes up two or three pallets, the cost of FCL shipping can be prohibitive, and LCL shipping becomes a more attractive option.
Most shippers won’t choose air freight — especially for bulk shipments — unless speed is critical to their supply chain. That is, small quantities of goods can be transported by air at reasonable prices. The cost of air cargo weighing around 100kg is sometimes only a little more than the cost of sending the cargo as sea freight.
If you plan to export cargo weighing less than 35kg, you are unlikely to find a freight forwarder to handle it. It is not feasible to ship such small quantities using a freight agreement. Instead, you should contact an international courier company that will arrange for your shipment to be shipped by air at an affordable rate.
Sino-US customs clearance
Import and export clearance can seem complicated, and in many cases, that’s because of it. However, this is an unavoidable aspect of sea and air shipments from China to the United States. Therefore, this is something that every supplier, consignee and middleman who engages in international trade must be prepared for.
Your carrier will not be responsible for helping you with customs procedures. However, freight forwarders charge a fee to take care of them. Even so, your business must be responsible for certain steps. They include providing accurate information and documentation to accompany your shipment.
Generally, you need to ensure that all exports from China to the US are accompanied by the following documents, as they are required by the customs authorities of both countries:
1. Commercial Invoice
2. Packing list
3. Certificate of Origin
4. Letter of credit or other payment terms (depending on the contract between the parties involved)
5. Ocean bill of lading or air waybill (your freight forwarder should provide this)”
