Below are the typical days it takes to shipping from China to the US, depending on the method.
- Express freight time from China to US – 1-5 days
- Air Freight from China to USA – 5-12days
- Sea Freight to West Coast – 15+ days
- Sea Freight to East Coast – 30+ days
Air freight time from China to US
The average air freight between China and the US usually takes 7-10 days. You may wonder why it is also transported by plane, why does the transport time of air transport take longer than express delivery? In fact, it is because the air freight business is more complicated than express freight. Expedited air shipments typically cut air freight time from China to US by 2-3 days.
Sea freight time from China to US
Sea freight has the longest delivery time, door to door shipping from China to the US takes about 15-35 days. This is because ships travel much slower than airplanes. Beyond the necessary extra preparation, ocean liners have begun sailing slower to save energy (and money). For example, US Customs requires an ISF bond for importers using a single data bond and transiting by sea.
What you need to know before choosing shipping
- Check the shipping cost with 2-3 agents in the US. Ask them to break down their quotes by freight/US clearance/inland transportation etc.
- Also ask your Chinese supplier to check the shipping cost in China for you so that you can compare the prices and bargain with the US agent if necessary.
- Shipping terms will affect the supplier’s quotation. If your Chinese supplier gives you the FOB price, he needs to pay in China, such as local transportation in China, customs clearance, local shipping company fees, etc. If you get ex-factory prices, you will need to pay for these.
- Find the best option and book your shipment (recommended 15 days in advance from your desired shipment date.)
But no matter what the transportation channel is, the freight time from China to US will be affected by some factors. Today, let’s take a look at the reasons for the difference in the actual efficiency.
Objective factors
Actual distance between ports. If it is transported from Ningbo and Shanghai to the ports in the west of the United States and the ports in the east of the United States, there must be a gap.
Number of ports of call
Generally speaking, the fewer ports a container line calls on the way, the faster it will arrive at the destination port.
The nature of the port of destination
If the container terminal of the port is a public terminal, as long as the peak season arrives, the port will be congested, which will seriously affect the speed of unloading ships, thereby affecting the entire freight time from China to US. If it is an independent terminal, it will not be affected even in the peak season, and the unloading speed will be much faster than that of the public terminal.
Unresistible factors
The reasons we mentioned above may be avoided as much as possible, but if we encounter natural disasters during the shipping process, then we cannot avoid this objective factor.
