Shipping is one of the most import step when you import from China. And shipping cost makes up a great portion in the total cost of importing. In this article, we will try to give you a complete guide on Alibaba shipping cost from China to US.
1. Why is shipping cost on Alibaba so expensive?
China is quite far away from US. And the long distance is a main reason for the high shipping cost from China to US on Alibaba. Even if you choose the shortest routes, Alibaba still charges you for the distance of 6000 miles and adds it to your shipping costs.
2. What’s the average shipping cost on Alibaba from China to US
Mostly, the shipping cost depends on the weight of your package and shipping methods you choose. But the main rate in between is almost the same. For package under 10 kg, the shipping cost is from $10 to $100. For package over 10 kg, the shipping cost will be from $100 to $200. If you have your package delivered with tracking feature, there will be around $40 to $50 extra charges.
3. What is the shipping costs made of?
Before we go deep into shipping methods, we need to have a better understanding about shipping cost at the very beginning. Basically, shipping cost consists of various factors. Let’s go through these factors and you will have a clear idea of the shipping costs.
a. Factory to departure port
After the mass production and product inspection is done, your products is ready to ship to your country. The very first transportation is to ship your products from factory to the departure port, which can be the nearby port or other port that you choose. And the cost for this part is about $50 to $480.
b. Export clearance
Before landing your cargo on ship, your products need to pass the custom inspection. If everything goes smoothly, they will clear it for export and your products is free to go onboard.
One thing you need to keep in mind is that there should be no arguable products in your package, like branded products without authorization. If so, once the authority finds it, your package will be prohibited from exporting. And you may face a legal issue for that.
This part of cost is around $100 to $300. Due to different trade terms, your suppliers can cover it for you or you will need to pay for it.
c. Freight cost
Freight cost makes up the main part of the whole shipping cost. It covers the shipping cost from departure port to destination port. Other than this shipping cost, you need to pay to local authorities. Mostly, this part of cost is rather high, more than $1000.
If you choose other shipping methods than freight, the cost can be rather low. However, you may need to pay higher to local authorities. There are two way to pay for freight costs.
- Pay a freight forwarder and low local charges.
- Pay low shipping costs and high local charges.
The former option is always recommended. Let the professional do the professional things. A freight forwarder is much more economic, considering the freight costs and local charges.
d. Insurance fee
Before the ship stuck in Suez Canal, shipping insurance is not an important thing for importers. Shipping insurance can help reduce your loss when unpredictable accident happens. And the general formula for insurance cost is 0.02% based on 110% of FOB cost.
If you want to cut your budget, don’t do it with insurance. You will never know what will happen during the international shipping. Therefore, paying an insurance to make it secure.
e. Charges on destination port
Another major cost of the total shipping cost is the charges on destination port. The local authorities charges a lot for importing containers. The costs usually goes from $500 to $1000 for every container. And for independent or smaller packages, the costs depends on cubic meters.
As we’ve talked about it on Freight cost, if you save your money on actual shipping, higher charges comes for local authorities. Therefore, leave this problems to freight forwarders and pay less.
f. Custom clearance
If to import anything from China to US, you need to pay a customs bond to move on to next process. The custom is obligatory for shipments over $2500. If your package exceeds the stated amount, you need to pay the customs bond to carry on.
If your package is under $2500, you can move on your importing with some minor paperwork. But you can only do this if your package is under the stated amount.
There are two types of bonds based on your business.
- Single entry bond: (for one-time transport) $100-$200
- Continuous bond: (for long-term business transport) $250-$450
You can get the paperwork through agent companies or custom brokerages. And these bonds are one of the main legal documents required for importing.
g. Final transportation from destination port to final destination
Here comes the final transportation part, which is to ship from destination port to your final destination. And the cost mainly depends on the distance from the port to your warehouse or where you want it ship to. And for different ways of transportation, the shipping cost can be $50 to $500.
4. Mainly used trade terms
Las cotizaciones sobre los costos de envío determinarán en gran medida qué métodos de envío elegirás y cuánto te costará el envío. Ahora, repasemos brevemente estos términos comerciales.
EXW
EXW se refiere más bien al precio del producto. No incluye ningún otro costo, como las tarifas de servicio, los gastos de transporte u otros. Por lo tanto, si opta por el precio EXW, significa que deberá correr con todos los demás gastos.
FOB
FOB es la abreviatura de «Free on Board» (libre a bordo), lo que significa que el vendedor se haría cargo del flete terrestre antes de que la mercancía se embarque, mientras que los compradores deben hacerse cargo del resto, incluido el flete internacional y el flete terrestre en el país de destino.
CFR
CFR significa que los vendedores cubrirían todos los costos antes de que la carga llegue al puerto de destino. Y el comprador solo tiene que pagar el flete terrestre en el país de destino.
DDP y DDU
Este tipo de gastos de envío significa que el vendedor cubre todos los gastos de envío, incluidos los de transporte terrestre y los internacionales. Ambos son prácticamente iguales, salvo que el DDP cubre los aranceles aduaneros, mientras que el DDU no.
CIF
El CIF incluye una tarifa de seguro adicional. En cuanto al seguro, le sugerimos que, si le preocupa cualquier daño o pérdida de su carga, contrate un seguro.
5. Main shipping methods from China to US
El métodos de envío we’re talking about here is about international freight. Basically, there are 3 main shipping methods, which are sea freight, air freight, and express. Now, let’s dive into each of the shipping methods.
