• Importers shipping from China to the US can use express, air freight or sea freight.
• Which method you use will depend on the type of cargo and load, your timing requirements and budget.
• With dozens of airports and ports with service from China, US importers have great flexibility. Make sure you contact a freight forwarder to understand all your options and to maximize your savings.
• A freight forwarder based in China like Guided Imports have negotiated rates unavailable to US or international forwarders, and we pass those savings on to you.
• It’s important you understand your incoterms with your supplier, as this will affect both the final cost and any logistics you may be responsible for. If you’re unsure, get a quote and we can help you figure it out.
• Don’t forget to protect your investment with freight insurance and work with a customs broker to ensure your goods leave China and enter the US without issue. Guided Imports offers these services if you need them.
• Many freight forwarders took advantage of the supply chain crisis and were caught price-gouging their customers.
• When shipping rates cooled down in 2022, and space became readily available, the freight forwarders who were taking advantage of their customers began to experience a mass customer exodus. This caused some freight forwarders to go bankrupt which left their customers’ shipments stranded.

Shipping costs from China to the USA are typically made up of freight costs and landed costs.

Freight Costs from China to the US

The freight costs can usually be calculated based on the shipping method used by looking at the weight and/or volume of the goods being shipped, and the speed at which goods are shipped.

Average freight costs for the various shipping methods can range from:

Air Express to the USA: $7.54 to $9.54 per kilogram

Air Freight to the USA: $3.40 to $15.50 per kilogram

Sea Freight to the USA: $1,200–$1,850 per container

Landed Costs from China to the US

Additionally, many shipments include “landed costs”, such as transportation from the factory to the shipping agent, warehousing, or customs clearance. This is especially true when you use sea freight and air freight, depending upon your shipping incoterms.

We’ll cover exact shipping costs in more detail later in the sections related to the three different shipment methods, which follow.

Let’s start with express shipping first, since it’s the fastest method available to importers.

DHL

We find DHL to be the fastest solution and ideal for sending documents and very small parcels. While some assume DHL is always the most expensive, we find their service to be consistent and their price to be comparable.

UPS

UPS is ideal when customers need to ship larger-sized cargo via air express. Their pricing for larger volumes is the lowest, and their end-to-end service is seamless.

FedEx

FedEx used to be a strong contender for shipments from China, however, their rates have increased over the years, and today we consider them to be the most expensive of the three. The benefit of FedEx is that they tend to have special rates at certain times of the year, which can make them the cheapest option, but these rates are inconsistent. At Guided Imports, when FedEx does not offer special rates, we always consider them to be our third option.

China air freight is a fast and reliable way to ship cargo from China to the US. It’s the ideal method when you need your goods in 20 days or less, or your shipping volume is between 150 and 500 kilograms.

It’s important to remember that unless your air freight quote is “door to door”, it will involve a bit more work and there will be added costs, including:

• Arranging the loading and transport of your goods from your supplier to your destination airport in China
• Preparing all necessary documents to clear both Chinese and US Customs
• Payment of any duties, taxes, and warehousing costs upon the arrival of your goods to the United States
• And the transport of your goods from the arrival airport in the US to their final destination, as well as their unloading