Shipping from China to the USA:
Rates, Transit Times & DDP Clearance
Real per-kilo rates from our contracted forwarder's September 2026 card, priced by ZIP zone, with the transit times and the customs position written out. DDP double clearance as standard — or DAP if you clear under your own importer of record.
Every way to move cargo from China to the United States
All rates are door-to-door DDP in RMB per kilo of chargeable weight, from the forwarder rate card dated 22 September 2026. Ranges reflect the three US ZIP zones — West (8–9), Central (4–7) and East (0–3). Planning reference, not a quotation.
Air priority (P) · mainland China flights
US West RMB 54–66/kg · US Central 55–67/kg · US East 56–68/kg
6–8 working days to pickup after cargo receipt
DDP, double clearance. No battery goods; weak-magnetic accepted with a declaration. UPS/FedEx last mile.
Air economy (C) · Hong Kong / Korea flights
US West RMB 57–69/kg · US Central 58–70/kg · US East 59–71/kg
7–9 working days to pickup after cargo receipt
Slower flights, higher per-kilo price, but it accepts built-in batteries and magnetic goods with a declaration.
Sea · Matson express (LCL)
US West RMB 13.5–17.5/kg · US Central 14.8–19/kg · US East 15.8–20/kg
About 16 natural days to pickup after vessel departure
DDP. Delayed-sailing credit 0.5 RMB/kg/day, capped at RMB 2/kg. No battery goods.
Sea · Yantian standard (LCL)
US West RMB 10.8–15/kg · US Central 12–16/kg · US East 13–17/kg
About 22 natural days to pickup after vessel departure
Cheapest way to move dense cargo to the USA. Built-in batteries accepted with a declaration (no power banks).
How the chargeable weight is built
Volumetric weight = length × width × height in cm ÷ 6,000, and the chargeable weight is the greater of actual and volumetric. Minimum 12 kg per shipment and per piece. From 100 kg actual weight per shipment we apply a 50% bubble split — bulky light cargo such as furniture and packaged goods bills half its volumetric weight. Surcharges sit on top: commercial address +RMB 1/kg, residential address +RMB 45 per piece, and pieces over 38 kg with a girth above 300 cm are refused on air lanes. Work out your own chargeable weight in the free US calculator → Transit times by lane, and what each one counts from → Shipping to an Amazon FBA warehouse? See FBA prep →
The USA is priced in three ZIP zones
Your ZIP code decides the rate, not the state name — the card splits the country by the first digit of the ZIP. Here is the mapping it uses, so you can see why the same 500 kg costs more to New York than to Los Angeles.
| Zone | ZIP prefix | Main states |
|---|---|---|
| US West | ZIP 8–9 | California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii |
| US Central | ZIP 4–7 | Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, North and South Dakota |
| US East | ZIP 0–3 | New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia, Washington DC |
ZIP 0–3 is the priciest zone on every lane in the card; the spread between West and East is roughly RMB 2–3/kg. Give us the destination ZIP and we price it exactly.
Worked examples
- 500 kg, air priority (P), Los Angeles (ZIP 9xxxx)
US West zone → about RMB 27,000–33,000 at the 101 kg+ tiers - 500 kg, air priority (P), New York (ZIP 1xxxx)
US East zone → about RMB 28,000–34,000 at the 101 kg+ tiers - 1,000 kg, Yantian standard sea, Texas (ZIP 7xxxx)
US Central zone → from about RMB 12,000–16,000 door-to-door DDP - 3 CBM bulky display goods, 300 kg chargeable, California
Yantian standard sea, 50% bubble split applies from 100 kg actual → ask us for the chargeable weight before you compare lanes
Indicative arithmetic on the published tiers, DDP, excluding address surcharges. Ask us for your exact ZIP, weight and packing.
What about full containers and port-to-port LCL to the USA?
The US card we hold is a per-kilo DDP product: LCL sea and air, cleared and delivered to your address. That is what most importers shipping 50 kg to 5 tonnes actually want, because it turns five suppliers, one consolidator and a customs broker into one number.