5.1 Sea freight
Sea freight is the most common shipping methods that importers tend to choose when importing from China. The first thing that need to know about is the criteria for Sea Freight. If your package is over 2 cubic meter, then you should consider using Sea Freight.
a. LCL & FCL
Normally, there are two ways of loading containers when it comes to sea freight: LCL (short for Less Than Container Load) and FCL (short for Full Container Load). And the way you load your goods will be greatly related to your cost on shipping.
LCL significa que sus mercancías no son suficientes para llenar un contenedor completo. En otras palabras, compartirá el contenedor con otros compradores. El costo del LCL se calcula por metros cúbicos.
FCL significa que sus mercancías son suficientes para llenar un contenedor completo. De esta manera, el costo de envío se calcula según el número de contenedores.
Existen principalmente cuatro tipos de contenedores y aquí se indican los metros cúbicos que contiene cada tamaño de contenedor.
| Tamaño del contenedor | 20GP | 40GP | 40HC | 45HC |
| Metros cúbicos contenidos | 28 | 58 | 68 | 78 |
b. All-Included Sea Freight Shipping Cost
All-Included Cost means the total cost from start to finish. And Sea Freight requires more legal procedures.
But the All-Included Cost is quite simple. The formula goes like:
Freight cost=Number of products * Dimensions of the product
There are more than 100 ports in US, with each ports charges different. But in major port, the cost ranges from $310 to $4200 for containers measuring from 3-40 CBM respectively.
c. Cost of Sea Freight
Based on different trade terms, the shipping cost varies. As for FOB, you are the one to cover all the costs, including the local chargers and custom clearances in US. While, you suppliers will help you through the whole process.
As for EXW, you will need to cover more, including the export costs and local charges in China. We will show you how to calculate your cost in the following Air Freight part.
5.2 Air freight
El transporte aéreo es un método de envío que ahorra tiempo pero tiene un costo elevado, y que suele utilizarse cuando el cliente desea que sus mercancías se envíen con urgencia o cuando el valor de las mercancías es elevado, ya que el transporte aéreo puede ser más rápido y seguro.
Normalmente, el transporte aéreo solo incluye las tarifas desde el aeropuerto de China hasta el aeropuerto del país de destino. Por lo tanto, es posible que tenga que pagar otras tarifas urgentes para que sus mercancías se entreguen en el lugar que desee, o puede recoger sus mercancías en el aeropuerto cuando le resulte conveniente.
a. Calculate the cost for Air Freight
Shipping cost of air freight is calculated by its weight and bulk. The weight of your goods is divided into bulk weight and real weight. By comparing these two weight, the airline will choose a higher one for pricing.
¿Cómo calcular el peso a granel? (¡Tenga en cuenta la diferencia entre las unidades utilizadas en los dos métodos de cálculo siguientes!)
Peso a granel = Longitud * Ancho * Altura (m³) * 167
O Peso bruto = Longitud * Ancho * Altura (cm³) / 6000
Por ejemplo, uno de nuestros clientes pidió 5760 juegos de agujas de coser. La cantidad por caja es de 1440 juegos y las dimensiones de la caja son 48 x 40 x 26 cm, con un peso de 11,4 kg por caja. ¿Cuánto cuesta el envío de 4 cajas?
Haz los cálculos:
Volumen = 0,48*0,40*4 ≈ 0,20 m³
Peso a granel = 0,20 * 167 = 33,4 kg
Peso real = 11,4*4 = 45,6 kg ≈ 50 kg
Y la aerolínea cotiza $4.3/kg + 60 de tasa de despacho de aduanas para clientes desde Shenzhen.
Entonces, el costo total es: $4.3*50+60=$275
Después de hacer los cálculos, puedes comparar los costos de los diferentes métodos de envío y decidir cuál elegir.
5.3 Express
El envío urgente también se realiza por vía aérea. El envío urgente significa que sus mercancías se entregarán en la puerta de su casa. Como el envío urgente se realiza por vía aérea, también es rápido y cómodo. Normalmente, la entrega tarda de 3 a 5 días. Debido a la COVID-19, la entrega puede tardar entre 5 y 10 días más.
a. Calculate the cost for Express
El peso del servicio Express se calcula casi igual que el del transporte aéreo, con una ligera diferencia. A continuación se explica cómo calcular el peso.
Peso a granel = Longitud * Ancho * Altura (m³) * 200
O Peso bruto = Longitud * Ancho * Altura (cm³) / 5000
A diferencia del transporte aéreo, el costo del servicio urgente se calcula por kilo. Si supera los 21 kg, se cotizará el precio por kilo. Si el peso es inferior a 21 kg, normalmente se utiliza 0,5 kg como unidad de precio, por ejemplo, el primer peso es $20/0,5 kg y el peso adicional es $3,3/0,5 kg.
b. Compare express companies
Por lo general, elegimos DHL, FedEx y UPS para envíos urgentes. Y casi todos ofrecen servicios similares.
| DHL | FedEx | UPS |
| DHL es más seguro y estable en comparación con los otros dos. En general, si se trata de enviar documentos, DHL es la mejor opción. | En comparación con DHL, FedEx es más económico para el mismo peso. | UPS es un poco inferior a DHL y FedEx. Y en algunos países, UPS tiene más probabilidades de ser inspeccionado en la aduana. |
Resumir
Shipping is a rather important and complex procedure when importing from China. Here we hope you have a better understanding about the shipping cost on Alibaba from China to US. There is still more to know about Alibaba Shipping. And we will cover more in our further articles.
Hope you find this article helpful. If you have any question and want to know more, leave your suggestion down on comments. And we are ready to become better. Thanks for supporting.
