Air cargo

Air Freight from China to USA

When the fastest mode is also the cheapest one — and the three cases where it is not. Chargeable weight, gateway routing, express versus general cargo, and the capacity risk nobody mentions until November.

Get an air rateSee transit times by mode

No obligation — every figure we send states its caliber and the date it was issued.

3–5 days

Airport-to-airport

Door-to-door runs 5–10 days once clearance and final mile are counted.

1 CBM = 167 kg

Volumetric divisor

Billable weight is the greater of actual weight and volume weight (cm³ ÷ 6000).

~200 kg

Where express stops making sense

Below that an integrated courier is usually simpler; above it, per-kg air freight pulls ahead.

Data last verified:

What this service actually covers

Four things that decide the price and the risk on this lane. Each one is expanded below.

Billable weight, not packed weight

Airlines charge the greater of gross weight and volumetric weight, so carton dimensions change the price as much as the cargo does.

Express and air freight are different products

An integrated courier is door-to-door with customs included. Air freight is airport-to-airport, and pickup, entry and delivery are bought separately.

Peak season moves rate and space together

Capacity is passenger-belly plus freighter. When schedules change, available tonnage can fall inside a week and the spot rate follows it.

No Harbor Maintenance Fee

HMF at 0.125% applies to ocean shipments only. Duty and MPF still apply, assessed on the same HTS code.

What is included, and what is priced separately

A quote is only comparable when both sides are named. This is the boundary on this service — anything on the right is quoted on its own line, with its own date.

Inside this service

  • Airport-to-airport carriage on the booked routing
  • Airline fuel and security surcharges in force at booking
  • Chargeable weight calculated at 1 CBM = 167 kg
  • Air waybill and manifest data

Priced separately

  • Pickup at your supplier's premises in China
  • US entry filing, the bond, duty and MPF
  • Delivery from the airport to your address
  • Peak-season capacity surcharges when space is short

Air freight from China to USA: when it is worth the premium

Air freight costs several times what sea freight costs per kilogram, so the decision is never really “air versus sea”. It is “what does the delay cost me”. Three situations where the answer is genuinely air:

  • Stock-out. If a week’s lost sales exceed the air premium, air is the cheaper option — this is arithmetic, not preference.

  • High value density. Consumer electronics, components, medical devices and fashion samples frequently carry a freight-to-value ratio where air’s premium is a rounding error.

  • Time-boxed demand. Trade-show stock, seasonal launches and promotional inventory have a date attached. Cargo that arrives after the date has no value at any freight rate.

Air loses on heavy, bulky, low-value goods — and on anything where duty dominates the landed cost, because air freight does not reduce duty by a cent. Model both in the landed cost calculator before you decide.

Air freight cost per kg from China to USA and the chargeable weight trap

Airlines bill on chargeable weight: the greater of gross weight and volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 6000. That divisor means 1 CBM equals about 167 kg.

The trap is packaging. A carton that measures 60 × 50 × 40 cm has a volumetric weight of 20 kg. If it actually weighs 8 kg you are billed for 20. Re-packing to 60 × 50 × 25 cm takes it to 12.5 kg — a meaningful saving on a few hundred cartons, achieved by nothing more than carton dimensions.

Work out your chargeable weight before you request a rate, using the chargeable weight calculator. The formula it applies is length (cm) × width (cm) × height (cm) ÷ 6000.

A second report for the same week quoted USD 5.60/kg on a different cut-off. We publish one figure with its date rather than blending the two.

Express courier versus air freight

They are different products, not different prices for the same thing.

  • Express (DHL / FedEx / UPS). Door-to-door by default, integrated customs handling, priced per kilogram with high minimums. Best under roughly 200 kg, or when you want one invoice and no coordination.

  • Air freight. Airport-to-airport as standard, with pickup, entry and delivery bought separately. Best from a few hundred kilograms upward, and always cheaper per kilogram at scale — but you have to own the coordination.

A frequent and expensive mistake is sending 800 kg by express because it was easier, then discovering the same shipment as air freight with a broker and a delivery agent would have cost a fraction of it.

Which airports: routing air freight from China to the USA

Chinese gateways concentrate around Shanghai (PVG), Hong Kong (HKG), Shenzhen/Guangzhou (SZX/CAN) and Beijing (PEK). US entry concentrates on Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK) and Dallas (DFW), with the inland hubs offering cheaper truck legs to Midwest destinations.

