Enter each carton type’s dims, count and weight (add more rows as needed), pick channels, and get both ocean and air reference quotes at once.
Quotes are for reference only — please contact us to confirm the final price.
US Ocean / Air Freight Price Quote
US Ocean / Air Freight Price Quote
Our team is ready to help with quotes and bookings.
The break-even is not a fixed volume. It depends on your route, the season and how much handling your cargo can take. As a working rule on the China–US lane, FCL starts winning somewhere between 12 and 15 CBM.
| FCL — Full Container Load | LCL — Less than Container Load | |
|---|---|---|
| Priced by | Per container, flat | Per kg — volumetric vs actual weight, take the greater |
| Transit | West Coast 18–25 days · East Coast 28–35 days | 20–35 days |
| Handling | Sealed at origin, opened only at destination | Consolidated and deconsolidated twice |
| Cargo risk | Low — no co-loading | Higher — co-loaded with other shippers |
| Break-even | Better above roughly 12–15 CBM | Better below roughly 12 CBM |
| Best for | Volume replenishment, fragile or high-value cargo | Trial orders, small batches, mixed SKUs |
Cost aside, the real question is handling — every extra consolidation step is an extra chance of damage.
Send us the total CBM and weight and we will calculate both options side by side, including the destination charges LCL usually hides.
Our main US carriers are Matson, HeDe, ZIM and COSCO / EMC — together with Yantian LCL consolidation, they cover the range from fastest to cheapest. The carrier decides the discharge port and the weekly cut-off you have to plan around.
| Option | Discharge Port | Transit | When to Choose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matson CLX | Long Beach | 12–15 days | Peak season, locked-in delivery dates, premium freight budget |
| HeDe | Los Angeles | West 18–25 days | Standard West Coast sailings, rate-sensitive volume |
| ZIM | Los Angeles / New York | West 18–25 / East 28–35 days | Both coasts from one carrier, balanced rate and schedule |
| COSCO / EMC | Long Beach / New York / Savannah | West 18–25 / East 28–35 days | Large volume needing several US ports on one booking |
| Yantian Consolidation | Los Angeles | 20–35 days | LCL cargo you are happy to consolidate with other shippers |
For over-length, over-width or heavy-lift cargo we book dedicated Matson, HeDe, ZIM or COSCO / EMC oversized trucks — see Sea Oversized to the USA for size limits.
Which box you book changes what you can actually load. The numbers below are nominal internal capacity — usable volume is lower once you account for pallets and lashing.
| Container | Internal Volume | Usable Cargo Volume | Practical Payload | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20GP | About 33 m³ | 26–28 m³ | Up to about 25 t | Dense heavy cargo; the weight limit usually binds before volume |
| 40GP | About 67 m³ | 55–58 m³ | Up to about 25 t | General volume cargo |
| 40HQ | About 76 m³ | 62–66 m³ | Up to about 24 t | Taller cargo and double-stacked pallets; the usual choice for light bulky goods |
| 45HQ | About 86 m³ | 72–76 m³ | Up to about 24 t | Not accepted on every routing — we confirm before booking |
US road weight limits are the constraint most shippers miss. A container that is legal at sea can be over the limit on the US highway, which forces a re-load or a permit. We check the delivery ZIP against the inland weight limit before loading.
| US Port / Gateway | Coast | Ocean Transit from Yantian | Typical Inland Reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles / Long Beach | West | 18–25 days · Matson CLX 12–15 days | California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah; rail onward to the Midwest |
| New York / Newark | East | 28–35 days | US Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley |
| Savannah | East | 28–35 days | US Southeast, Atlanta, Florida, Tennessee |
| Vancouver, then rail to US inland | West (Canada) | 20–28 days | US Midwest and inland distribution points |
East Coast transit has been the least predictable lane on this route — Panama Canal transits have been capped, and East Coast spot rates have moved sharply. See our US East Coast peak season note before planning a September–December shipment.
