Shipping from China to the USA | Air 

Are you looking for transportation and logistics services from China to the USA?

We offer a wide variety of services tailored to your needs.

Whether it’s shipping by air freight or via ocean shipping containers, our team will endeavor to bring you the best and most affordable transport solutions from China to the USA.

This dedicated USA country guide will give you all the main details related to your shipment from China to the US: time, rates, processes, duties and taxes…

Air Freight From China To the USA

We have developed a vast network of carriers that specialize in air cargo transportation, offering daily and weekly departures from China’s main airports to any air destination in the globe.

Air freight will be the most efficient solution if :

Your goods are smaller than 2 CBM and 200 kg
You’re in a hurry to receive/send the goods
Our Linkway Freight air freight service from China to the USA provides safe and reliable solutions for all your air transportation needs including time sensitive and high value commodities.

Our shipping freight by air services include airport-to-airport, door-to-door, airport-to-door and door-to-airport services, among others.

With our service, we’ll take care of each step of the journey, making sure that your goods arrive at your destination when you need them.

The normal transit time for air freight from China to the USA is around 3 to 7 days.

This can vary owing to seasonal demands and traffic in the freight market at certain times of year. Our years of experience can bring expert knowledge to your logistical needs in this respect.

The charter service offers you peace of mind and bespoke services as well as a long list of goods that are possible to ship. We can arrange this service for you and ship goods such as:

Consumer goods
High-value goods
Sensitive cargo such as hazardous, fresh, or perishable goods
Time-critical freight
Medical supply & humanitarian relief aid
Heavy load & oversized equipment
Car, Aircraft and ships spare parts
When it comes to weight, we offer options from 10,000lb (5000kgs) to 45,000lb (22,000 kgs) which can be transported in crates or boxes, on pallets, or as bulk.

Our part charter and full charter options range from 10.000 lbs (5.000 kgs) to 45.000 lbs (22.000 kgs), loadable in pallets, skids, crates or simply bulk.

Chapter 1

How to understand a quotation and calculate the price?

We know that choosing the best shipping and freight options for you will vary on your unique business and shipping needs.

The air freight price can be calculated by using two different methods. The first is the following: the cost per kilograms multiplied with the weight of the shipment.

Nonetheless, because an Airbus or a Boeing owns a limited loading space, weight isn’t the only parameter to consider. For a low-density cargo (meaning a small weight, with a big volume), you will be invoiced according to the volume rather than the weight.

This is called the “volumetric weight”. It’s very simple to calculate it:

Linkway Remark : Volumetric weight (average freight) = Volume (CBM) x 167

From the dimensions of your shipment, you can also compute your volumetric weight by yourself

How to Calculate Chargeable Weight for Air Freight Shipments ?

For Air Freight cargo weight, we use the higher of actual weight (measured using a normal weighing scale) or volumetric weight calculated as illustrated below

How to calculate chargeable weight 600x543 1

Sea Freight & Container Shipping From China To the USA

Transport by sea is one of the most popular options for shipping and this is a key means for goods coming to the United States from China.

Ocean freight will be the best deal for you if :

* Your suppliers are located near a major Chinese port
* Your goods are bigger than 2 CBM
* You’re not in a hurry to receive them
In China we can make sure your goods are exported from all major ports such as Shanghai, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dalian, Tianjin, Xiamen, Macao, and Hong Kong.

We offer a variety of services from full door-to door, to door-to-port, and port-to-port.

With a door-to-door service, your goods will be in our hands from the factory/retailer in China all the way to your address in the USA.

Goods shipped by sea coming into China arrive at the USA’s premier ports such as New York & New Jersey, Long Beach, Los Angeles. From there, we’re able to bring your goods to cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and many others.

The Port of Los Angeles, also known as America’s Port is located around 32kms from Downtown LA. This port accounts for 20% of all cargo entering the country. The port’s largest trading partners are China and Hong Kong.

At Linkway Freight, we know how crucial this port is to get your products delivered to the USA, and this is why we can arrange frequent cost effective departures from anywhere in China to the Port of Los Angeles.

