Current Freight Rates
Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.
Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Malaysia is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
- Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
- Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
- Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
EXW Ex Works
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
FCA Free Carrier
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
FAS Free Alongside Ship
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
FOB Free On Board
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
CFR Cost and Freight
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
CPT Carriage Paid To
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
DAP Delivered At Place
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
DDP Delivered Duty Paid
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Service Details
Shanghai → Kuantan Container Shipping
Shanghai to Kuantan container shipping, priced per box rather than per CBM. This is the lane to book when the cargo fills a container or when it should not share one: machinery, stone, steel, building materials and project pieces all move better as FCL because nothing else is loaded around them. Plan on 7–12 days port to port port to port.
Port-to-port means exactly that: the rate ends at the Kuantan terminal gate. Typical dwell at destination runs 2–4 days before the box is available for collection, and that window sits outside the transit figure above. Origin haulage, export declaration, destination clearance, duty and delivery beyond the terminal are all quoted separately, so ask for a door figure if that is what you are comparing against.
Indicative rate. The figures below are benchmarked against current bookings on this lane group. They are a planning reference, not a firm offer — the booking rate is confirmed against the specific sailing when you enquire.
Rate by Container Type
- 20GP — USD 850 per container
- 40HQ — USD 1,650 per container
Rates on this lane are per kilogram of chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual gross weight and L×W×H ÷ 6000. One cubic metre of cargo is treated as about 166.7 kg, so anything lighter than that per cubic metre is billed on the space it occupies rather than on the scale reading. Knowing which side of that line your cargo falls on changes the quote more than any negotiation will.
The consignments that move regularly on this service into Malaysia are dominated by kitchenware (HS 94), where clearance turns on timber due diligence (EUTR / EUDR) and UK upholstery fire regulations, flexible packaging (HS 39 / 40) and bolts (HS 73 / 82 / 83). We publish a handling brief for each, because the difference between a clean clearance and a two-week hold is almost always documentation prepared before the cargo leaves the factory rather than anything that happens in transit.
Ocean cargo on this lane discharges at Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas and Penang. Which one your container routes through is decided by the sailing we book rather than by you, and it moves the inland leg far more than it moves the ocean rate, so if your consignee sits closer to one of them say so at booking and we will bias the routing that way.
Delivery does not stop at the gateway. We run inland to Tawau, Sibu, Shah Alam, Miri and Bintulu among others, and each of those has its own destination guide covering the port or airport it clears through, the realistic inland transit to add on top of the figures above, and the local clearance quirks worth knowing before you ship: see all Malaysia destinations we cover, 19 in total.
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Additional Information
Scope, Exclusions and What to Check Before Booking
This is a port-to-port FCL rate for Shanghai to Kuantan. It covers ocean freight for one container and stops at the Kuantan terminal gate. Everything either side of that — trucking to Shanghai, customs at both ends, duty and tax for Malaysia, inland delivery — is quoted on request rather than bundled, which keeps the freight number comparable between carriers.
- Priced per box in USD for 20GP and 40HQ, not per KG or per CBM — utilization is yours to optimize
- Transit 7–12 days port to port port to port on Shanghai to Kuantan, subject to the sailing booked
- Heavy and out-of-gauge cargo is core traffic here: machinery, steel, stone, building materials, project pieces
- Cut-off and free time attach to the specific sailing; demurrage begins the day free time expires
- Reefer, dangerous goods and out-of-gauge are priced case by case rather than from the card
- Clearance at destination is handled by Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM); the consignee must be registered to import
- Destination conformity for Malaysia: SIRIM certification and MCMC label for electrical and radio products; halal certification for food ingredients
The most expensive mistake on a Shanghai to Kuantan booking is not the freight rate, it is free time. Demurrage and detention start counting at the Kuantan terminal whether or not your consignee is ready, and on a bad week they can exceed the ocean freight itself. Confirm how many free days the booking carries before you fix a collection date.
Before you book, confirm two things with your consignee: that they are registered to import into Malaysia, and that whoever is named as importer of record accepts the duty liability. Those are dull questions and they are also the two that most often surface only after the cargo has already sailed.
Where these numbers come from
Every duty and tax figure quoted on this page is our working estimate for planning, not a ruling. The binding rate for your consignment is whatever Royal Malaysian Customs Department applies against your declared HS code on the day of entry, and their published guidance is the source to check before you commit stock.
