What is the best way to transport cargo from China to the USA, Europe or other countries/regions? In this guide, you will learn exactly how to choose the best shipping method for your shipment based on the weight, budget and transit time.
We will discuss the following top three things about shipping to help you through the process of shipping from China.
Which shipping method can you choose when shipping from China?
Door to door International express
This shipping method is usually reserved for our Led Display sample orders or some accessories. Before the large order, some of the customers are happy to receive the samples to confirm the quality.
1. Which express delivery company is better?
Currently, the three largest international express delivery companies are FedEx, UPS, DHL. FedEx and UPS are both based in the US, DHL is based in Belgium. The advantages of the three major courier companies are different. The factors that determine the price are: the destination country, the product, the actual weight, the volume size and the time limit! Below we simply list their advantages and disadvantages, you can make a choice according to your own needs.
DHL
DHL is a top international shipping company that strikes a delicate balance between fast and cheap international shipping services. It is regarded as one of the best international shipping companies with an extensive logistical network to get your shipments to hundreds of different countries across the world overnight.
Price advantage: DHL is the first choice for small goods below 21KG in the world’s underdeveloped countries. For goods above 21KG, the price is very advantageous in developed countries such as Western Europe, the United States, Canada, and Asia.
Advantages: The most stable international express delivery, the first choice for rapid transshipment. The normal time limit is about 3 days. The service attitude is good, and the response time to solve the problem is fast.
Disadvantages: expensive, not suitable for bulky and light-weight goods. There are restrictions on mailing items, and packages with imitation brands, liquids, powders, food, batteries, and optical discs cannot be sent.
FedEx
FedEx is among the largest and most competitive international shipping companies. This may be your go-to carrier when you need to ship between the US and another country, Timeliness: Under normal circumstances, it can reach the world within 2 to 4 working days.
Advantages: The dominant regions are Central and South America and Europe. Shipping to other regions is more expensive, and the published price differs by 30-40%. In Southeast Asia, the price of FedEx is only half that of DHL and UPS for bulk goods over 21 kg, but the transportation speed is the same. The website information is updated quickly, the network is covered, and the query response is fast.
Disadvantages: expensive, not suitable for bulky and light-weight goods. There are restrictions on mailing items, and packages with imitation brands, liquids, powders, food, batteries, and optical discs cannot be sent.
UPS
Apart from being a household name within the US for its fantastic domestic services,UPS has a vast logistic network in over 220 countries and territories worldwide, and is versatile enough to handle almost all types of shipping needs.
Advantages: fast timeliness. The main advantages of this express company are reflected in the United States, Western Europe, and Southeast Asia. Both large and small goods have price and time advantages. With the transshipment center established in Shenzhen, the timeliness of Southeast Asia is quite good. However, Eastern European services are not as good as DHL.
Disadvantages: expensive, not suitable for bulky and light-weight goods. There are restrictions on mailing items, and packages with imitation brands, liquids, powders, food, batteries, and optical discs cannot be sent.
EMS
EMS can mail products containing international brands, as well as food, small amounts of liquids, powders, silver products, electronic products, printed books, medicines, etc. When you have the above types of goods, EMS is the preferred method of delivery. After arriving in the United States, the USPS will be responsible for the delivery service, which can reasonably avoid taxes, and the probability of tariffs is very small.
The EMS delivery time limit is mostly one week, or one to two weeks, but there are also cases where the package is not received for one month, which needs to be determined according to the post office customs processing time limit.
Advantages: The discount is low, and any volume of goods is calculated by weight. Items under 500 grams can be calculated at the document price, with strong customs clearance capabilities. There are so many items that can be shipped out of customs, and it can also deliver sensitive goods that other international express companies cannot send. Such as food, health products, cosmetics, brand-name imitation bags, boxes, clothing, shoes, and other gifts and various special products.
The price is slightly higher than the four major international express. The biggest advantage is that it does not measure the volume of the package, which is suitable for lightly discarded goods by mail. At present, China Post International EMS has opened services in more than 100 countries and regions, and Hong Kong EMS can post to more than 230 countries and regions around the world. The main advantage is that it does not count the size, no remote areas in the world, and no additional costs.
Disadvantages: unstable timeliness, as fast as one week, as slow as ten days and a half months, suitable for non-urgent items. The website information is lagging, and the processing speed is slow.
Conclusion
In general, if a package wants to be sent from China to the Americas, FedEx and ups have advantages, while DHL’s main business scope is Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia.
How to deliver the international express in the cheapest way?
Those who have sent international express should know that no matter which international express company you choose, the freight is quite expensive, and the freight for a few kilograms may cost thousands of dollars.
Therefore, Hire a reliable freight forwarder in china – they handle all logistics for you, this is one of the secrets to efficient shipping from China.
