Gateways, customs procedure, duty position and realistic door-to-door timings for cargo moving from China into United States.
Freight from China to United States moves by sea through Los Angeles/Long Beach and by air through LAX (Los Angeles). Customs is administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and arriving cargo typically sits 2–5 days at the gateway before release.
Rates last updated 2026-09-30. Indicative only — published channel prices for planning, not a quotation. Your actual cost depends on the product and its HS code, chargeable weight, declared value, duty and tax at destination and the exchange rate on the day, and can come in above or below these figures.
| Service | Mode | Rate | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Value LA OA – Parcel Delivery | 🚢 Sea Freight | USD 4.3/KG | View Details → |
| LA OA – Parcel Delivery | 🚢 Sea Freight | USD 4.4/KG | View Details → |
| ZIM / Hede – Parcel Delivery | 🚢 Sea Freight | USD 4.5/KG | View Details → |
| LA OA – Parcel Delivery | 🚢 Sea Freight | USD 4.5/KG | View Details → |
| ZIM / Hede – Parcel Delivery | 🚢 Sea Freight | USD 4.6/KG | View Details → |
Freight is not billed on the number on your bathroom scale. It is billed on chargeable weight: the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is L × W × H (cm) ÷ 6000. Denser cargo pays on its weight; light bulky cargo pays on the space it occupies. Whichever is higher is the one you pay — never the lower.
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Detailed per-weight pricing for every active route from China to United States. Each tier reflects the published rate at that exact weight — useful for accurate budgeting at common shipment sizes.
| Weight | Rate (USD/KG) |
|---|---|
| 12 KG | USD 6.04 |
| 13 KG | USD 5.86 |
| 14 KG | USD 5.71 |
| 15 KG | USD 5.58 |
| 16 KG | USD 5.46 |
| 17 KG | USD 6.18 |
| 18 KG | USD 6.04 |
| 19 KG | USD 5.92 |
| 20 KG | USD 5.81 |
| 21 KG | USD 5.71 |
| 22 KG | USD 5.62 |
| 23 KG | USD 5.84 |
| 30 KG | USD 5.35 |
| 50 KG | USD 4.83 |
| 100 KG | USD 4.28 |
| 150 KG | USD 3.86 |
| 200 KG | USD 3.77 |
| 505 KG | USD 3.49 |
| 850 KG | USD 3.54 |
| 1700 KG | USD 3.62 |
| 2500 KG | USD 3.60 |
| 3400 KG | USD 3.36 |
| Weight | Rate (USD/KG) |
|---|---|
| 12 KG | USD 6.11 |
| 13 KG | USD 5.94 |
| 14 KG | USD 5.78 |
| 15 KG | USD 5.65 |
| 16 KG | USD 5.54 |
| 17 KG | USD 6.25 |
| 18 KG | USD 6.11 |
| 19 KG | USD 5.99 |
| 20 KG | USD 5.88 |
| 21 KG | USD 5.78 |
| 22 KG | USD 5.69 |
| 23 KG | USD 5.91 |
| 30 KG | USD 5.42 |
| 50 KG | USD 4.90 |
| 100 KG | USD 4.35 |
| 150 KG | USD 3.94 |
| 200 KG | USD 3.84 |
| 505 KG | USD 3.56 |
| 850 KG | USD 3.61 |
| 1700 KG | USD 3.70 |
| 2500 KG | USD 3.68 |
| 3400 KG | USD 3.43 |
| Weight | Rate (USD/KG) |
|---|---|
| 12 KG | USD 6.25 |
| 13 KG | USD 6.07 |
| 14 KG | USD 5.92 |
| 15 KG | USD 5.79 |
| 16 KG | USD 5.67 |
| 17 KG | USD 6.38 |
| 18 KG | USD 6.25 |
| 19 KG | USD 6.13 |
| 20 KG | USD 6.02 |
| 21 KG | USD 5.92 |
| 22 KG | USD 5.83 |
| 23 KG | USD 6.05 |
| 30 KG | USD 5.55 |
| 50 KG | USD 5.04 |
| 100 KG | USD 4.48 |
| 150 KG | USD 4.07 |
| 200 KG | USD 3.98 |
| 505 KG | USD 3.70 |
| 850 KG | USD 3.75 |
| 1700 KG | USD 3.83 |
| 2500 KG | USD 3.81 |
| 3400 KG | USD 3.56 |
| Weight | Rate (USD/KG) |
|---|---|
| 12 KG | USD 6.29 |
| 13 KG | USD 6.11 |
| 14 KG | USD 5.96 |
| 15 KG | USD 5.83 |