Most landed-cost surprises trace back to classification rather than freight. the WCO Harmonized System defines the heading structure every customs administration builds on, and ITC Market Access Map will show you the duty a given heading attracts in this destination.
For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.
For a wider view of how importing into Malaysia actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Malaysia customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.
China to Malaysia — Shipping Reference Data
| Main sea gateways | Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas, Penang |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | MYR 500 (low-value goods sold online are taxed regardless) |
| Import tax & duty regime | Sales tax 5–10% plus 10% low-value-goods tax on online orders under MYR 500; duty 0–30%, largely 0% under ACFTA |
| Local currency | MYR |
| Typical clearance / dwell time | 2–4 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | SIRIM certification and MCMC label for electrical and radio products; halal certification for food ingredients |
Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Free 3D Loading Tools for This Sea Route
This page covers a Sea freight service from China to Malaysia. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.
3D Container Loading Planner
Sea freight to Malaysia prices by CBM or container — plan your 20GP/40GP/40HQ loading in 3D, compare utilization, and see exactly how many cartons fit before you commit to a booking.
Open Container Planner →Malaysia Sea Freight Checklist
- Verify the receiver's customs import capability in Malaysia for DDP terms before booking.
- Check pallet vs floor-loading: floor loading typically fits 8-12% more cartons per container.
- Confirm whether your Malaysia rate is per CBM or per container before comparing quotes.
- Photograph the container number, seal, and loading process for insurance evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Sea FCL Port-to-Port from China to Malaysia take?
Sea freight on this route runs about 25–45 calendar days door-to-door, plus roughly 2–4 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.
What duties and taxes apply when importing into Malaysia?
Clearance is handled by Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM). The regime is: Sales tax 5–10% plus 10% low-value-goods tax on online orders under MYR 500; duty 0–30%, largely 0% under ACFTA, with a de-minimis position of MYR 500 (low-value goods sold online are taxed regardless). Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.
What certification is needed to import into Malaysia?
For regulated goods, plan for: SIRIM certification and MCMC label for electrical and radio products; halal certification for food ingredients. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common clearance hold with Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM), so confirm requirements for your HS code before shipping.
In what currency is this route priced and paid?
Freight is quoted and invoiced in USD; the destination-side currency is MYR. Payment is typically due before departure, and DDP means you settle the full landed cost once.
Which ports or airports does this route use into Malaysia?
Sea cargo to Malaysia clears through Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas, Penang; air freight clears via KUL (Kuala Lumpur), PEN (Penang), BKI (Kota Kinabalu). We route through whichever gateway gives the fastest onward delivery to your address and build it into the DDP price.
What documents are required for customs clearance in Malaysia?
Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) typically requires a commercial invoice with HS codes, a packing list, the bill of lading/air waybill, a certificate of origin (may lower duty), and any product certification (SIRIM certification and MCMC label for electrical and radio products; halal certification for food ingredients). We file these under DDP.
Inland Delivery Coverage — Malaysia
We deliver beyond the arrival gateway. Each city below has its own destination guide covering the gateway it clears through, typical inland transit time and the local customs picture.
Note — these are reference guides, not quotes. The city pages describe routing, gateways and clearance for each destination. They do not carry rate tables. For pricing to any city listed here, use the rate table on this page or ask us for a quote.
- Pasir Gudang JHB air / Pasir Gudang sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Bintulu BTU air / Bintulu sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Samalaju BTU air / Samalaju sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Lahad Datu LDU air / Lahad Datu sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Sibu SBW air / Sibu sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Sandakan SDK air / Sandakan sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Tawau TWU air / Tawau sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Kuala Lumpur KUL air / Port Klang sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Shah Alam KUL air / Port Klang sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Klang Port Klang sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Johor Bahru Tanjung Pelepas sea / SIN air inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Penang PEN air / Penang Port sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
Shipping Malaysia cargo by industry
This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.
- Display Stands Retail, Display & Commercial Fixtures
- Umbrellas Consumer Goods & Gifts
- Bearings Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Solar Panel New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Prefabricated Building Building Materials & Construction Products
- Pallet Wood, Bamboo & Paper Products
- Conveyor Belts Plastics, Rubber & Packaging
- Hotel Furniture Furniture & Home Products
- Textiles Textiles, Apparel, Footwear & Leather
- Restaurant Furniture Retail, Display & Commercial Fixtures
- Metal Fabrication Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Pressure Vessels Metal Products & Industrial Components