Shipping from China to USA

Routes and transit times

Cargo from China to the United States takes one of two ocean paths. To the West Coast, ships cross the North Pacific directly, usually from Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian (Shenzhen) or Qingdao into Los Angeles–Long Beach, Oakland or Seattle–Tacoma. To the East and Gulf Coasts, they either continue through the Panama Canal to Savannah, New York–New Jersey, Charleston, Norfolk or Houston, or come the other way through the Suez Canal on the "all-water" services. A third option is to land on the West Coast and move the container inland by rail to Chicago, Dallas or Memphis.

Distances and days at sea are from this site's routing model at 16 knots. On a real schedule, Shanghai to Los Angeles is commonly about two and a half weeks port to port and East Coast services about five; door to door, allow roughly three to five weeks to the West Coast and five to seven to the East. Airfreight is typically a week door to door and express two to five working days.

What it costs

Spot benchmark: Drewry World Container Index, Shanghai → Los Angeles: US$7,514 per 40ft container (29 October 2026). Spot rates move weekly and exclude destination charges, customs and inland delivery.

Spot benchmark: Drewry World Container Index, Shanghai → New York: US$9,631 per 40ft container (29 October 2026). Spot rates move weekly and exclude destination charges, customs and inland delivery.

The benchmark is the ocean leg only. A typical all-in budget also includes origin charges in China (trucking, export clearance, terminal handling, often quoted under FOB terms by the supplier), the ocean freight with its surcharges, US destination terminal and chassis charges, the customs broker's fee, any duty and fees, and trucking or rail to your warehouse. LCL is priced per cubic metre (W/M) and is usually the better choice below about 15 m³.

Rates on this lane swing more than on any other. They rise ahead of Chinese New Year (6 February 2027 next) as factories rush to ship before closing, again in the summer peak season, and around China's Golden Week holiday at the start of October. Booking two to three weeks ahead in those periods avoids rolled cargo.

US customs for Chinese goods

• ISF (10+2). For ocean shipments, the importer (usually through its broker or forwarder) must file an Importer Security Filing at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on the vessel in China. Late or missing filings can draw liquidated damages of up to $5,000 per violation.
• No more $800 de minimis. The duty-free treatment of shipments worth $800 or less has been suspended for goods from all countries since August 2025, and CBP's rule of 24 June 2026 made the suspension part of its regulations for everything except mail. The statutory exemption itself ends on 1 July 2027. Low-value e-commerce parcels from China now pay duty like any other import.
• Formal entry and bond. Commercial shipments over $2,500 need a formal entry and a customs bond, either single-transaction or continuous.
• Duty. The normal HTSUS rate is charged on the goods' transaction value (US customs value excludes the international freight). Most Chinese goods also carry additional duties under Section 301 and other trade actions, which have changed repeatedly since 2018. Check the current total for your HTS code with your broker before you place the order.
• Fees. The merchandise processing fee is 0.3464 % of value (minimum $34.58, maximum $670.86 for fiscal year 2027) and ocean shipments add the 0.125 % harbor maintenance fee. The calculator includes both.

Mistakes importers make on this lane

• Buying EXW from a factory without a forwarder in China. Someone has to clear export and get the goods to the port. FOB or FCA terms put that on the supplier; see the Incoterms chart.
• Quoting landed cost without the extra tariffs. On many Chinese goods the additional duties outweigh the base duty rate.
• Booking East Coast all-water when inland rail is faster. For Chicago or the Midwest, West Coast plus rail can beat Panama by a week.
• Letting the supplier pick a low-cost forwarder under CIF. Cheap CIF freight is often recovered through high destination charges billed to you.
• Splitting orders to stay under $800. That no longer avoids duty, and deliberate splitting to evade duty is a violation in its own right.