Shipping Cost from China to US for 7 Main Shipping Methods
Shipping is an essential part of importing from China to the US. Nowadays, many importers buy from wholesale sites, like Alibaba, Global Sources, Made in China, etc.
Generally, their suppliers will arrange the transportation for them. Some with import experiences may have their trust freight forwarders and will arrange shipments by themselves. But for newbies, shipping may be tormenting, especially when you need to compare different shipping methods and relevant costs.
So, in this article, I will share 7 major shipping methods from China to the US and their estimated costs. After reading it, you can arrange transportation with ease, whether you are using the supplier’s forwarder or your own. Anyway, this is a good guide.
Note: All the shipping cost listed in the article is regular pre-pandemic price. However, COVID-19 has a great impact on freight costs. The prices change very frequently. The latest price you get will change again after several days. In addition, the cost has been much more expensive than before. For example, the price of a container has risen to 7-8 times of the usual price. So, if you want to estimate your shipping cost, please contact us to get the real-time freight rates.
Table of Contents
- Choose a Better Express Company
- Estimate Express Shipping Cost
- Dimensional Weight VS Real Weight
- Express Shipping VS Air Freight
- Calculate All-included Air Freight Cost
- Cost Breakdown of Air Freight
- LCL & FCL of Sea Freight
- Calculate All-included Sea Freight Cost
- Cost Breakdown of Sea Freight
- Sea Freight UPS Combined
- Air Freight UPS Combined
- Epacket for Small Packages
- China Post for Small Packages
Note: trade terms (Incoterms) are what define your shipping model, which is directly related to the shipping cost. If you have no ideas about what Incoterms are, I suggest you watch the following video first.
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Express Shipping from China to the US
You can find plenty of information on Google about Express companies like FedEx, UPS, and DHL. So I am not going to waste your time reading top Express couriers again here. Instead, I’ll answer the two more important questions directly:
- When is it more cost-effective to choose express?
- What type of goods can be transported via express?
Which Express Company Is Better?
Compared with sea or air freight, express is the easiest and fastest transportation method from China to the US.
You won’t have to bother about the custom clearances process. And whether you are getting the goods delivered to the east or the west of the United States, delivery fees will likely be the same. All you have to do is to find an express company that gives you a reasonable quote and waits for the goods to be delivered to your address.
About 95% of the product samples and high-value goods in small quantities are shipped by express. Besides, if you are online sellers who are in a hurry to restock, like Amazon sellers, express is highly suitable to you.
FedEx, UPS, DHL, which is the most reliable and cost-effective one for shipping from China? I recommend FedEx and UPS. Because generally, DHL’s customs clearance process is slower than that of FedEx and UPS and sometimes DHL’s shipping cost is also relatively higher.