Our US ocean DDP channels are mostly billed per kilogram, not per cubic metre. The billable weight is the greater of the volumetric weight and the actual gross weight — the same take-the-greater logic behind the industry's revenue tonne, where 1 CBM of space bills like 1,000 kg. Dense cargo bills on weight; light bulky cargo bills on volume.
| Step | Calculation | Example — 4.5 CBM, 3,200 kg |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Volume | Total CBM of all cartons | 4.5 CBM |
| 2. Weight | Total gross weight in tonnes | 3.2 t |
| 3. Revenue tonne | Greater of CBM and tonnes | max(4.5, 3.2) = 4.5 RT |
| 4. Billable | Revenue tonnes × rate per RT | 4.5 RT × your rate per RT |
The calculator at the top of this page applies this rule, so it will tell you when your cargo is billed on weight rather than volume. That is the point where repacking usually stops helping.
| Requirement | Deadline | Who Handles It |
|---|---|---|
| ISF 10+2 filing with CBP | 24 hours before the vessel is loaded | Our US broker — this is a hard deadline, not a target |
| Verified Gross Mass (VGM) declaration | Before the port cut-off | Origin warehouse, submitted under SOLAS rules |
| Wood packaging fumigation and ISPM 15 marking | Before loading | Origin packing supplier; we verify the stamp |
| Continuous or single-entry customs BOND | Before arrival | Our own continuous BOND under DDP |
| Dangerous goods declaration | Before booking | Confirmed case by case against IMDG rules |
The same optional charges apply to ocean as to air, except that HMF is added on arrival because the cargo enters through a US seaport.
| Surcharge | Amount | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| Customs declaration | +350 RMB per order | Shipments requiring formal export declaration processing |
| Air magnetic cargo | +480 RMB per order | Air legs only — not applied to pure ocean shipments |
| Designated last-mile carrier | +1 RMB per kg | When you nominate a specific US delivery carrier instead of ours |
| Delivery Address Type | Surcharge |
|---|---|
| Standard address / Amazon FBA | No surcharge |
| Commercial address | +1 RMB per kg |
| Remote area | +2 RMB per kg |
| Extended remote area | +4 RMB per kg |
| Remote extreme area | +6 RMB per kg |
| Residential address | +25 RMB per piece |
From Yantian: US West Coast 18–25 days, US East Coast 28–35 days, and 20–28 days via Vancouver with inland rail. Matson CLX express to Long Beach runs 12–15 days. These are port-to-port times; add US clearance and inland delivery.
Below roughly 12 CBM, LCL is usually cheaper. Above roughly 15 CBM, FCL wins. Between the two, the deciding factor is handling: LCL is consolidated and deconsolidated twice, which matters if your cargo is fragile or high value.
Matson CLX to Long Beach at 12–15 days. It costs more than a standard West Coast sailing but it is the option that keeps peak-season cargo on schedule when standard space is tight.
No. It is a reference quote built from your carton dimensions, weight, carrier and ZIP code. Ocean rates move weekly with space, fuel and peak-season surcharges, so we confirm the booking rate in writing before we book.
Per kg — the greater of volumetric weight and actual gross weight (our US DDP channels are mostly billed by weight, not by cubic metre). A dense pallet bills on weight, a bulky pallet bills on volume. The calculator applies this rule automatically.
Commercial invoice, packing list, confirmed HS code and the delivery address with ZIP. For wood packaging we need the ISPM 15 treatment mark on file. We handle ISF filing, VGM submission and the US entry on our own BOND under DDP.
Door delivery to all 48 contiguous states. Ocean cargo discharges at LA, Long Beach, New York/Newark or Savannah and then moves by truck or rail to your address. Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and offshore territories are quoted separately.
Yes, at no surcharge for standard and Amazon addresses. FBA bookings need the correct fulfilment centre code and label format, which we confirm before the container is loaded — changing a destination after loading is expensive.