Ocean FCL and port-to-port LCL space are priced per container or per shipment by the carrier, weekly. We quote those on request rather than publish a number we cannot hold for a week.
- 1Per-kilo, door-to-door DDP — the published tiers above, from RMB 10.8/kg by sea, everything included to your address.
- 2Full container 20'/40'/40HQ — quoted per booking for your port pair (Yantian, Nansha, Ningbo, Shanghai) and your delivery ZIP, DDP or DAP.
- 3The crossover — below roughly 15 CBM the per-kilo LCL lanes usually win; above it, FCL takes over. We show both numbers for your volume and tell you where the line falls.
- 4Forwarders welcome — EXW from the factories or FOB with the freight booked under your own master bill; you keep the customer and the last mile.
Clearance in the USA: DDP as standard, your broker if you prefer
Every US lane on the card is double-cleared DDP: we file, we pay the duty and the tax, and nothing arrives at your door with a customs invoice attached.
DDP — double clearance
We clear both ends, duty and tax included in the price you see. Standard on every sea and air lane to the USA.
DAP — your importer of record
If you clear under your own importer of record and broker, tell us at quote stage and we price DAP per shipment. Useful when you want the entry in your own name.
Declared value
US Customs and Border Protection assesses duty and penalties on the declared value, so we do not under-declare. Invoices must carry a detailed description, material, use, HS code and value.
Address surcharges
Commercial delivery +RMB 1/kg; residential delivery +RMB 45 per piece. FBA warehouses are quoted with the same lanes — two or more labels per carton, Team Lift and Heavy Package marks per Amazon's rules.
Magnetic & battery goods
Magnetic cargo needs a magnetic inspection report. Built-in batteries travel on air economy (C) and Yantian sea with a declaration; pure batteries and power banks are refused everywhere.
What is not included
Customs inspection and any detention, demurrage or storage it causes, devanning and handling, second delivery attempts, and remote-area surcharges. Quotes are valid 7 days because space and freight follow the carrier's latest prices.
US anti-dumping watch list
These product families carry anti-dumping or countervailing duty exposure into the United States. If your order sits here, we flag it before booking and quote the duty position per shipment instead of letting it surface at the port.
- Steel: nails, pipes, wire rod, fasteners, pressure tubes
- Chemicals: melamine, potassium permanganate, PVA
- Wooden bedroom furniture, engineered flooring
- Solar cells, graphite electrodes
- Bearings, auto glass, brake drums and rotors
- Coated paper, tissue paper, folding gift boxes
- Polyester fibre, electric blankets
- Canned mushrooms, citric acid, frozen shrimp
- Woven plastic bags, PE carrier bags, tyres
- Televisions, large washing machines
- Bicycles, hand carts
- Aluminium profiles, geogrids, magnesia-carbon bricks
- Honey
EXW, FOB and consolidation
- EXW collection from each factory, consolidated at our Guangzhou warehouse
- FOB via Shenzhen, Guangzhou/Nansha, Ningbo, Shanghai or Yiwu with export clearance in our name
- Goods received, checked against the packing list, photographed and repacked
- FBA prep, carton labelling and palletising before the cut-off
Working as a freight partner? We are the China-side desk: you keep the customer and the last mile, we find and audit the factories, negotiate, inspect, consolidate and hand over on EXW, FOB or DAP. See our shipping and consolidation service →
Everything before the freight — handled in China
Product sourcing & negotiation
Verified factories, quoted against one specification, negotiated on price, MOQ and tooling.
Supplier audit
On-site licence and capacity checks, so you know the factory exists before the money moves.
Quality control
AQL pre-shipment inspection with photo and video reports, and burn-in testing where it matters.
Free US shipping calculator
Enter ZIP, weight and packing to see the zone, the tier and a door-to-door range before you ask.
Shipping from China to the UK
22 postcode zones, own-VAT and deferred clearance, air and sea from RMB 7.5/kg.
