Air & Ocean Shipping From China to US
China is the world’s factory, and has been for some years. Despite a growing trend in the United States toward shortening supply chains and increasing domestic production, opportunities for trade between the giants of East and West are unlikely to diminish anytime soon.Get more news about
Door-to-door Air Freight From China,you can vist our website!
Much has been written about sourcing from China. However, there is somewhat less information to be found about the practicalities of ocean and air shipping from China to the US. On this page, we aim to change that, by providing you with some practical guidance for using either mode of transportation.
Do you want to get your first export from China to the US off to a flying start with air freight, or simplify the business of shipping by sea? Either way, there’s plenty here to help you become more successful with your freight movements from the Orient to the 50 great states of America.With no possibility to import from China to the US via overland services, your only options are to send your goods as ocean or air freight.
If your supply chain requires rapid transit, and you have a robust enough logistics budget, air freight will probably be the right choice for your business. Otherwise, you will need to opt for the slower, but less expensive option, to send your commodities in a shipping container from China to the US as ocean freight.
Less than Container Load (LCL): For smaller shipments, you can send your ocean freight as a less-than-container-load. In this case, your freight forwarder will have it consolidated with other shippers’ goods and engage a carrier to transport it in a container from China to the US.
Full Container Load (FCL): If you ship in quantities large enough to fill a shipping container, full-container-load (FCL) freight services will save you money in comparison to LCL shipping. FCL means your goods alone will occupy the container. Furthermore, with no need for cargo consolidation/deconsolidation, you should be able to get your freight from China to the US a little faster.If you don’t want to wait several weeks for your freight to steam across oceans from China to the United States, air freight will cut the transit time to mere days, albeit at much higher freight rates.
A significant portion of the costs for importing from China to the US is made up of freight charges. However, ocean and air freight rates vary according to the season, available capacity, fuel costs, and other commercial and environmental factors. The variances are frequent, making it difficult to provide a general illustration of costs. The nature of the freight being shipped, and the size of the shipment, also dictate the rates you will pay. For that reason, requesting a freight forwarder's quote is the only way to accurately assess the cost of shipping freight from China to the US.
For example, if you can fill a shipping container, an FCL service will save you the most money on transportation, as the cost-per-unit will be lower than LCL. That's because LCL shipping rates are calculated using a dimensional weight formula. In contrast, FCL is based on flat rates per container.
On the other hand, it’s rarely cost-effective to rent and transport a container that’s only partially filled. If your shipment only occupies two or three pallets, the cost of FCL shipping is likely to be prohibitive, and LCL shipping becomes a more attractive option.
Most shippers will not choose air freight—especially for large shipments—unless speed is essential for their supply chains. That said, it is possible to ship goods by air in smaller quantities at reasonable rates. An air freight shipment with a weight of around 100 kilograms can sometimes cost only a little more than sending the goods as ocean cargo.
