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AustraliaSea Freight from China — cost-effective FCL & LCL ocean shipping.
Cost-effective ocean shipping for shipments of every size.
Get a Free QuoteLowest Cost per Unit
The most economical way to move heavy, dense and bulk cargo.
FCL & LCL
Full containers or shared space from 1 CBM upward.
Every Major Port
Sailings from Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Qingdao and Tianjin to worldwide gateways.
Container Options
20ft, 40ft, 40ft high cube and 45ft high cube equipment.
Quick Answer: Sea Freight from China — Costs & Delivery Times
Sea freight from China is the cheapest way to move heavy or bulky cargo. FCL (Full Container Load) suits shipments that fill a container; LCL (Less than Container Load) suits smaller volumes billed per CBM. Door-to-door transit normally runs 15–45 days depending on the route.
Reference rates for planning: 20ft containers from about $850 (Jebel Ali) to $3,465 (Houston), and LCL from $80/CBM (Jebel Ali) to $620/CBM (Brazil). The final figure depends on the port pair, the season, the equipment available and whether the shipment is priced port-to-port or all-in with clearance and delivery.
What Is Sea Freight from China?
Ocean freight moves your cargo from a Chinese port to a destination port in a container — either your own container (FCL) or space shared with other cargo (LCL). We handle the pickup, the export declaration, the booking, the import documentation and, under DDP or DAP terms, the clearance and the delivery leg at the other end.
For most importers the decision is not sea versus air, but which sea product fits the volume. Light, bulky cargo pays for space; dense cargo pays for weight. That is why the same shipment can look cheap per CBM and expensive per tonne, and why we ask for both the CBM and the gross weight before quoting.
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
FCL vs LCL: Which One Fits Your Shipment?
FCL (Full Container Load) — you book the whole container. Your cargo is loaded at origin, sealed, and opened only at destination. It is the cheapest option per unit once your volume is high enough, and the lowest-risk in handling terms.
LCL (Less than Container Load) — your cargo is consolidated with other shipments in a shared container and you pay only for the CBM you use. It is the way to start with 1–5 CBM without paying for empty space.
The break-even sits around 13–15 CBM on most lanes. Below it, LCL usually wins; above it, FCL does. Between roughly 12 and 18 CBM, ask for both prices — density changes the answer, and so does the destination port.
One more cost to weigh: LCL attracts destination deconsolidation and handling charges per shipment. On small volumes those flat charges can be a large share of the total, which is why a 2 CBM shipment sometimes quotes surprisingly close to a 4 CBM one.
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Container Types and Capacity
Usable capacity is lower than the container’s nominal volume because cartons never fill every corner, and the payload limit is often set by road weight rules rather than by the container itself.
Watch the road leg: many US and EU inland routes limit container gross weight well below the container’s maximum, so a 20ft full of dense goods may need to ship partly loaded or split across two containers.
| Container | Usable CBM | Typical payload | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft GP | About 28–30 CBM | 25,000–28,000 kg | Dense cargo, machinery, building materials |
| 40ft GP | About 55–58 CBM | 26,000–27,500 kg | General FCL cargo |
| 40ft High Cube | About 65–68 CBM | 26,000–27,000 kg | Light, high-volume cargo; most common FCL choice |
| 45ft High Cube | About 75–78 CBM | 26,000–27,000 kg | Very light cargo where volume is the constraint |
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Sea Freight Rates from China (Q3 2026)
Reference FCL and LCL rates published in mid-September 2026, taken from the same lane data as our destination pages. Port-to-port rates exclude destination charges; DDP adds clearance, duties and delivery.
| Route | Transit | 20ft | 40ft | LCL / CBM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai → Los Angeles | 17–35 days | $880–$1,758 | $2,185–$2,863 | $376 |
| Ningbo → New York | 25–35 days | $1,380–$2,240 | $2,680–$3,580 | $442 |
| Shenzhen → Houston | 24–33 days | $2,010–$3,465 | $3,090–$4,077 | $398 |
| Qingdao → Savannah | 26–38 days | $1,420–$2,310 | $2,750–$3,690 | $410 |
| Shanghai → Hamburg | 22–30 days | $1,150–$1,850 | $2,250–$3,150 | $140–$200 |
| Shanghai → Felixstowe | 25–32 days | $1,250–$1,950 | $2,380–$3,280 | $150–$210 |
| Shenzhen → Jebel Ali (Dubai) | 15–22 days | $850–$1,350 | $1,680–$2,450 | $80–$110 |
| Ningbo → Apapa (Lagos) | 35–45 days | $2,450–$3,380 | $4,680–$6,150 | $260–$320 |
| Shanghai → Durban | 25–35 days | $1,650–$2,380 | $3,180–$4,320 | $180–$220 |
| Shanghai → Melbourne | 14–19 days | $1,350–$2,050 | $2,430–$3,690 | $150–$210 |
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
How LCL Consolidation Actually Works
Cargo from several shippers is received at a consolidation warehouse (a CFS) near the port, loaded into a shared container, and unsealed at a destination CFS, where each consignment is separated again before delivery or collection.