The routing decision usually comes down to total door-to-door time rather than flight time. A cheaper gateway with a two-day truck leg is not faster, and a direct flight into a congested hub can sit longer than a connection into a quieter one.

Peak-season capacity and why air rates from China to USA spike

Air cargo capacity is passenger-belly plus freighter. When passenger schedules change or freighter capacity is reallocated elsewhere, the available tonnage can fall in a week and the spot rate moves with it. Peak season compounds this with e-commerce volume.

Practical consequence: if you have a hard date in the fourth quarter, book earlier than you think you need to, and ask whether the rate is firm or subject to the airline’s own adjustment. Anyone quoting you a fixed air rate for a November shipment in October is assuming risk they may not be able to hold.

Customs and duty on air freight from China to USA

Air freight enters through the same customs process as sea freight: an entry, a bond, and duty assessed on the HTS code. Two differences matter.

  • No HMF. The Harbor Maintenance Fee of 0.125% applies to ocean shipments only, so an air shipment does not carry it — MPF still applies.

  • Everything still stacks. MFN duty plus any Section 301 layer, including the 12.5% forced-labor tariff in force since 2026-07-24. See the forced-labor tariff page for the exemption list.

Air freight market indicator and transit times

The index is attributed and dated. Both calibers are shown: airport-to-airport and door-to-door.

Air freight market indicator — attributed, dated, port-to-port equivalent. Not a price for your shipment.
MeasureValueAs ofCaliber
China → North America (air)USD 5.77 / kg2026-10-13Airport-to-airport, chargeable weight, excludes pickup, entry and duties — published by Freightos Air Index
Air transit, both calibers.
LaneAirport-to-airportDoor-to-doorBasis
China → US (air freight, major gateway to gateway)3–5 days5–10 daysAirport-to-airport flight time plus customs clearance and final-mile.

Where to go next

The 2026 duty stack

Every layer that applies to air cargo as well as sea.

Door-to-door delivery

What the airport-to-airport figure leaves for you to arrange.

Amazon FBA first leg

Air into a fulfilment centre, with the compliance list.

Air Freight from China to USA: common questions

How much does air freight from China to the USA cost per kg?
It is quoted per kilogram of chargeable weight and re-priced constantly. The published Freightos Air Index for China to North America was USD 5.77/kg for the week of 2026-10-13, airport-to-airport and excluding pickup, entry and duty — treat that as a market indicator with a date on it, not as a price for your shipment. Your actual rate depends on the weight break, the commodity and the gateway.
What is chargeable weight?
The greater of the actual gross weight and the volumetric weight. Air volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres divided by 6000, which is 1 cubic metre equal to about 167 kg. Light, bulky cargo pays on volume rather than on the scale.
When is air freight worth it over sea freight?
Usually when the cargo value is high relative to its weight, when you are out of stock, or when the duty exposure changes the arithmetic. Compare door-to-door total landed cost on both, not the freight rate alone — on a heavy, low-value product air rarely wins.
How long does air freight take from China to the USA?
Airport-to-airport, three to five days on major gateways. Door-to-door, five to ten days once you add pickup, export clearance, US entry and final delivery.
Can I ship lithium batteries or liquids by air?
Only with proper documentation, and often not at all on passenger aircraft. Lithium batteries need UN38.3 test summaries and compliant packaging; many couriers refuse them outright. Tell us the commodity before we quote, because an undeclared dangerous good is a refusal at the airport and a delay you cannot recover.

How we work

A China-based forwarder on the US lane. No US subsidiary, no borrowed logos.

China-based, US-lane only

One Shenzhen office, one trade lane. That focus is why the tariff detail stays current.

Every rate is dated

Date, caliber and inclusions on every quote. No undated price sheets.

US brokers and 3PLs, named

Licensed US brokers file the entry; vetted 3PLs run the warehouse. We tell you who does what.

We say what we do not know

Where a tariff measure is unsettled in law, the page says so rather than picking a number.

Get an air rate with its weight break stated

Send the carton dimensions, the gross weight and the destination ZIP. We give you the chargeable weight we will bill on, the rate for that break, and a sea comparison for the same shipment.

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