What are the methods for freight shipping from China to USA? This is a question that has been asked a lot lately.
There are a lot of USA sellers importing from China because you can import high quality Chinese goods at very reasonable prices and sell them on the American market.
Because in China, labor resources are cheap and abundant. If you want to get higher profits, managing the shipping costs from China to the United States is a very important thing.
First and foremost, you need to know that there are several ways for freight shipping from China to USA.
Sea Freight
Freight shipping from China to USA by sea.This mode of transport is suitable for large and heavy cargo. It’s very cost-effective. You have two options here:
LCL： For smaller shipments, you can send ocean freight as LCL. In this case, your freight forwarder will consolidate it with the other shipper’s cargo and hire a carrier to transport it from China to the US in containers.
FCL: If you ship enough quantity to fill a container, Full Container Load (FCL) freight service will save you money compared to LCL shipping. FCL means that your cargo will occupy the container alone. Additionally, you should be able to ship your shipments from China to the US faster without LCL/unboxing.
If your cargo volume is less than 15 CBM, please use LCL container. But if your cargo is bulky, please use a FCL container. LCL is cheaper than FCL.
If you can fill a shipping container, an FCL service will save you the most money on transportation, as the cost-per-unit will be lower than LCL. That’s because LCL shipping rates are calculated using a dimensional weight formula. In contrast, FCL is based on flat rates per container.
The cost of freight shipping from China to USA by sea
● booking fee
● China customs clearance and customs documents
● Chinese local logistics
● Import costs also include:
● local logistics
● US customs clearance
● taxes and duties
● examination
● deliver goods
The time freight shipping from China to USA by sea
From China to the United States, the routes to the east coast and west coast are different. The clipper ships to the west coast of the United States (usually to Long Beach or the Port of Los Angeles), and the sea is to the Pacific Ocean.
The sea navigation time takes about 13 to 16 days. Because the shipping company is different, the price is different, so the time is long or short. For slow boats, it takes about 30-40 days to arrive at the port for pickup.
AirFreight
Freight shipping from China to USA by air:
Air freight from China to the United States is a safe and fast way. For 150 to 500 kg cargo, this is the cheapest method. The advantage of China’s US air freight is that it is simple and fast, and many processes and procedures can be counted.
The restrictions of the US special line mainly include restrictions on region, weight, volume, item type, etc. You need to pay special attention when using this special line for logistics.
In addition, the use of the US special line also needs to understand the subdivision channels of the special line logistics, because different subdivision channels have different characteristics and advantages, and only reasonable selection can enjoy the best quality logistics services.
Cargo types for freight shipping from china to usa by air:
In air freight you can carry cargo either by passenger plane or by aircraft. When importing, always check the list of prohibited imported goods to the destination country.
These cargoes include:
Lithium Battery: They are not allowed to be transported by passenger planes. But they can be transported by aircraft.
Valuable Goods: Valuable goods such as jewelry and electronics are considered air freight cargo because they require high security. Because air freight is the safest.
Special Conditions: Goods that are sensitive to temperature, fragile or even time sensitive such as:
Foods
Pharmaceuticals
Seasonal clothes
cut flowers
Dangerous Goods: Some of these goods are allowed by air and some are not.
Human examples:Body organs used for transplantation.
Among them are prohibited for freight shipping from china to usa by air such as:
● Explosives and gases
● Toxic and corrosive substances
● Anything that has high magnetic attraction.
● UN classified dangerous goods
● Illegal goods
The time freight shipping from China to USA by air
The direct flight time from China to the United States is generally 13 to 14 hours. Because the links of American air transportation are more complicated than passenger transportation, it is related to customs declaration, security inspection, customs clearance and other links.
It takes 2-3 days to pick up the goods from China to Los Angeles. And the transfer will be several days slower. For example, from China to Hong Kong to the United States, it takes about 7-9 days.
Generally speaking, it is cost-effective for small shipments. The overall shipping costs of freight shipping from china to usa by air :
● Shipping from factory to airport in China
● export procedures
● main transport
● US customs clearance
● deliver goods
● Sino-US local logistics
● taxes and duties
Calculate your air freight rates by Express. However, the calculation formula for volumetric weight is different:
length × weight × height / 6000
It depends on the type of cargo and the destination airport. There are many airports in the United States, each of which offers different services. The diversity of services and the distance of U.S. airports from China lead to cost differences.
Express
Freight shipping from China to USA byexpress.
It is also very common to ship from China to the US by express. However, due to the high cost of express delivery, the express delivery mode is more suitable for cases where the quantity of goods is small, or the time of the goods is very urgent.
But it has to be said that express delivery is also very convenient. It only takes 3-5 days for express delivery from China to the United States. Commonly used express: UPS, FedEx, DHL, EMS.
TIP:Factors that affect cost of Freight shipping from China to USA
cargo type. This is of course the most obvious factor. For example, if your goods are perishable or valuable, you need more security and special services. In this case it will obviously cost more.
weight and volume.
If the item is larger and doesn’t have a standard size, the cost of packaging and other services will be higher.