| 16 KG | USD 5.71 |
| 17 KG | USD 6.43 |
| 18 KG | USD 6.29 |
| 19 KG | USD 6.17 |
| 20 KG | USD 6.06 |
| 21 KG | USD 5.96 |
| 22 KG | USD 5.87 |
| 23 KG | USD 6.09 |
| 30 KG | USD 5.60 |
| 50 KG | USD 5.08 |
| 100 KG | USD 4.52 |
| 150 KG | USD 4.11 |
| 200 KG | USD 4.02 |
| 505 KG | USD 3.74 |
| 850 KG | USD 3.79 |
| 1700 KG | USD 3.87 |
| 2500 KG | USD 3.85 |
| 3400 KG | USD 3.61 |
| Weight | Rate (USD/KG) |
|---|---|
| 12 KG | USD 6.32 |
| 13 KG | USD 6.14 |
| 14 KG | USD 5.99 |
| 15 KG | USD 5.86 |
| 16 KG | USD 5.74 |
| 17 KG | USD 6.46 |
| 18 KG | USD 6.32 |
| 19 KG | USD 6.20 |
| 20 KG | USD 6.09 |
| 21 KG | USD 5.99 |
| 22 KG | USD 5.90 |
| 23 KG | USD 6.12 |
| 30 KG | USD 5.63 |
| 50 KG | USD 5.11 |
| 100 KG | USD 4.55 |
| 150 KG | USD 4.14 |
| 200 KG | USD 4.05 |
| 505 KG | USD 3.77 |
| 850 KG | USD 3.82 |
| 1700 KG | USD 3.90 |
| 2500 KG | USD 3.88 |
| 3400 KG | USD 3.64 |
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to United States 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.
| 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 |
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
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.
At 100 KG the arithmetic changes. LCL groupage becomes bookable, and whether it beats air depends almost entirely on density: cargo that fills space without filling the scale prices badly by air and well by sea. This is the band where measuring your cartons properly stops being housekeeping and starts being the largest single lever on what you pay into United States.
The switch is decided by volume, not weight. Groupage is billed per cubic metre with a one-cubic-metre floor, so its cost climbs in a straight line with your cube. A container is a flat price for the box whether you fill it or not. Those two lines cross somewhere between roughly 12 and 15 m³ on most lanes — below that a consol is cheaper, above it you are paying groupage rates for space a 20GP would have given you outright.
| Box | Usable cube | Payload | What it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20GP | 33 m³ | ≈ 28 t | Dense cargo — the payload runs out long before the cube does. |
| 40GP | 67 m³ | ≈ 26 t | Twice the space for far less than twice the price. The default for most consolidated buyers. |
| 40HQ | 76 m³ | ≈ 26 t | The extra foot of height pays for itself on anything light and stackable. |
Two things move the crossover on a real booking. Cargo denser than about 167 kg per cubic metre hits a container's payload limit before its cube, so the box fills on weight and the calculation shifts down. And a container starts accruing free-time charges at destination the moment it is discharged — demurrage on the quay, detention off it — which is a cost a consol never hands you. If your cargo sits near the line, send the packed dimensions and we will price both against each other rather than guess.
Shipping to United States by air or sea? Plan cartons and container loading in 3D before requesting a quote.
Check how many units truly fit per carton for this United States shipment: the 3D packing tool computes layers, rotation, and protection gaps from your exact product size.
Open Packing Tool →Sea freight to United States prices by CBM or container — plan 20GP/40GP/40HQ loading in 3D, mix different box sizes, and check utilization before booking.
