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🚢 Sea Freight

China to Mexico Sea Freight

Door-to-door transit 25-45 calendar days. Duty and final delivery are inside the published rate.

Container vessel and terminal operations on the Yantian to Veracruz ocean freight lane
Sea freight — China to Mexico

Sea Freight from China to Mexico runs 25-45 calendar days door to door, clearing through the destination customs authority. Duty, customs handling and final delivery are inside the quoted rate. Send weight and dimensions for a firm figure on your cargo.

Transit time
25-45 calendar days
Destination
Mexico
Customs authority
the destination customs authority
Duty-free threshold
USD 50 for courier consignments

Published channel rate for planning. The final quote depends on chargeable weight, cargo class and HS code.

Current Freight Rates

Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.

Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What

The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Mexico 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.
Responsibility for each shipment stage under each Incoterms rule
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

Yantian → Veracruz Container Shipping

Port-to-port FCL from Yantian to Veracruz, Mexico. We book the whole box — the right structure once volume passes roughly 15 CBM, or when the cargo is heavy, oversized or awkward to consolidate. Transit is typically 22–30 days port to port.

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

  • 40NOR — USD 4,000 per container
  • 40HQ — USD 5,300 per container

Discharge for Mexico on this service is at Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas and Veracruz. Transit time in the rate table is measured to the port, not to the door: the inland days on top depend on which gateway the box clears through and how far inland the delivery address sits.

If your delivery address is inland rather than at the port, the destination guides are the useful read: Guadalajara, Veracruz, Merida, Manzanillo and Tijuana each document their clearing gateway, typical inland transit and local customs behavior, none of which is visible in a rate table. See all Mexico destinations we cover for the other 8.

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Additional Information

What the Rate Covers

Ocean freight, port to port. Origin haulage to Yantian, export declaration, destination clearance, duty and VAT and delivery beyond the terminal are quoted separately.

  • One full container: 40NOR / 40HQ. Priced per box in USD, not per KG or CBM
  • Heavy and out-of-gauge cargo is our core traffic — machinery, steel, stone, building materials, project pieces
  • Cut-off and free time are tied to the specific sailing; demurrage starts when free time expires
  • Reefer, DG and out-of-gauge priced case by case

Where these numbers come from

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) and SAT against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.

Classification drives everything downstream: the same carton can attract very different duty depending on the heading it lands in, and the structure those headings come from is the World Customs Organization Harmonized System. If your product sits near a boundary between two headings, resolve it before shipping rather than at the border.

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 Mexico actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Mexico customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.

China to Mexico — Shipping Reference Data

Main sea gatewaysManzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Veracruz
Destination customs authorityAgencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) and SAT
De-minimis / duty-free thresholdUSD 50 for courier consignments
Import tax & duty regimeIVA 16%; duty 0–35%, with additional temporary tariffs of up to 35% applied to textiles, footwear, steel and several other Chinese-origin categories
Local currencyMXN
Typical clearance / dwell time4–10 days
Peak / busy seasonAug–Nov
Conformity & certificationNOM standards compliance for regulated goods; the consignee must be listed on the Padrón de Importadores

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 Mexico. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.

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3D Container Loading Planner

Maximize every CBM on this route: load your carton list into the 3D container planner, check space and payload utilization, and download the loading plan for your forwarder.

Open Container Planner →

Mexico Sea Freight Checklist

  • Confirm whether your Mexico rate is per CBM or per container before comparing quotes.
  • Photograph the container number, seal, and loading process for insurance evidence.
  • Verify the receiver's customs import capability in Mexico for DDP terms before booking.
  • Check pallet vs floor-loading: floor loading typically fits 8-12% more cartons per container.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Sea FCL Port-to-Port from China to Mexico take?

Sea freight on this route runs about 25–45 calendar days door-to-door, plus roughly 4–10 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 Mexico?

Clearance is handled by Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) and SAT. The regime is: IVA 16%; duty 0–35%, with additional temporary tariffs of up to 35% applied to textiles, footwear, steel and several other Chinese-origin categories, with a de-minimis position of USD 50 for courier consignments. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.

Which ports or airports does this route use into Mexico?

Sea cargo to Mexico clears through Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Veracruz; air freight clears via MEX (Mexico City), NLU (Felipe Ángeles), GDL (Guadalajara). We route through whichever gateway gives the fastest onward delivery to your address and build it into the DDP price.

What certification is needed to import into Mexico?

For regulated goods, plan for: NOM standards compliance for regulated goods; the consignee must be listed on the Padrón de Importadores. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common clearance hold with Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) and SAT, so confirm requirements for your HS code before shipping.

Can you ship special cargo (batteries, branded goods) to Mexico?

Yes — battery goods by sea follow UN3480/UN3481 rules with an MSDS; we prepare the dangerous-goods paperwork as part of DDP into Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Veracruz. Surcharges apply.

What documents are required for customs clearance in Mexico?

Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) and SAT 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 (NOM standards compliance for regulated goods; the consignee must be listed on the Padrón de Importadores). We file these under DDP.

Shipping Mexico 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.

All 139 industry guides →

Contact Us

Ready to ship? Our team responds within one business day. We also handle sourcing and purchasing.

Customs clearance in Mexico

Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.

Mexico clearance requirements →

Destination guide

Gateways, inland legs and clearance context for Mexico — background rather than pricing.

Mexico destination guide →