A freight forwarder will handle all logistics operations and documentation process. Some Chinese freight forwarders would duly organize the movement of your goods from the consignor to the port for shipping and also the transit of the consignment to the consignee’s warehouse in the destination country. Hiring a competitive international forwarder ensures you gain accordingly.
Why? They will ensure that your operations run smoothly without unnecessary interruptions. However, in case of emergency, they duly inform the client to solve it just in time. Whenever you’re importing from China, these specialised freight forwarders can help you cut on shipping costs.
Essentially, hiring a reliable forwarder would ensure that your shipping process takes place at a faster rate.
How to find an international express agency?
1. You can find international express agency by yourself. Although there are thousands of international express agencies, it is not easy to choose a reliable international express agency.
The easiest way to find an international express agency yourself is to search for it on Google. You only need to enter an “international express agency” in your country/region to get a list of freight agencies.
You may encounter some international express agencies who attract customers at low prices but try to charge you additional costs under various excuses.
In addition, you can ask a friend with a rich import experience to introduce an agency. If you decide to use your own agency, remember to ask the supplier to quote EXW prices.
2. Ask the supplier to help you find an international express agency. If you want to save yourself the trouble of finding a cargo agency, We are happy to help you! when the LED display production is completed, we will directly connect with our long-term cooperative freight forwarding company to transport the goods to your country, you only need wait for the LED screens to arrive.
The freight forwarding companies we cooperate with are very reliable, with over 10 years of transportation experience and offices in many countries.
What are the specific costs of international express freight? How to calculate?
Chargeable weight unit: International express delivery generally uses 0.5 kilograms as a chargeable weight unit.
Chargeable weight (C.W.): Comparing the actual weight with the calculated volume weight, the freight will be calculated according to whichever is greater (the principle of higher charges). The industry has adopted this method forcibly to avoid transporting very light loads.
Remote costs: When the parcel is sent to a remote place, an appropriate remote surcharge is required.
Packing Charge: Generally speaking, courier companies provide free packaging for customers’ packaging materials, such as cartons and bubbles. However, for some valuable and fragile items, the express company still has to charge a certain amount of packaging costs due to the shipment itself and packaging materials. Packaging costs are not included in the discount range.
Customs declaration fee and fuel surcharge
Total cost In summary, the total cost of international express delivery = (freight + fuel surcharge) × discount + packaging costs + other uncertain costs (customs declaration fees | remote fees, etc.) Note: Ems is only billed according to the actual weight, no fuel surcharges and customs fees!
Sea Shipping
Because the weight of LED displays is usually very heavy, 80% of our customers choose shipping by sea, sea Shipping is a cheaper mode of transportation. The disadvantage is that the transportation time is longer, and it basically takes 1 month or more. Another major advantage of sea transportation is that it does not need to consider the size and weight.
Therefore, when you are planning a project , Be sure to take the shipping time into account.
There are two types of ocean shipping, FCL, and LCL, both of which have to do with the costs of shipping and the size of the container used.
What is LCL and FCL?
Sea cargo is transported in containers.
① LCL (Less than Container Load) refers to goods with multiple owners in a container. If your goods are small in quantity and less than 15CBM in volume, the freight forwarder will help you to transport by LCL. This means that you must share a container with other importers because your cargo load is less than one container. LCL cargo uses cubic meters as the unit for calculating freight.
② FCL (Full container load) refers to the situation where your cargo is large enough to fill one or more containers. In this case, freight is calculated based on the entire container. Usually, it will be cheaper than LCL freight.
How to calculate the freight for international shipping?
The algorithm of sea freight will be different according to FCL and LCL. And the shipping price changes in real-time, which is determined by the shipping company. Especially during the epidemic, the fluctuation of freight rates is more obvious. Therefore, if you want to know the port freight, you can directly consult our pricing experts. They can help you contact the transportation company and provide you with a real-time quote.
FOB and EXW
In trade, all freight (supplier warehouse-your warehouse) will be borne by the buyer in the end, even in CIF terms. It’s just that buyers have different obligations under different terms. For example, under FOB terms, the supplier will transport your goods from the warehouse to the port of shipment, but the costs incurred in this process will still be added to the product unit price, that is, the FOB price. In order to prevent you from paying a certain fee repeatedly, it is necessary for you to understand your obligations and expenses under each trade clause.
90% of the trade uses the two terms EXW and FOB, which are also the most acceptable trade terms for Chinese suppliers.
The ex-factory price is only the cost of the product, which means that your supplier will not help you deliver the goods to the port of shipment.
However, FOB prices include product costs and local logistics costs in China (from the Chinese factory to the port of shipment).
Now, let us compare through formulas to get a clearer overview.