Long Beach is the second largest port in the country, just after the adjoining Port of Los Angeles. These two ports put together represent a very important gateway for cargo from all over the world arriving in the country. The main trading partners of this port are also Asia countries.

We do not only ship to California, obviously. We also ensure frequent traffic to the other largest cities of the country. Whether you need us to arrange a shipment from Shanghai to New York, from Hong Kong to Seattle, or whatever else, your Linkway advisor has a solution for you!

Transit from China to the US via ocean container shipping takes around 20 to 30 days from port to port.

This time varies according to certain factors such as the ports of departure and arrival and season sailing schedules.

FCL and LCL shipping

You can transport your goods by both FCL and LCL shipping.

There are many factors you need to consider when shipping from China to the US.

A standard 40 foot container can accommodate 22 standard pallets, with a 20 foot container holding 10 pallets.

If you’re shipping large volumes and can fill a container, it makes sense to choose FCL (Full Container Load).

The other advantage of Full container load is that your items are kept separate from other importers.

On the other hand, LCL (Less than a Container Load) refers to shipping where your goods share space within a container with other goods.

If you’re OK with that, then LCL shipping (also known as groupage) offers a more economical way to ship smaller quantities that make up less than half of the volume of a full container.

You can also use it when you have time constraints and that your goods should be delivered ASAP.

Considerations for FCL and LCL Freight Shipping

Considerations for FCL Freight Shipping

FCL shipping means renting an entire container for your shipment.

If you have a large enough cargo to occupy a container, or even most of a container, FCL shipping may make the most economical sense.

It’s also quicker than LCL shipping as there is no need to consolidate or deconsolidate your items from others.

Your container will also remain sealed throughout the journey and unless customs officials select it for inspection will be sealed until it arrives at your address or chosen destination.

Considerations for LCL Freight Shipping

LCL shipping means your goods will share space with goods from other companies.

This also means that your delivery might take a little bit longer, because of both the packing and unpacking process.

Before departure, your goods will be stored in a consolidation warehouse in China until departure, and then on arrival be held in a de-consolidation warehouse in the US before they are delivered to your address.

Chapter5

Why is the lack of space still persisting?

“The lack of capacity is caused by the booming of the freight demand, and the disinvestment of companies in cargo capacities. Thereby, for instance, China Airlines modified its combined flights (passengers + cargo) into passengers only flights (PAX), which amended clearly their cargo capacity in departure of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Airlines specialised in cargo transports, formerly in economic difficulties, are highly demanded nowadays. All their spaces had been booked on the American market, that overtook 5-6 $/kg.

To face this rocketing demand, they implemented charter flights to offset the lack of space. Another phenomenon strengthened the peak season: The Winter season. Because less people are traveling, there is less flights or smaller flights planned, which reduces the cargo capacity on passenger’s flights.

Afterwards, the second parameters to consider is the evolution of the demand. The air freight demand is very high in Europe and in the USA, to face the market needs. Previously, the demand was focused on reducing costs. Nowadays, it is more concentrated on delays, that are shorter and shorter. Some activity sectors like High-Tech technologies are seeking rapid marketing in high quantities of their products.

Samsung, Apple, Huawei… requires charter flights and monopolize most of the capacity during peak season. At the same time, in addition to the traditional goods streams, there are products released punctually on the market, that requires expensive freight to ensure short delays. Let’s take the example of the iPhone. It costs more than a thousand dollar and weights 400g per box on average. With a freight cost of 6 $/kg, the impact on the price of the product remains very low.

These products must be in store before Christmas time. Finally, the last parameter that we can analyse is the development of the cross-border e-commerce. Products are directly prepared and packed in China, and then delivered directly to the customer or on Amazon-like platforms.”

Chapter6

How amazon influenced the market?

