Shipping from China to USA (Updated 2021) - Country Guides
Shipping from China to the USA is one of the most popular topics in freight business. Importers usually wonder how to ship goods from China to the USA, what documents are needed for importing and exporting, how to make production booking to better correspond with freight service, etc. During peak seasons, importers also worry about the port congestion situation that causes a delay, the freight General Rate Increase that makes profit margin less. With a shipping experience of over 17 years, we wish the guidance of shipping from China to the USA is helpful for importers. By the way, if you want to simplify the whole shipping process, you can get yourself a freight forwarder. A reliable and professional freight forwarder will always know how to move your products to the destination with the lowest possible costs.
1.How to ship from China to the USA?
2.How long does it take to ship from China to the USA?
3.Unsteady Market:Soaring High Shipping Rates from China to the US
4.How much does it cost to ship from China to USA?
5.Holidays in China that effect shipping to the USA.
6.What`s the shipping documents needed to ship from China to the USA?
7.How to track your shipping from China to the USA?
8.How to make an effective booking for shiping from China to the USA?
How to ship from China to the USA?
Firstly the departing port (Port of loading, POL)and destination port (Port of Destination, POD) should be chosen per picking up address and delivery warehouse.
From South China to North China, you may choose below mainland basic ports: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin, Dalian;
The USA West Coast Basic Ports are: Los Angeles, CA; Long Beach, CA; San Francisco, CA; Oakland, CA; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Tacoma, WA
The USA East Coast Basic Ports are: New York, NY; Norfolk, VA; Savannah, GA; Baltimore, MD; Charleston, SC
Gulf Ports：Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA; Miami FL; Tampa, FL; Mobile AL
Secondly, choose the prefered shipping mode. Modes vary with your requriements for transit time,freight price, or space validity,etc.
Here is a table of four different Shipping modes:
| Pros | Cons | Volume | Charge by |
LCL SHIPPING | Cost saving | L onger transit time(TT） |
| CBM or RT |
FCL SHIPPING | Short TT Safer from damage
| F ixed container capacity; uneconomical for small quantity | More than 20 CBM | P er container |
AIR FREIGHT | Fast
| Expensive
| 45kg above | Chargeable weight (whichever larger between G.W. and volume weight) |
COURIER | Convenient Fast | Expensive | 1kgs above | Chargeable weight (whichever larger between G.W. and volume weight) |
How long does it take to ship from China to the USA?
Transit Time (TT) is a significant factor when considering shipping goods. There are different transit time margins for the west coast, east coast and central USA. Also, time will vary with the shipping modes you choose
Generally speaking, LCL will take a longer time than FCL,as loading/unloading at bonded CFS is the added process than FCL, which costs usually 4-8 days additionally; courier and air are faster than FCL/LCL,and it’s decided by the route the aircraft flies. Direct air shipping route needs 1 day to arrive, while indirect air shipping route takes 2 to even 7 days, depending on transhipping capacity and route. On Seabay web, you are available to check any airport code and it’s direct airlines from China airports.
For example, SZX
https://www.seabaycargo.com/airport-code/pvg-shanghai-pudong-international-airport.html
Here is a table of shipping time based on different shipping services and ports,for standard service only(NOTE excluding peak season delay)
| WEST COAST(Days) | EAST COAST(Days | ||||||
| FCL | LCL | AIR | Courier | FCL | LCL | AIR | Courier |
Ningbo | 14-18 | Adding 4-8 Days on top of FCL | 1-5 | 3-8 | 26-32 | Adding 4-8 Days on top of FCL | 1-7 | 4-9 |
Qingdao | 15-19 | 28-34 | ||||||
Shanghai | 14-18 | 26-32 | ||||||
Shenzhen | 12-16 | 26-32 | ||||||
Xiamen | 14-18 | 28-34 | ||||||
Guangzhou | 13-20 | 28-34 | ||||||
Tianjing | 15-19 | 28-34 | ||||||
Tips:As for shipping to central coast USA, the cargo will be shipped firstly to dry port like Los Angeles,CA, and then be transhipped to Inland Container Depot ( ICD)/Interior Point Intermodal (IPI) ,by ALL WATER SERVICE(A/W) via Panama Canal to EC/GC with longer transit time, or by Mini land Bridge( MLB ) service transhipping cross mainland USA via Rail/truck with shorter transit time.
Seabay web has instant quote for both sea freight( FCL & LCL) and Air freight, there are also the estimated transit time for FOB term quote, you can see the estimated transit time here: seabaycargo.com
Unsteady Market: Soaring High Shipping Rates from China to the USA
At the beginning of 2020, the demand for container transport was expected to decrease, but with the temporary lockdown abroad, people changed their ways of shopping -- online shopping takes the rule of building a digital relationship between the sellers and the buyers； thus undoubted people changed their ways of shopping and E-commerce business is booming . With the gradual recovery from COVID-19 lockdown, the US Government lift the restrictions of embargoes and approve national stimulus packages, and businesses stock up too in the epidemic, the USA consumption ability recovers too. Accordingly, a surge in consumption demand contributes to a surge of freight shipping demand from China to the USA.
Though freight shipping demand is stronger than expected, containers are still in short supply. In summary, an imbalance of supply and demand of containers fuels the hike in freight rates.
From the picture, it can be seen that the freight rate has been climbing in these few months.
To cope with the unsteady situation of the shipping market from China to the USA, it's better to find a reliable forwarder who can offer the latest information and a suitable shipping plan.
How much does it cost to ship from China to the USA?