In FOB, your supplier will help you ship the goods directly to the port of shipment. After that, part of the ocean freight that you need to pay is:
Total cost = shipping cost from Chinese port to U.S. port + U.S. customs clearance cost + U.S. local logistics cost
Based on EXW, your supplier will not help you deliver the goods to the port of shipment. In this case, part of the ocean freight charges that you need to pay are:
Total cost = China local logistics cost + China export cost + shipping cost from Chinese port to U.S. port + U.S. customs clearance cost + U.S. local logistics cost
How long does ocean shipping take?
Shipping time will vary based on order details. The following are estimates for door-to-door Sea shipping from China to the US:
Pick-up from supplier: three business days
Warehouse handling: seven days
Sea freight: 18 days to the West Coast; 32 days to the East Coast
Last mile delivery in the US: five to ten days
Total: 30-35 days to the West Coast; 45-50 days to the East Coast
Air shipping
The transportation time of air freight is very fast, but the price is also very expensive. So, When you need to use LED displays urgently, and the budget is acceptable, then you can choose the air transportation method.
Air freight is fast and safe. The on-time ultra-high efficiency has won a considerable market and greatly shortened the delivery time.
It includes the following three steps:
- China’s local logistics and export process.
- Air freight from a Chinese airport to an American airport.
- Local logistics and import processes in the United States.
Air freight cost detail
As with express delivery, air freight charges are based on the weight charged.
Actual weight: The actual weight calculation method is the same as that of air express. Actual weight, also called gross weight, is the total weight of the cargo.
Volume weight: The dimensional formula of air freight is slightly different from express delivery:
Volume weight = Length (cm) x Width (cm) x Height (cm)/5000
For example, if the dimensions of all sides of an export carton shipped by air freight are 100cm, then we multiply 100 * 100 * 100 and then divide the sum by 5,000. This will bring our total air freight weight to 200kg.
Remember that airlines will always choose a higher weight, actual weight or volume weight.
How long does it take for air freight from China to the United States?
Air transportation time = booking class time + flight time + local delivery time in the United States. It usually takes 7-15 days in total.
Of course, sometimes you will find that the actual time is longer than this. Because freight forwarders always hope to collect a large amount of goods and then ship them, because they can apply for larger discounts from the airlines when there is a lot of goods. This will boost their profits. Therefore, in most cases, they will not arrange transportation immediately after receiving your goods.
Rail transport
International railway transportation is an international logistics method that uses railways as a means of transportation to deliver goods to foreign countries through railway freight.
Rail transport is less affected by the natural environment in the process of transporting goods, and can deliver goods to the destination more smoothly and stably.
Characteristics of International Railway Transport
Let’s take a look at the specific characteristics of railway transportation and the difference from air transportation and sea transportation to help you make more accurate judgments when using logistics.
1. Slow timeliness and good stability
In terms of logistics timeliness, rail transport is much slower than air transport. Taking China-Europe trains as an example, the overall signing time is about 20-40 days, while air transport is generally about 7-20 days, and commercial express air transport can achieve about 3-7 days. , The overall timeliness is much higher than that of railway transportation.
However, compared with sea transportation, the overall timeliness of railway transportation is faster, and the timeliness of European shipping is 30-50 days. However, in terms of stability, due to the continuity of the transportation mode and the mature transportation network, the railway transportation has high punctuality and stable timeliness. The poor timeliness of railway transportation is basically caused by the end delivery.
2. Low transportation cost
The cost of infrastructure construction for railway transportation is high, but the transportation cost is low, and combined with the large carrying capacity, the average freight price per KG is relatively low.
3. Large carrying capacity and wide range of items to be shipped
International rail transport has a wide range of weights and types of items. In terms of weight, items weighing less than 2kg can be accepted, and goods weighing more than 500kg can also be accepted.
4. Small mailing range
The scope of international railway transportation is relatively small. According to the current intercontinental railway transportation line, the scope of mail is mainly through European countries, such as Germany, France, Britain, Italy, etc., and the scope of mail is relatively small. In contrast, air freight logistics has a wide range of postal services, basically allowing postal services to more than 220 countries and regions around the world.
5. High safety
The railway transport has a strong ability to resist natural disaster risks and is less affected. Moreover, railway transportation is almost unaffected by the climate, and can operate regularly and accurately throughout the year, day and night. So in general, the security is higher.
What is the cheapest way to transport from China to other countries?
There is no cheapest mode of transportation. As shown above, each mode of transport has its own conditions under which it is most applicable.
You should negotiate with your forwarder about the specific mode of transportation, because the price is always changing regardless of the mode of transportation. Especially if you’re struggling to decide between International express and air shipping.
I hope you can benefit a lot from my guide. If you have purchased one of our Led displays and require any assistance, please contact one of our sales engineers we will be happy to assist you!