When shipping from China To USA, Ocean freight is the transportation of goods by sea in sea containers. Ocean freight rates to USA is cheap.
Sea freight from china to USA is the most common mode of transportation for importers and exporters. In fact, a full 90% of all shipments are shipped by sea and ocean. Other international shipping methods (express, air, express) are faster, but also more expensive. Smaller shipments and high-value products often go in these other ways.
Ocean freight rates to USA
For per kg:
Most LCL are priced by volume, not by weight, except for particularly heavy loads.
For most products, use the following rules of thumb to choose the most cost-effective model:
It becomes uneconomical to transport goods weighing more than 500 kg by air.
The ocean freight rates to USA is about 2-4 USD/kg, and it takes about 30-40 days or more for China-US shipping.
About 5-8 dollars per kilogram, China-US freight between 150kg and 500kg can be economically shipped by air, which takes about 8-10 days.
Express shipping is a few days faster but more expensive.
Packages weighing less than 150kg can be shipped economically by express (courier).
Composition of ocean freight rates to USA
Customs Security Surcharge (AMS, ISF)
Container Freight Station (these are LCL charges and only apply to LCL)
Terminal loading and unloading charges (charged by the Port Authority)
Customs clearance
Pickup and Delivery
Insurance
Surcharges (fuel surcharges, handling of hazardous materials, storage, etc.)
Routing costs (e.g. Panama Canal, Alameda Corridor)
LCL
LCL is a situation that is often encountered by some cross-border sellers with small volumes, that is to say, small-ticket goods usually go through the channel of LCL. Because the shipping company usually transports the whole box of goods, it does not accept the transportation of individual LCL goods when booking.
FCL
FCL is relative to LCL. FCL by sea is also called FCL, the English interpretation is Full Container Load, referred to as FCL.
The cargo owner has a large amount of cargo, and a whole container is the cargo of one person. Usually, the cargo owner can be responsible for packing, counting, stowage and sealing the cargo, so the transportation of the whole container is also much more convenient than the transportation of the LCL.
FCL、LCL Ocean freight rates to USA
The LCL Ocean freight rates to USA is only the basic shipping fee, which is calculated according to the volume and weight, and the one with the largest shipping amount will be charged in the two methods.
(1) Calculated by volume, basic freight 1 = basic freight per unit (MTQ) × total volume
(2) Calculated by weight, basic freight 2 = basic freight per unit (TNE) × total gross weight
FCL Ocean freight rates to USA is divided into three parts, total freight = basic freight + port surcharge + fuel surcharge
(1) Basic freight = basic freight per unit × number of FCLs
(2) Port surcharge = port surcharge per unit × number of FCLs
(3) Fuel surcharge = unit fuel surcharge × number of FCLs
Factors Affecting Ocean freight rates to USA
Freight destination
Needless to say, most people know this, and it is also the most basic factor in determining ocean freight. Simply put, the longer the voyage, the higher the Ocean freight rates to USA , and vice versa.
Port service charge
All the extra charges levied by the port, such as loading and unloading charges, storage charges, etc., the service charges at the port also tend to affect the Ocean freight rates to USA .
Seasonal factor
For some commodities, season also becomes a very important factor. For example, grains and fruits that are shipped during a specific freight season will incur higher freight rates, and vice versa.
Currency
Today, the common currency used for international trade is the US dollar. Therefore, the ocean freight from China to US will also depend on the exchange rate that fluctuates on the exchange, so the sea freight may be levied according to the latest prevailing exchange rate.
Penalty
If there is a delay in arriving at the port due to a backlog of cargo, fines may be imposed and ocean freight rates will also be affected.
Departure tax
This fee refers to the travel cost between the port and the designated destination. You can refer to the departure tax paid when you buy the ticket, but it is paid for the goods. Departure tax also affects ocean freight, but not every city needs to pay it.
Fuel Surcharge
This fee is a fee charged by the shipping company to the shipper due to the increase in fuel prices, and is charged as a percentage of the ocean freight.
Short position fee
Containers operate according to the simple economic principle of “economies of scale”. If the shipper does not have enough cargo to load the container to the specified capacity, it will affect the ocean freight rates to USA , and the shipper has to pay the empty space fee, which is not high.
