Shipping from China to the USA: the questions worth asking

Because the rate is only firm for a named sailing and a named set of surcharges. A forwarder can quote you a rate that holds for a booking window, and that is what we do, but an open-ended "our price is X" is either a stale number or an average that will not survive contact with a real booking.

Port-to-port covers the ocean leg between named ports. Door-to-door covers factory pickup, export clearance, the main leg, US entry and delivery to your address. They are not comparable, and a large share of "this quote is better" arguments are really one of each. Our definitions are published on the shipping cost page.

Only when the quote says DDP. Under DAP, FOB or CIF the duty is yours, collected at entry. On a 2026 stack the duty is frequently the largest single line, so this is the first question to ask of any quote.

Freight moves weekly — the published indices are reissued every week and carrier surcharges are announced on short notice. Duty changes on specific effective dates. Every data page on this site carries the date it was last verified.

By sea, roughly 12–22 days port-to-port to the West Coast and 32–45 days to the East Coast, plus 6–8 days door-to-door. By air, 3–5 days airport-to-airport and 5–10 days door-to-door. These are planning ranges, not commitments.

The one closest to your delivery address, unless the inland structure changes the answer. For the Midwest, West Coast discharge plus intermodal rail is often faster and cheaper than all-water to the East Coast.

No, and we do not. Ocean schedules are subject to blank sailings, congestion and CBP examinations, none of which any forwarder controls. What we can do is give you a range with its assumptions and tell you which leg is most likely to slip.

Yes, effectively. The HTS code sets your MFN rate and decides which Section 301 list applies, so without it nobody can give you a duty figure. If your supplier does not know it, send us the product description and material composition and we will help you get to a defensible position.

The Section 301 forced-labor tariff at 12.5%, effective 2026-07-24, because it is new and its exemption list works at HTS line level. The other dated item is the expiry of 178 Section 301 product exclusions on 2026-11-09.

Yes, to make a formal entry. You can use a single-entry bond for a one-off shipment or a continuous bond if you import regularly. The continuous bond normally makes sense from around three or four entries a year.

Importer Security Filing must be transmitted 24 hours before the goods are loaded at the foreign port. Late or incorrect filings carry a penalty of USD 5,000 per violation under 19 CFR Part 149. The filing details are in the ISF guide.

Yes, and that is the risk. AD/CVD is set by published orders at the product level and the rate can exceed 100%, with a cash deposit required at entry. If your product is in a sector with active orders — furniture, steel and aluminium products, solar, tires — get a scope check before you buy.

Yes, and often through a US transload, because Amazon placement frequently splits a single shipment across several centres and delivery appointments are the least predictable part of the timeline.

Almost always a labelling or pallet issue: a missing or unreadable FNSKU, an oversized or unstable pallet, an overweight carton without a team-lift label, or a delivery outside the booked appointment. All of it is detectable before the container leaves China.

Yes. The USD 800 duty-free threshold ended for China and Hong Kong on 2025-05-02 and for all origins on 2025-08-29, then became an indefinite suspension covering all modes except international postal channels. Most direct-from-China parcel models now need to be rebuilt on consolidated entries or US-held stock.