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AustraliaAir Freight from China — fast, reliable cargo delivery worldwide.
Fast, reliable air cargo for urgent shipments worldwide.
Get a Free QuoteFast Transit
Most routes delivered in 3–7 days door-to-door.
Chargeable Weight Managed
Packaging and pallet build reviewed before booking, so you pay for the weight you actually ship.
Priority Space
Bookings with Emirates SkyCargo, Qatar Cargo, Turkish Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo and Chinese carriers.
All Cargo Types
General cargo, electronics, oversized goods and batteries on selected airlines.
Quick Answer: Air Freight from China — Costs & Delivery Times
Air freight from China is the fastest way to move commercial cargo, normally 3–7 days door to door on main routes. Reference rates run from about $2.20/kg to $9.50/kg depending on the region, the route and the weight break you ship at — the same lane gets cheaper per kilo as volume grows.
Air cargo is billed on chargeable weight, which is the higher of actual weight and volumetric weight (length × width × height in cm ÷ 6000 for air freight). Your final rate depends on the origin airport, the destination, the weight break, the season, and whether the goods are classed as dangerous goods.
What Is Air Freight from China?
Air freight is airport-to-airport or door-to-door transport of commercial cargo by cargo aircraft and belly hold space. We book the space, collect the cargo from your supplier, prepare the export documentation, move it through the airport, and either hand it over at the destination airport or deliver it to your door under DDP or DAP terms.
It is the right answer when the goods are worth more than the freight: electronics and components, spare parts that stop a production line, launch stock, samples that have to pass inspection, seasonal goods with a deadline, and anything where a two-week delay costs more than the air premium.
It is the wrong answer for dense, low-value, non-urgent cargo. On the same lane, sea freight moves the same tonnage for a fraction of the price if you can wait — the two modes are for different problems, not competitors.
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Air, Sea or Express — Choosing the Mode
The three options overlap in weight range but not in economics. The break point is usually between 45 kg and 100 kg by air, and around 13–15 CBM for sea.
| Mode | Best for | Typical transit | Priced by | Practical entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Express courier | Samples, documents, first units, urgent parcels | 2–7 days | USD per chargeable kg, banded | From about 0.5 kg up to about 45 kg |
| Air freight | Urgent commercial cargo, high-value goods, restocking | 3–7 days | USD per chargeable kg, by weight break | From about 45–100 kg upward |
| Sea LCL | Planned replenishment, heavy or bulky cargo | 15–45 days by route | USD per CBM | From 1 CBM |
| DDP air | Sellers and importers who want duties, clearance and delivery in one price | 5–9 days door to door | USD per chargeable kg, all-in | From about 22 kg on some lanes |
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Chargeable Weight — How Air Cargo Is Priced
Airlines charge on chargeable weight: the higher of actual weight and volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is the space the cargo occupies, converted into kilos of freight.
Volumetric weight (kg) = Length (cm) × Width (cm) × Height (cm) ÷ 6000
This is why a light, bulky shipment can cost more than a heavy, compact one. The numbers below are the same three cartons priced two ways:
Three practical levers: compress soft goods in vacuum bags, keep carton sizes proportionate to their contents, and build pallets or ULDs to full height rather than half. We check the dimensions before booking, because a re-measure at the airport is what turns a quote into an invoice.
| Carton | Dimensions (cm) | Actual weight | Volumetric weight | Chargeable weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dense cargo (tools) | 60 × 40 × 40 | 32 kg | 16 kg | 32 kg |
| Mixed cargo (apparel) | 60 × 40 × 50 | 15 kg | 20 kg | 20 kg |
| Bulky cargo (cushions) | 80 × 60 × 60 | 8 kg | 48 kg | 48 kg |
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Air Freight Rates from China (Q3 2026)
Reference rates per weight break on the routes we book most, published in mid-September 2026 and taken from the same lane data as our destination pages. Rates are validated at booking against the space actually confirmed for your shipment.
