About 90% of the goods in international trade are transported by sea. Its advantages are: the price is cheap, and it is a good choice for traders who have no timeliness requirements and reduce costs.
Ocean freight from China to the USA is LCL and FCL. LCL shipping to the USA is commonly used in China-US trade.
LCL means that the carrier (or agent) receives less than a full container of goods, and then classifies the goods according to the nature and destination of the goods, and the category of goods. Goods shipped to the same destination are packed in boxes in a certain quantity.
Different shippers for the goods in the container, when a shipper does not consign enough to fill an entire container. The sorting, sorting, concentration, loading (dismantling) and delivery of LCL cargo takes place at the carrier’s container terminal or inland container transfer station.
Five factors to consider in LCL shipping to the USA
volume
gross weight
product category
route
time
The volume of a cargo is calculated based on the amount of space it takes up. The volume of a carton is calculated by multiplying the length, width and height. Ocean freight is volumetric (unless more than 1,000kg per cubic meter), which includes LCL shipments. If the volume of the goods is between 1 and 18 CBM, it is better to consider the LCL agreement. Otherwise, air freight (less than 1m³ ) or full container (more than 18m³ may be a more economical option.
Gross weight is the total weight of the entire shipment, including the weight of the packaging and outer box. If the gross weight of the goods exceeds 150 kg in peak season and 200 kg in off-season, it is best to consider LCL shipping to the USA.
You might be wondering why you should consider high and low seasons. This is because shipping rates are dynamic and can easily change as supply and demand change. Since air freight is the first choice for small shipments and it is also more susceptible to price changes when shipping demand rises, an alternative to air freight is LCL shipping to the USA.
LCL shipping to the USA cost
Charges for LCL shipments are based on the actual volume or space the shipment occupies in a shared ocean container, usually a minimum of 1 CBM. If the total volume of the load is less than the minimum, the charge will be considered 1 CBM. That being said, even if your shipment takes up far less space than the minimum requirement, you are still obliged to pay for the minimum volume.
If the ocean freight is calculated by actual volume, the air freight is calculated by gross weight or volumetric weight, whichever is greater. For example, a 0.8 CBM shipment with a gross weight of 50kg will have a dimensional weight of 160kg when shipped by AirExpress. If sending by LCL, the charge will be based on a minimum of 1 CBM for sea freight.
LCL shipping to the USA freight forwarder
The key point of LCL is to find the freight forwarder. If the freight forwarder is found correctly, the most important first step has been completed when the goods are successfully shipped.
The following Sino-US ocean freight negotiation and operation process will be completed by Xiongda International Logistics, a Sino-US special line logistics expert.
The cost of LCL includes: sea freight, customs declaration fee, ISF, AMS, destination port miscellaneous fees, customs clearance fees, delivery fees, excluding destination import tariffs, and the tariffs are reimbursed.
The price is very transparent in such a fixed-price quotation method, which prevents the phenomenon of arbitrary charges in other names after the goods arrive at the destination, and allows customers to clearly calculate the transportation cost.
If you have the trouble of shipping from China to the United States, if you need to choose LCL shipping to the USA service, you can choose Shanghai Xiongda International Logistics.