Shipping from China to Canada
Vancouver and Toronto LCL priced per CBM, plus oversized truck lanes by city zone.
Shipping to the USA — the questions importers actually ask
Rates by ZIP zone, transit times, chargeable weight, DDP clearance, battery and magnetic goods, and the anti-dumping list.
How much does it cost to ship from China to the USA?
On our contracted forwarder's September 2026 rate card, all US lanes are door-to-door DDP in RMB per kilo of chargeable weight: sea freight from RMB 10.8/kg (Yantian standard) and RMB 13.5/kg (Matson express), air economy (C) RMB 57–71/kg and air priority (P) RMB 54–68/kg depending on the destination ZIP zone. Rate card dated 22 September 2026 — planning reference, not a quotation. Give us the volume, packing and ZIP code and we quote your exact tier.
How long does shipping from China to the USA take?
Air priority (P) is 6–8 working days to pickup and air economy (C) 7–9 working days, both after we receive the goods. Sea: Matson express is about 16 natural days to pickup after the vessel departs, and Yantian standard about 22 natural days. Add 3–7 days of consolidation and export paperwork in China. Customs or airline delays are excluded from both figures.
Does the price depend on the destination ZIP code?
Yes. US rates are priced in three ZIP zones, not by state: US West is ZIP 8–9 (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii), US Central is ZIP 4–7 (Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and neighbours) and US East is ZIP 0–3 (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Georgia, Florida and the rest). East coast is the most expensive zone on every lane in the card.
How is the chargeable weight calculated for US shipments?
Chargeable weight is the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 6,000. The minimum is 12 kg per shipment and 12 kg per piece. From 100 kg of actual weight per shipment we apply a 50% bubble split, so the volumetric weight counts at half — the single biggest saving on bulky, light cargo such as furniture or packaged goods.
Are your US prices DDP, and who clears customs?
Every US lane on the card is DDP — double clearance, duty and tax paid — delivered to the address you nominate, with no customs invoice landing on your company. If you would rather clear in your own name through your own broker or importer of record, tell us and we quote DAP per shipment instead, with the entry filed under your own number.
Can I ship batteries, magnets or branded goods to the USA?
Built-in batteries and magnetic goods are accepted with a declaration on the air economy (C) lane and on Yantian standard sea freight; air priority (P) and Matson express are battery-free. Pure batteries and power banks are refused on every lane. Counterfeit or branded goods without authorisation are refused, and we do not under-declare value — US Customs and Border Protection assesses duty and penalties on the declared value.
What is on the US anti-dumping watch list for Chinese goods?
Steel products (nails, pipes, wire rod, fasteners, pressure tubes), chemicals (melamine, potassium permanganate, PVA), wooden bedroom furniture and engineered flooring, solar cells and graphite electrodes, bearings, auto glass, brake drums and rotors, coated paper, tissue paper and folding gift boxes, polyester fibre and electric blankets, canned mushrooms, citric acid and frozen shrimp, woven plastic bags, PE carrier bags and tyres, televisions and large washing machines, bicycles and hand carts, aluminium profiles, geogrids and magnesia-carbon bricks, and honey. If your product is on this list we flag it before booking and quote the duty position per shipment.
Can you consolidate goods from several Chinese suppliers into one US shipment?
Yes — that is the main reason buyers use us on this lane. We collect from each factory, check quantity and condition against your PO, photograph the goods, consolidate everything under one bill, prepare the US customs documents and the FBA or commercial delivery, so you get one waybill, one cut-off and one document set instead of five. FBA label rules are checked here: two or more labels per carton, Team Lift above 22.5 kg, Heavy Package above 15 kg.
Send your ZIP, weight and packing — get a door-to-door DDP price
Tell us weight, packing, destination ZIP and whether it goes to a commercial address or an FBA warehouse. You get the zone, the tier and the delivery price, free, within 48 hours.
Rates from our contracted forwarder's rate card dated 22 September 2026 (RMB, DDP, standard limits). Planning reference, not a quotation. Photo: [CREDIT].