According to 17 years of shipping experience from Seabay, for shipping from China to the USA, FCL freight changes every half month; LCL freight changes every quater of year; Air / Express freight changes every week.
Since COVID-19 Epidemic,freight price has been higher than before. And with the aggravation of port congestion,short of containers & chassis,and recovery of shipping demand, freight is dramatically soaring since Apr 2021. According to FBX updates as below, in late June,freight from China to USA are reaching to over 200% higher than last year. With the comming of peak season of 3rd quater of a year,freight price is hard to drop then.
Instant quote is convenient on seabaycargo.com.
Just like booking Train tickets, when entering the loading port and destination port, and freight charges show out autimatically,together with Transit time,validity,carrier name etc.
Holidays in China that effect shipping to the USA
After choosing the best shipping mode, shipping ports, and best freight quote, you are then coming to the step of Space Booking.
Importers who plan for the holiday in advance will undoubtedly have better shipping solutions without delays and high charges. The Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. People will get together and have a New Year Eve Dinner. That’s why many people go back home and factories are temporarily closed, which leads to a halt in the shipping industry. Our advice to you is to make a plan as early as possible and book space with a freight forwarder before the holiday comes.
Here is a table showing the popular holidays of China.
Festival Name | Date | Lasting Time |
New Years Day | First of January | 1-day |
Chinese New Year/Spring Festival | End of January to mid-February | 15days |
Qingming Festival | Early April | 1-day |
Labor Day | Early May | 3-days |
Dragon Boat Festival | End of June | 3-days |
Mid-Autumn Festival | Early October | 1-day |
Golden Week | Early October | 7-days |
What’s the shipping documents needed to ship from China to the USA?
Shipping documents are those forms, records, or certificates needed for shipping, declaring customs, record clearance and trucking delivery. These documents are needed to bring a shipment into compliance with the regulations of the countries through which it travels.
Here are some basic documents:
| Content | Function |
Reflect the conditions of the Incoterm under which the transaction is being carried out | proof of the ownership of the goods | |
Packing List | Have details like weight, volume, pcs,gross weight,net weight. | used by freight forwarders to clear customs ;proof in the event of disputes and claims |
Commercial Invoice | List the goods bought and their buying prices | used by freight forwarders to clear customs ;proof in the event of disputes and claims |
Certificate of Origin(it’ s not a must for US import.) | Declare the country of origin for manufactured goods | needed to clear customs and determine the amount of duties and taxes that need to be paid. |
Letter of credit | Represent a formal, binding agreement of payment between buyer and seller | guarantee the safety of the payment |
If you want to know more about clearance documents and requirements in air shipping, please check it through the airport code system on seabaycargo.com. It's free for checking after registration.
Feel free to type in a city name, country name, airport or IATA code in the bland and you can see the clearance documents and requirements.
How to track your shipping from China to the USA?
For sea freight, you are able to track&trace an order with container number or master bill of lading number,together with carrier name.
For air freight,the airway bill number and airline name is needed for tracking status.
For express, the express bill number and express name are the essential info for getting status quo.
www.seabaycargo.com/container-tracking
Seabay Container Tracking system consolidates more than 80 shipping companies tracking links into one search box.
How to track your container up-to-date location or status?
1. Enter container number or Bill of Lading number;
2. Select shipping company liners from “Shipping Company” list.
3. Click “Track”, our system will redirect you to the chosen shipping company’s tracking page.
4.Enter container number or the B/L number again and search on the new page.
Remarks: if your Bill of lading is not a Master Bill of Lading(issued by shipping company), you may not be able to find the correct shipping company. Please leave message or send us your House Bill of Lading(issued by shipping agent), we will help you to track your shipment.
www.seabaycargo.com/air-tracking
Seabay Air Tracking system consolidates more than 200 major airlines air cargo track and trace in one box. The system will automatically guide you to the correct official website .
How to make an effective booking for shiping from China to the USA?
The full details a forwarder needs are below for a complete quote shipping from China to USA;A buyer can also make inquiry on SEABAY web instead( https://www.seabaycargo.com/request-for-quote/ )
1: Port of Loading?(Or supplier address)
2: Port of Discharging?(Or delivery address)
3: Your commodity name and logo/Brand,HS CODE
4: Volume & Gross Weight
5. Trading term with supplier
6. Cargo Ready date
7. Consignee has anual bond or need single bond? what's the Commercial value?
8. Shipping mode you prefer
9. Any additional request from your side.
Since COVID-19 epidemic,freight space is one of the largest problems buyers/forwarders are facing,recent logistics complications since Apr 2021 worsen freight situation,owing to rising freight demand,epidemic escalation,and sustained port/airport congestion,suspended vessels/airlines,lack of labor/ chassis/containers,etc.
According to Seabay’ s 17 years shipping experiences and large investment in peak seasons,here below are the tips for effective booking for shipping from China to USA:
Purchase goods in advance by considering peak season and holiday delay;
Make shipping plans with freight forwarder at least 1 month before goods ready;
Think about changing warehouse,route of departing port&destination port,shipping mode,container size,etc as backup solutions;
Keep an eye on freight change at specific seasons by freight news/forwarders quote etc.
Use a trusted forwarder and give comparative processing flexibility to avoid time difference and avoid missing any good spaces and choices.
Pls feel free to check on www.seabaycargo.com for instant online quote or fill in the blanks in the inquiry system( www.seabaycargo.com/request-for-quote ), you will be contacted for instant quote within 12 hours.