- You pay per CBM, usually with a minimum charge of 1 CBM
- Heavy, dense cargo may be rated on weight instead of volume — that is why both figures matter
- Deconsolidation at destination typically adds 2–4 days after the vessel arrives
- Mixing suppliers is normal: we receive from several factories, check the counts, and load one consignment under your name
- Goods that must not be co-loaded (strong odours, chemicals, food) need their own container even at low volume
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Free Time, Demurrage and Detention
The cheapest part of an ocean shipment is the sailing. The expensive part is what happens when the container sits still.
- US ports typically allow 3–5 days of free time before demurrage and detention start, then about $100–300 per container per day
- European gateways generally allow more free time at the terminal but charge faster on the trucking side
- Late documentation and a missing ISF filing are the two most common causes of a container ageing at the port
- We track free time from the moment the vessel berths and book trucking the day cargo clears, rather than the day someone remembers
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Ports, Inland Options and Transit Reality
Origin ports we load from: Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen (Yantian/Shekou), Guangzhou (Nansha), Qingdao, Tianjin, Xiamen and Fuzhou. The choice affects the sailing frequency as much as the rate — a weekly service out of Shanghai with a direct routing often beats a cheaper transshipment from a smaller port once the extra 7–10 days are priced in.
At destination, the port pair decides the inland leg. US West Coast gateways (Los Angeles/Long Beach) suit the western states; East Coast and Gulf ports (New York, Savannah, Houston) reduce trucking for the east and centre. For deep-inland destinations such as Chicago, Dallas or Memphis, a rail ramp delivery usually costs less than a road move from the coast.
The transits in the table above are port-to-port sailing times. Add 3–7 days for export handling, 2–5 days for import clearance and delivery, and more if the destination is far from the port.
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
Documents for an Ocean Shipment
- Bill of lading — original, telex release or express release, depending on how you want to control the cargo
- Commercial invoice and packing list, checked against the container we actually load
- Export declaration in China, and the certificate of origin where one is required
- ISF filing for US ocean shipments, at least 24 hours before the vessel departs
- Import entry documentation — under DDP we file it; under DAP it goes to your broker along with the arrival notice
* 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 Ocean Shipment
- Blank sailings — carriers cut capacity when demand drops, and your cargo rolls to the next vessel
- Peak-season congestion — terminals and trucking tighten from September; the appointment, not the vessel, becomes the constraint
- Customs inspection — an exam adds days and storage charges, usually because the invoice and the classification do not match
- Documentation errors — a mismatched invoice or a missing certificate stops the container at destination, not at origin
- Equipment shortages — 40ft and 40HQ boxes are the first to run short in a busy market
- Consignee readiness — cargo that clears but cannot be collected starts the demurrage clock
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
What Is Moving Ocean Rates in Q3 2026
- Peak-season surcharges (PSS and BAF) — typically $300–$1,000 per container from September to December
- Space and equipment — Q4 volume builds from August; the cheapest sailings are the ones booked earliest
- GRI announcements — carriers publish general rate increases and then discount them lane by lane, so a headline increase is rarely the price you pay
- Chinese New Year — the busiest fortnight of the year comes before the holiday, and capacity resets afterwards
How to read these numbers: our published rates are planning bands cut off in mid-September 2026, not a price list. A rate is validated at booking against the sailing confirmed, the equipment released on your route, and the free time your destination port allows.
* Reference rates for planning only — final quotes depend on weight, volume, season and exact route. Contact us for today's rates.
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Sea Freight guides from our team
Practical articles from our team on costs, transit times and customs for this service.
Cost of Shipping a 40ft Container from China to USA: 2026 Rates & Breakdown
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