Air freight
Air freight from China to the USA
When running out of stock costs more than the freight, air moves your cargo from a Chinese factory to a US door in about a week — cleared, duty paid and delivered.
- Transit
- 5–9 days door to door
- Airports
- SZX · CAN · HKG · PVG
- Terms
- DDP, door to door
Updated
Air freight or express courier?
There are two ways to fly cargo out of China, and they suit very different shipments.
Express couriers carry your cartons through their own network from pickup to doorstep. It's simple and fast, but priced per kilogram on a steep scale, so it gets expensive quickly above about 100 kg.
Air freight puts your cargo on a scheduled freighter or in the hold of a passenger aircraft, airport to airport, with pickup, customs and delivery arranged at each end. It involves more handoffs, but for larger shipments the rate per kilogram is far lower.
| Express courier | Air freight | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Samples and parcels, roughly under 100 kg | Commercial shipments from about 100 kg |
| Door to door | 3–6 days | 5–9 days |
| Pricing | Per kg, high rate that falls slowly | Per kg in weight breaks: +45, +100, +300, +500, +1000 kg |
| Volumetric divisor | 5,000 cm³ per kg | 6,000 cm³ per kg |
| US customs | Handled by the courier | Handled by a customs broker |
How chargeable weight works
Airlines charge for whichever is greater: the actual weight of your shipment or its volumetric weight. Volumetric weight exists because an aircraft fills up by space long before it hits its weight limit, so light, bulky goods are charged as if they were heavier.
For air freight, volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres, divided by 6,000. Put another way, one cubic metre is charged as 167 kg.
That's why packaging matters so much for air. Taking a few centimetres off each carton dimension, or removing wasted space inside, can cut the bill more than negotiating the rate.
Airports we fly from
- Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX) and Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) — the natural choice for Pearl River Delta suppliers, a short drive from our Dongguan warehouse.
- Hong Kong (HKG) — one of the world's busiest cargo airports, with the most direct capacity to the US. Cargo is trucked across the border from Shenzhen.
- Shanghai Pudong (PVG) — for Yangtze Delta suppliers, with frequent freighter services to Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
In the US, shipments usually clear at Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), New York JFK, Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) or Atlanta (ATL), then continue by truck to the final address.
Batteries, magnets and other restricted cargo
Lithium batteries — including those built into phones, speakers, power tools and e-bikes — are regulated as dangerous goods in air transport. They can still fly, but they need the right documents and packaging, and not every airline accepts them.
- A safety data sheet (MSDS/SDS) for the battery, from your supplier
- A UN38.3 test summary, proving the battery type has passed transport safety testing
- Correct packing and labelling, including the lithium battery mark
- For some battery types and quantities, a dangerous goods declaration and cargo-aircraft-only labels
Other goods that need declaring before booking include strong magnets, aerosols, perfume, liquids, powders and products with built-in motors. Tell us what the product is when you ask for a quote — discovering it at the airport means your cargo stays on the ground.
When air freight is worth it
Air typically costs several times more per kilogram than ocean, so it pays off only when speed has a direct value to you:
- Product launches with a fixed date
- Restocking a best-seller before it runs out on Amazon
- High-value, low-weight goods such as electronic components, where freight is a small share of the value
- Samples and pre-production approvals
- Recovering time after a production delay
A common middle path is to split the order: fly a small first batch to cover the next few weeks of demand, and send the rest by ocean freight.
FAQ
Air freight: common questions
The questions importers ask us before the first booking. If yours is not here, ask us directly — a real coordinator replies, not an auto-responder.
How long does air freight from China to the USA take?
About 5–9 days door to door, including pickup, export clearance, the flight, US customs and delivery. Express courier services are typically 3–6 days.
Is air freight cheaper than express?
For larger shipments, yes. Above roughly 100 kg air freight almost always costs less per kilogram. For small parcels under about 45 kg, express is often cheaper once pickup and clearance charges are included.
Can I ship products with lithium batteries by air?
Yes, with the battery’s safety data sheet, a UN38.3 test summary, and correct packing and labelling. Some battery types can only travel on cargo aircraft. Tell us about batteries when you request a quote.
Can air freight be delivered to Amazon FBA?
Yes. Air shipments can be delivered directly to Amazon fulfilment centres or to a 3PL warehouse, with FBA labels applied before departure.
What documents do I need for air freight?
A commercial invoice and packing list for every shipment, plus product-specific documents where they apply — battery certificates, FCC authorisation for radio devices, or FDA-related information for food, cosmetics and medical products.