Ocean freight
Ocean freight from China to the USA
Full and shared container shipping from any Chinese port to any US address. The cheapest way to move anything that isn't urgent — and, quoted on DDP terms, the most predictable.
- Transit
- 16–38 days port to port
- Load types
- FCL 20′ · 40′ · 40′HQ · LCL
- Terms
- DDP, door to door
Updated
FCL or LCL: which one fits your shipment
The decision mostly comes down to volume. With LCL (less than container load) your cartons share a container with other shippers' cargo, and you pay for the space you use, measured in cubic metres. With FCL (full container load) you book the whole container and pay a flat rate for it, whether you fill it or not.
The crossover point is usually somewhere between 13 and 18 cubic metres. Below it, LCL is cheaper. Above it, a 20-foot container generally costs less than the equivalent LCL charges — and it arrives sooner, because it skips consolidation in China and deconsolidation in the US.
| LCL | FCL | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Per cubic metre, or per 1,000 kg if heavier | Flat rate per container |
| Sweet spot | Roughly 2–15 CBM | 15 CBM and up |
| Handling | Consolidated in China, deconsolidated at a US warehouse | Sealed at origin, opened at your door |
| Extra transit | Adds about 3–7 days | Fastest ocean option |
| Damage risk | Higher — more handling | Lower — sealed end to end |
Container sizes and how much actually fits
Nominal capacity and usable capacity are different numbers. Cartons rarely stack perfectly, and you need space for pallets, bracing and airflow, so plan on using around 80–85% of a container's internal volume.
| Container | Internal volume | Realistic load | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20′ standard (20GP) | ~33 CBM | 25–28 CBM | Dense goods: hardware, tiles, machine parts |
| 40′ standard (40GP) | ~67 CBM | 55–58 CBM | Mixed cargo and general merchandise |
| 40′ high cube (40HQ) | ~76 CBM | 65–68 CBM | Light, bulky goods: furniture, textiles, plastics |
With heavy cargo, weight runs out before space does. Once US road weight limits are applied, either container size typically carries somewhere around 17–20 tonnes of cargo. If you're shipping stone, steel or liquids, give us the gross weight up front — it changes which container and which trucking we book.
Which ports we ship from and to
Most China–US ocean freight leaves from one of four port clusters. We pick the port based on where your supplier is, not where you are — trucking a container hundreds of kilometres to a "cheaper" port usually costs more than it saves.
- South China — Yantian and Shekou in Shenzhen, Nansha in Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Closest to our Dongguan warehouse and to the Pearl River Delta factories that make much of the world's electronics, furniture and homeware.
- Yangtze River Delta — Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan, two of the busiest container ports in the world, serving suppliers across Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai.
- North China — Qingdao and Tianjin, for suppliers in Shandong, Hebei and the Beijing region.
- Fujian — Xiamen and Fuzhou, strong for footwear, stone, ceramics and outdoor goods.
In the US, West Coast cargo arrives at Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, or Seattle and Tacoma. East Coast and Gulf cargo either sails all-water through the Panama Canal to New York and New Jersey, Savannah, Charleston, Norfolk or Houston, or lands on the West Coast and continues inland by rail. For Chicago, Dallas, Memphis and other inland hubs, West Coast plus rail is usually the fastest option.
See how this works on specific lanes: Shenzhen to Los Angeles, Shanghai to New York and Guangzhou to Chicago.
How an ocean shipment moves, step by step
Booking
Once you confirm the quote, we book space on a specific sailing and send you the vessel, the cargo cut-off date and the estimated arrival.
Pickup or loading
For FCL, an empty container goes to your factory to be loaded and sealed on site, or we load it at our Dongguan warehouse. For LCL, we collect the cartons and consolidate them with other cargo bound for the same US port.
Chinese export clearance
We file the export declaration. Your supplier provides the commercial invoice and packing list, and we check that the two agree before filing — mismatches are the most common reason cargo misses a sailing.
ISF filing
The Importer Security Filing has to reach US Customs at least 24 hours before the container is loaded in China. Late or missing filings can draw penalties of up to $5,000 each, so we file as soon as the booking is confirmed.
Ocean transit
You receive the bill of lading when the vessel departs, and updates at transhipment and arrival.
US customs clearance
Our licensed US brokerage partners file the customs entry, pay duties and fees, and deal with any holds or examinations.
Delivery
The container is collected from the terminal, or LCL cargo is released from the deconsolidation warehouse, and trucked to your address. We book delivery appointments where the receiver requires one.
What an all-in DDP ocean quote includes
A freight rate on its own is misleading: the ocean leg is often well under half of what a shipment actually costs by the time it reaches your door. Our DDP ocean quotes include every line below, so you can hold them up against another forwarder's "all-in" price and see what's missing.
- Pickup from your supplier, or delivery into our Dongguan warehouse
- Chinese export customs declaration
- Origin terminal and handling charges
- Ocean freight and carrier surcharges
- ISF filing
- US customs entry and brokerage
- Import duty, Section 301 tariffs, and the Merchandise and Harbor Maintenance Fees
- Destination terminal, chassis and warehouse charges
- Trucking to a business address in the lower 48 states
For a full breakdown of each charge, see how much it costs to ship from China to the USA.
FAQ
Ocean 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 ocean freight from China to the USA take?
From South China, about 16–20 days port to port to the West Coast and 28–38 days to East and Gulf Coast ports. Allow another 3–7 days for pickup, customs clearance and final delivery, and add a few days for LCL consolidation.
Is there a minimum for LCL shipping?
LCL is normally charged with a 1 CBM minimum, so even a single small pallet is billed as at least one cubic metre. For very small shipments — roughly under 150 kg — air freight or express can work out cheaper.
Can a container be delivered to a residential address?
A 40-foot container usually can’t be delivered to a house. For residential delivery the container is unloaded at a warehouse near the port and the cargo is delivered by box truck with a liftgate.
Do I need a US customs bond for ocean freight?
Every formal entry — generally any commercial shipment valued over $2,500 — needs a customs bond. On DDP shipments our brokerage partner provides it. If you import regularly in your own name, a continuous bond covering a year of shipments is usually cheaper than buying a single-entry bond each time.
What happens if my container is selected for a customs exam?
An X-ray scan usually adds a few days. A full intensive exam, where the container is unloaded at an examination station, can add one to three weeks, and the station’s fees are charged to the importer. Accurate documents make exams less likely and faster when they happen.