| Route | Transit | 100 kg | 300 kg | 500 kg | 1,000 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shenzhen (SZX) → New York (JFK) | 3–7 days | $1,216–$1,603 | $2,455–$3,617 | $3,660–$5,725 | $6,860–$10,776 |
| Shanghai (PVG) → Los Angeles (LAX) | 7–10 days | $1,414–$1,620 | $2,891–$3,539 | $4,290–$5,595 | $7,945–$10,516 |
| Shanghai (PVG) → Frankfurt (FRA) | 3–5 days | $1,080–$1,420 | $2,280–$3,020 | $3,420–$4,520 | $6,400–$8,500 |
| Shenzhen (SZX) → London (LHR) | 3–6 days | $1,120–$1,460 | $2,360–$3,120 | $3,550–$4,680 | $6,600–$8,800 |
| Guangzhou (CAN) → Dubai (DXB) | 2–4 days | $920–$1,220 | $2,050–$2,720 | $3,150–$4,150 | $5,900–$7,800 |
| Guangzhou (CAN) → Lagos (LOS) | 4–7 days | $1,760–$2,280 | $3,680–$4,780 | $5,520–$7,150 | $10,300–$13,300 |
| Guangzhou (CAN) → São Paulo (GRU) | 5–8 days | $1,680–$2,160 | $3,520–$4,560 | $5,300–$6,850 | $9,900–$12,800 |
| Shanghai (PVG) → Sydney (SYD) | 3–5 days | $1,220–$1,620 | $2,560–$3,400 | $3,840–$5,100 | $7,200–$9,560 |
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
What Changes Your Air Freight Rate
- Weight break — the same lane costs less per kilo at 300 kg than at 100 kg; splitting a shipment can cost more than consolidating it
- Density — light, bulky cargo is charged on volume, so the volumetric calculation can outweigh the actual weight several times over
- Airport pair — a direct flight to a major hub is usually cheaper than a routing that transships twice
- Fuel and security surcharges — quoted separately by the airline and adjusted monthly
- Season — capacity tightens from September; the surcharges follow the space
- Dangerous goods — batteries, liquids and aerosols need airline approval and add handling charges
- Destination charges — airport handling, customs brokerage and inland trucking, which are quoted separately from the air rate
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Airports, Airlines and Consolidation
We ship from every major Chinese airport: Shanghai (PVG), Shenzhen (SZX), Guangzhou (CAN), Hong Kong (HKG), Beijing (PEK), Chengdu (CTU), Chongqing (CKG), Xiamen (XMN) and Hangzhou (HGH). Choosing the airport closest to your supplier usually beats a cheaper rate out of a distant hub once inland trucking is added.
Airlines we book with include Emirates SkyCargo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Turkish Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo, Ethiopian Airlines Cargo, China Southern Cargo and Air China Cargo, plus scheduled consolidations on European and African lanes.
Cargo from several suppliers can be consolidated at our Shenzhen or Shanghai warehouse and tendered as one shipment, which keeps the weight break on your side and reduces airport handling charges. Where the cargo is bulky rather than heavy, we review whether a pallet or container build at origin lowers the chargeable weight before it flies.
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Batteries and Dangerous Goods by Air
Batteries and battery-powered products can fly, but the paperwork decides whether a shipment moves. Tell us the product and the battery type when you request a quote — the airline approval is part of the booking, not an afterthought at the airport.
- Lithium-ion cells and packs need a UN38.3 test report and a safety data sheet, plus the correct packing instruction (PI 965–967 depending on how they ship)
- Power banks and standalone batteries travel as cargo only, never in passenger mail
- Liquids, aerosols, perfumes and powders need an MSDS and a dangerous goods declaration, and some airlines decline them entirely
- Magnets require magnetic field testing before the airline accepts them
- Goods with brand authorisation requirements should be declared at booking so the documentation is right at both ends
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Documents for an Air Freight Shipment
- Air waybill — issued by the airline and our forwarding house, naming the shipper and consignee
- Commercial invoice and packing list, checked against the cargo we actually receive
- Safety data sheet and dangerous goods documentation where the cargo requires it
- Certificate of origin, and product certificates such as CE, FCC or FDA where the destination requires them
- Import documentation at destination — under DDP we file it; under DAP we hand the file to your broker
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
What Can Delay an Air Shipment
- Peak-season capacity — space from China tightens from September through December, and rates move weekly
- Security screening — cargo screened late misses the booked flight and rolls to the next one
- Dangerous goods review — an incomplete battery declaration can hold a shipment at origin for days
- Customs at destination — an undervalued invoice or a wrong HS code stops the shipment after it lands
- Documentation mismatches — a supplier invoice that does not match the packing list is the delay we see most often
- Public holidays — Chinese New Year reduces handling capacity for two weeks on both sides of the holiday
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
What Is Moving Air Rates in Q3 2026
- Peak capacity from September — e-commerce and pre-Q4 restocking absorb belly-hold space, and freighter capacity is contracted months ahead
- Fuel and security surcharges — adjusted monthly by the airlines and applied on top of the base rate
- Weight-break economics — at 300 kg and 1,000 kg the per-kilo rate drops sharply, so consolidation pays more in a tight market
- Chinese New Year — the fortnight before it is the busiest of the year; January shipments should be booked in December
How to read these numbers: our published rates are planning bands cut off in mid-September 2026, not a price list. A quote is validated at booking against the space actually confirmed, the surcharges in force on the flight date, and the chargeable weight measured at origin.
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Air Freight to top destinations
Check reference rates and local know-how for the routes this service covers best.
Other shipping services from China
DDP Shipping
Door-to-door with customs, duties and delivery all included.
Sea Freight
Cost-effective ocean shipping for shipments of every size.
Road Freight
Cross-border trucking — door-to-door to Europe, Russia & Central Asia.
Rail Freight
Reliable rail freight from China to Europe and Russia.
Express Courier
Fast courier delivery for parcels, samples and small shipments.
Amazon FBA
FBA freight forwarding from China — supplier pickup, DDP freight, customs and delivery to the fulfillment center.
Air Freight guides from our team
Practical articles from our team on costs, transit times and customs for this service.
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