Open Container Planner →| Method | Transit Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Air, consolidated | 5–10 business days | Origin warehouse to the door in United States |
| Ocean LCL (groupage) | 30–50 calendar days | Shared box to the quay in United States, then inland |
| Courier | 3–7 business days | Integrator door to door — expensive at this size |
Key China-to-United States import facts buyers should plan around:
| Main sea gateways | Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York/Newark, Savannah |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | USD 800 |
| Import tax & duty regime | No federal VAT; duties vary by HTS code (often 0–6.5% for general goods) |
| Local currency | USD |
| Typical port/airport dwell time | 2–5 days |
| Peak / busy season | Aug–Oct (pre-holiday peak) |
| Conformity & certification | FCC for radio devices; FDA Prior Notice for food/supplements |
| Main air gateways | LAX (Los Angeles), ORD (Chicago), JFK (New York) |
Thresholds and bands here are planning references for buyers, not rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Historical freight rates from China to United States. Data sourced from live carrier price feeds.
We publish these figures so you can budget, but the assessment that binds is the one U.S. Customs and Border Protection makes on your declaration. Where a shipment is large enough that a percentage point matters, check their current tariff guidance rather than ours.
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.
On the air side, anything with a cell or a battery in it, plus liquids, powders, magnets and aerosols, is governed by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Those articles are not refused outright, but they need to be declared at booking so the shipment is built correctly — declaring them late is the single most common cause of an air consignment being offloaded.
Cargo is collected in South China, consolidated, and lifted or sailed into United States through Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York/Newark, Savannah on the water or LAX (Los Angeles), ORD (Chicago), JFK (New York) by air. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) assesses duty and tax on arrival, with typical dwell of 2–5 days before release. Air runs 5–10 days door to door, sea 25–45 days.
Imports into United States are assessed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The applicable regime is: No federal VAT; duties vary by HTS code (often 0–6.5% for general goods). The duty-free / de-minimis position is USD 800. Under our DDP service these charges are pre-paid and included in the per-KG price, so there is nothing to settle on arrival.
Yes. An air consignment carries an AWB that goes live within a day of departure; an ocean booking is followed on the bill of lading through the line's own portal. We push status at the points that matter — sailed, arrived, released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), delivered — rather than at every terminal scan.
Ocean cargo for United States discharges at Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York/Newark, Savannah; air arrives via LAX (Los Angeles), ORD (Chicago), JFK (New York). Which one your consignment routes through is decided by the sailing or allocation we book, and it moves the inland cost far more than it moves the ocean cost. We pick the gateway with the best onward delivery time to your final address and price it into the DDP rate.
Measured door to door into United States: air 5–10 business days, groupage 30–50 calendar days, a full box 28–45. On arrival, allow roughly 2–5 days of clearance/dwell at the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP.
An entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stands on five things: a commercial invoice carrying HS codes and a declared value you can defend, a packing list whose weights and dimensions match the cargo, the bill of lading or air waybill, a certificate of origin where one lowers the duty, and whatever product certification applies (FCC for radio devices; FDA Prior Notice for food/supplements). We prepare and file the set; you supply the truth behind it.
A duty-paid booking into United States means we carry the freight, the customs entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and last-mile delivery to your door, and quote them together so you settle once. The duty and tax element is not a fixed number: it follows your product's HS code, its declared value and the exchange rate applied on the day of entry, so it is confirmed on your specific goods rather than read off a rate card. The USD 800 de-minimis position applies.
For regulated goods entering United States, plan for: FCC for radio devices; FDA Prior Notice for food/supplements. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common cause of clearance holds with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), so confirm requirements for your HS code before the cargo leaves China.
The rates above answer the cost question. This covers the mechanics — useful if you have not shipped to United States before and are still working out how to structure the order.
What Is Chargeable Weight in Air Freight? — Smart Logistics Network. Published on YouTube by a third party; we link it because it explains the process well, not because we produced it or endorse the provider.
Rates above are lane rates and apply to general cargo. Packing specification, HS classification and the clearance step that matters are all commodity-specific — these guides cover them industry by industry.
Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.
United States clearance requirements →I need three things to price your cargo. Give me sixty seconds and I can quote today.
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