when importing products from China， how much does it shipping to USA cost?
The shipping to USA cost
When it comes to freight fees, we need to consider the mode of transportation first. There are generally three ways of shipping from China to USA:
1. Express delivery
So let’s talk about express delivery first. This shipping service is the fastest and most reliable way to ship bulk cargo from China to the United States. UPS, FedEx, TNT and DHL are the best express shipping companies.
You will receive your package by express delivery in less than five days, but the speed and reliability of delivery comes at a high price. Conventional wisdom is that delivery costs are typically about $2 a pound; But during the peak sales season, the shipping to USA cost nearly double to $4 a pound. It’s really, really expensive.
2. Air freight
The second way is by air. For shipments weighing between 400 and 1,200 pounds, air freight is the most economical option. And it’s 30 to 40 percent cheaper than express delivery. However, air freight is more troublesome than express because you may need to hire a customs agent or even arrange for the last mile shipment from the airport to the warehouse.
Overall, though, air freight is a good trade-off between the speed and shipping to USA cost of medium freight.
3. Sea shipping
Finally, we offer shipping service for over 1200 pounds of cargo. Shipping from China to the United States is often the most affordable option. You pay part of the amount for a 20 – or 40-foot container, and you can ship as many as you want.
But compared with air freight, it takes a long time. You don’t need to fill the entire container to ship; Instead, you can choose less than the container load, called LCL. With LCL, several batches of goods are combined and loaded in a container.
LCL is often more expensive because it takes more labor to consolidate and separate goods, and it also takes slightly longer to ship than a full container. With sea freight now, you also need to hire a customs agent and arrange the last mile of shipping from the port to your warehouse, but overall, the low price of sea freight allows e-commerce companies to achieve profit security.
Let’s talk about how much it shipping to USA cost by these three ways .
The shipping to USA cost for sea freight
FCL or FCL is when you fill a full container 20 feet or 40 feet long. If you ship in bulk, you can save time and money by shipping FCL. Full container pricing is uniform whether your container is fully filled or not.
LCL or less than container load capacity 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 goods need to be consolidated at the port of origin and unpacked at the port of destination.
That’s why it takes a few days to ship LCL than FCL.
Once the cargo weighs more than 500kg or so, shipping becomes the cheapest option. Shipping offers huge economies of scale (some ships can carry 20,000 20-foot containers).
Some freight forwarders offer a premium service, often called expedited freight, which is a little more expensive than regular sea freight. As with air freight, shipping to USA cost vary widely between freight forwarders, and again, over time – shop around.
The shipping to USA cost for air freight
Air freight is usually faster but more expensive than sea freight, so the model you choose will depend on the size and weight of your cargo and how fast you need to get to your destination.
From China to the US for $6-8, standard air freight is the cheapest option for goods between 150 and 500kg.
For very light size goods, bulk weight rather than actual weight may be charged.
Air transportation is the fastest way of transportation. It’s more expensive to send by air. shipping to USA cost can vary widely between freight forwarders and prices change regularly, so be sure to shop around.
The shipping to USA cost for express
Air express is the fastest way to transport goods from China to the United States. If your goods volume is 1 cubic meter or less and weight is 200 kg or less, express is a good choice. For express delivery, the charged weight is either volume weight or gross weight.
However, the shipping to USA cost for express is the most expensive among the three modes of transportation. Even in the peak sales season, the price of DHL has risen to 60 RMB /KG.
Factors affecting shipping to USA cost:
Mode of transport
If you need to save money, you can choose regular sea freight. If your shipment is urgent, please do not risk slow shipping just to save money. Because there are so many uncertainties, no one can guarantee that your goods will arrive in the time you want. If you’re in a hurry, be generous with air freight or express delivery.
Cargo weight
The shipping to USA cost may be affected by the amount of space it takes up inside the container rather than the actual weight. This is weight in volume (or size).
The volume weight of a package is a calculation method that reflects the density of the package. Objects that are less dense usually take up more space than their actual weight. Calculate the volume weight or volume weight and compare it with the actual weight of the cargo to determine which is larger; The higher weight is used to calculate shipping costs.
Here’s the formula for transportation:
Volume weight = length x width x height/volume divisor *
* Standard volume divisor is 5000 weight in KG and size in CM via air express
* Standard volume divisor is 6000, weight in KG, size in CM, air or sea
Therefore, the larger one between the actual weight and the volume weight will be the billing weight. The more weight you charge, the higher your shipping to USA cost.
Different outer box sizes
For the goods shipped from China to Amazon FBA in the United States, the actual weight of one item in the outer box should be controlled within 10~30Kg (if the weight exceeds that, it should be confirmed in advance to avoid rejection or increase of costs).
The longest side of the outer container shall be less than 120CM, the shortest side shall be less than 75CM, and the shortest side *2+ the longest side shall be less than 330CM (if it exceeds, it must be confirmed in advance to avoid rejection or additional charges).
It is understood that a surcharge will be imposed on goods that are too long, because it makes shipping more difficult.