“Amazon literally transformed the market. Usually, stocks were sent by containers in Europe, in the USA, and then dispatched on e-commerce platforms or directly to the customer. Nowadays the model changed, the preparation of the order is directly made in China, then small parcels are right after sent to Europe and USA. The custom taxes and barriers have been simplified in that aim. There is no need to have a company in Europe or in the USA to import and deliver to customers!

This created a brand-new market segment, the small parcel market. These parcels are directly sent to Amazon or to other European and American e-commerce platforms. Chinese suppliers are now selling their products with the freight costs directly included. This reveals a new market, the market of the Asian producers that are directly selling to the final customer via e-commerce platforms.

The rise of the air freight prices doesn’t cause that much trouble to the e-entrepreneurs that are aiming to deliver their products asap. On the different e-commerce websites, suppliers are rated in terms of reliability but also on delivery capacities. These platforms are hard to please and push the e-entrepreneurs to be the best because the rates are determining their ranking. They are ready to invest in order to be more competitive on delays.

In 2017 during peak season, approximately 20% to 25% of the Aircraft holds where fulfilled with e-commerce products. In 2018, it will probably overcome the 30%. This trend is particularly stressed from Asia to Europe or to the USA. It should be marked that the USA have an optimized custom system which allows each household to have a daily importation quota, without taxes and custom clearance. It really eases the import of small parcels from China and encourage the globalization. A Chinese supplier or producer can directly sell to a European or American customer. It also eases the access to further similar products, that will be sent by planes.

Chapter7

Uplifting Agility: Airfreight Strategies for the Holiday Season and Beyond

Holiday season may be the “most wonderful time of the year” for consumers. But for importers, the stretch from October through December can be anything but.

Shrinking capacity, tight delivery windows, and increased consumer demand can stretch the strongest supply chain to its breaking point. For many companies there is so much riding on a successful holiday season — to the tune of 20% of total yearly retail sales, according to the National Retail Federation.1 It all comes down to two things: planning and execution.

But, as with many things in the world of freight, navigating through a successful holiday season and planning for the next year is often easier said than done. Let’s take a look at market factors and proven strategies that may help your business win big in Q4 and beyond.

Chapter8

QUESTIONS ABOUT AIR FREIGHT FROM CHINA

How is charged the Air Freight from China?
It depends on net weight, gross weight and volume. By air freight 1 cbm = 167 kilos. By express 1 cbm = 200 kg. All air freight quotes are charged per/kg.

Do I have to book the shipment myself or can my supplier take care of it?
The supplier can normally book the shipment through their local freight forwarder. However, we advise you to book the air freight yourself, with a freight forwarder based in your country or market. This gives you much more transparency about the process and cost. In addition, you can ensure that the cargo is properly insured.

Can I get air cargo insurance?
Yes, air freight insurance is highly recommended. Linkway offers you an insurance service where the cost of our insurance service represents 1% of the total value of the goods declared.

Are there any restrictions I should know about?
Yes, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has placed restrictions on cargo containing lithium batteries, such as power banks or other electronic devices. To comply, the shipper must package the goods in accordance with IATA regulations, ensure that the goods are properly labeled and provide the required documentation.

What is the role of a Chinese air freight forwarder?
Normally, you don’t book freight directly with DHL, FedEx or UPS (technically you can, but that’s another story). Instead, you buy freight from a freight forwarder who handles logistics for a large number of customers. Often in the same region or industry. In addition to their expertise, you’ll also have access to discounts that they pass on to their large volume business with major carriers. Of course, they keep some for themselves.

What are the advantages of air freight?
Top 8 benefits of air freight: 1/ The fastest shipping method. 2/Very reliable arrival and departure times 3/ Ship your cargo almost anywhere. 4/Low insurance premium saves you a lot of money. 5/High level of security and reduced risk of theft and damage. 6/ Less warehousing required and fewer items in stock. 7/Less packaging required. 8/Track the condition of your cargo.

What Chinese’s products are shipped by air?
Air cargo aircraft carry anything that can be bought or sold. See how goods are shipped around the world. You can ship just about anything by air. Letters, parcels, cars, horses, construction equipment and even other aircraft can be shipped by air freight.

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