International Shipping Calculator

How the international shipping calculator works

A freight quote has four moving parts: how long it takes, what the carrier charges you on, the rate, and what you pay on top once the goods land. This calculator works through each one for any pair of the 75 ports it knows, in 44 countries.

• Transit. The sea leg comes from the same routing model as the sea distance calculator, at 16 knots. Door-to-door ranges add the usual allowances: about 5–10 days for haulage, cut-off, discharge, customs and delivery on FCL, another 5–10 for consolidation on LCL, 4–10 days for consolidated airfreight and 2–6 for express courier.
• What you are charged on. Air uses 1:6000 (166.67 kg per m³), express 1:5000 (200 kg per m³), LCL the greater of m³ and tonnes with a 1 W/M minimum, and FCL the number of 40-foot boxes the cargo needs by volume and payload. The chargeable weight calculator explains each factor.
• Rates. Enter what your forwarder quoted. Where Drewry publishes a spot benchmark for the lane (China to the US West and East Coasts, North Europe and the Mediterranean, and the four return and transatlantic lanes), sea FCL is filled in from it, marked with an asterisk and dated.
• Landed cost. Duty is charged on the goods value alone in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (FOB basis) and on goods plus freight and insurance elsewhere (CIF basis). Import VAT or GST is then charged on the duty-paid value. US entries over $2,500 add the merchandise processing fee, and ocean shipments the harbor maintenance fee.

The landed cost formula

Worked example: 30 m³ from Shenzhen to Los Angeles

An importer has 30 m³ of furniture, 6,500 kg, invoiced at US$48,000, with a 7.5 % duty rate. This is the example loaded above.

• Yantian to Los Angeles is about 6,460 nm across the North Pacific: 16.8 days at sea, 19–26 days on a typical schedule, 24–36 days door to door.
• 30 m³ is too much for a 20′ box's practical 28 m³, so it ships in one 40′. With the Drewry Shanghai–Los Angeles benchmark of US$7,514 (29 October 2026) as the freight figure, landed cost comes to about US$59,507: goods $48,000, freight $7,514, insurance $167, duty $3,600, MPF $166 and HMF $60.
• By air, 30 m³ would be charged on 6,500 kg, because the real weight beats the 5,000 kg volumetric weight. At a quoted $6.50 a kilo that is $42,250 of freight and a landed cost of about $94,287, but the goods arrive in a week instead of a month.

Duty here is on the goods only, because the US uses FOB value. The same shipment into the UK would pay duty on goods plus freight plus insurance, and 20 % import VAT on top of that.

Current ocean benchmarks

Source: Drewry World Container Index, 29 October 2026. These are spot rates for a 40-foot container, port to port. Contract rates, surcharges, destination terminal charges, customs brokerage and inland delivery are not included, and rates change every week.

VAT, GST and duty basis by destination

Rates shown are standard rates. Many goods carry reduced or higher rates, Canada adds provincial HST or PST to the 5 % GST in most provinces, and "varies" means the country has several rates or extra levies at import. Always check the tariff for your goods' HS code.

Mistakes that make imports cost more than planned

• Comparing freight only. The cheapest freight rate can carry the highest destination charges. Ask for all-in quotes to the same point.
• Forgetting duty on freight. In CIF countries, an expensive freight rate also raises the duty and VAT bill.
• Using the wrong value. Customs value is the transaction value on a genuine commercial invoice. Under-declaring invites penalties and delays.
• Shipping LCL when FCL is cheaper. Above about 15 m³, a 20′ container often costs less than LCL and is handled less.
• Ignoring time. Air costs more but frees cash, reduces stock and avoids missed seasons. Count the cost of 30 extra days of inventory before choosing sea.

Lane guides

The busiest lanes have their own pages, with port-to-port distances for each main port pair, transit times and the customs rules at the destination:

• Shipping from China to USA: West Coast and East Coast routes, transit times, ISF, entry fees and the end of the $800 de minimis.
• Shipping from China to UK: Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway via Suez or the Cape, import VAT and the £135 rule.
• Shipping from China to Canada: Vancouver, Prince Rupert or Montreal, rail inland, CARM, GST and HST on imports.
• Shipping from China to Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle transit times, ChAFTA, GST and biosecurity checks.
• Shipping from USA to Australia: Pacific routes from the West Coast, stink bug season treatment rules, AUSFTA and GST.
• Shipping from USA to Canada: Cross-border trucking, eManifest, CUSMA origin, courier thresholds and customs brokers.
• Shipping from India to USA: Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Chennai to US ports via Suez or the Pacific, export and US entry rules.
• Shipping from UK to USA: Nine to fourteen days across the Atlantic, US entry for UK sellers after de minimis, and costs.