Bolts Shipping from China
Ocean freight for bolts — container selection and loading plan, packing specification, HS classification and import clearance at destination. Quoted EXW, FOB, CIF, CIP or delivered duty-paid.
- Full container, LCL and breakbulk — priced per box, not per kilo
- Loading plan agreed before booking, not improvised at the warehouse
- Classification settled before the vessel sails
Shipping Bolts from China is a planning problem before it is a price problem. The cargo dense fasteners sold by count, shipped by weight, used by specification, and every sensible decision downstream starts there.
That shapes the quote directly. Above roughly 0.8 t/m³ the box fills on weight, not on space. A 20GP is legally good for about 28 tonnes against 33 m³ of cube, so the useful question is never "will it fit" but "what will the road authority at the far end allow on one axle". On several European and West African corridors the inland limit is lower than the ocean leg would permit, and that limit — not the vessel — sets your maximum load.
Worth knowing about bolts specifically. Grade mixing. Visually identical fasteners of different grades in the same bin is a structural risk that no inspection at destination will reliably catch.
The paperwork that most often decides whether a consignment clears on time is Material certificates; CE marking where the part is load-bearing or safety-critical. Expect HS chapter 73 / 82 / 83, with the precise heading depending on grade and construction — confirm it for your specific goods rather than assuming.
Freight reference — Bolts
| Typical HS chapter | 73 / 82 / 83 |
|---|---|
| Cargo behaviour | Dense fasteners sold by count, shipped by weight, used by specification |
| How it prices | Weight-limited |
| Usual service | Sea FCL |
| Main compliance step | Material certificates; CE marking where the part is load-bearing or safety-critical |
| Trade terms available | EXW, FOB, CIF, CIP, DAP or delivered duty-paid |
HS chapters are indicative. The binding classification depends on your exact specification — confirm the heading before relying on a duty estimate.
Packing and protection
Kegs or boxes to a liftable weight, banded to pallets, grade and batch marked on every unit. Mixed grades in one container is a traceability failure waiting to happen.
Loading the container
Stowage: Spread it along the full length of the box and keep the centre of gravity low and central. Loading everything against the door end is the commonest cause of an axle-weight failure at the gate, even when the total gross is perfectly legal.
Choosing the service
Service choice: Ocean FCL is the only sensible base case. Air prices this on actual weight, so an air quote lands roughly an order of magnitude higher — justified only for a line-stopping replacement part.
Where it usually goes wrong
Grade mixing. Visually identical fasteners of different grades in the same bin is a structural risk that no inspection at destination will reliably catch.
Live rates on lanes that carry this cargo
Published per-kilo and per-CBM rates from China, updated from carrier feeds. Rates are lane-based rather than commodity-based, so these apply to bolts as much as to any other general cargo on the same route.
Clearing bolts at destination
The freight is the easy half. What decides whether this cargo lands on time is the HS heading it is entered under, the certification the destination applies to it, and whether the consignee is registered to import it. We file the entry in 160 markets and settle duty and tax as part of the movement, so the classification we quote is the classification that gets used.
Clearance requirements by market →Frequently asked questions
How is freight priced for bolts?
Above roughly 0.8 t/m³ the box fills on weight, not on space. A 20GP is legally good for about 28 tonnes against 33 m³ of cube, so the useful question is never "will it fit" but "what will the road authority at the far end allow on one axle". On several European and West African corridors the inland limit is lower than the ocean leg would permit, and that limit — not the vessel — sets your maximum load.
How should bolts be packed for export?
Kegs or boxes to a liftable weight, banded to pallets, grade and batch marked on every unit. Mixed grades in one container is a traceability failure waiting to happen.
Air or sea for bolts?
Ocean FCL is the only sensible base case. Air prices this on actual weight, so an air quote lands roughly an order of magnitude higher — justified only for a line-stopping replacement part.
What customs paperwork does bolts need?
The step that most often holds a shipment is Material certificates; CE marking where the part is load-bearing or safety-critical. Classification normally falls in HS chapter 73 / 82 / 83, but the exact heading depends on your specification — send the product details and we will confirm the code and the duty position for the destination before you commit.
What goes wrong most often with bolts shipments?
Grade mixing. Visually identical fasteners of different grades in the same bin is a structural risk that no inspection at destination will reliably catch.
Is there anything specific to bolts we should know?
Small fasteners ship by weight in kegs, cartons or bulk bags, and the packing decides whether they arrive countable. Mixed sizes in one carton cause receiving disputes; plated finishes need a moisture barrier or they bloom white before the customer opens the box.
Can you quote bolts on FOB or CIF rather than duty-paid?
Yes. We quote EXW, FOB, CIF, CIP, DAP and delivered duty-paid on this cargo. The term decides how much of the journey is already inside the price — the trade-terms table on any of our rate pages sets out exactly who carries which cost at each stage.