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
Les devis relatifs aux frais d'expédition détermineront dans une large mesure les méthodes d'expédition que vous choisirez et le montant de vos frais d'expédition. Passons maintenant brièvement en revue ces termes commerciaux.
EXW
Le prix EXW correspond davantage au prix du produit. Il n'inclut aucun autre coût, comme les frais de service, les frais de transport ou autres. Par conséquent, si vous optez pour le prix EXW, cela signifie que vous devez assumer vous-même tous les autres frais.
FOB
FOB est l'abréviation de Free on Board (franco à bord), ce qui signifie que le vendeur prend en charge le fret terrestre avant l'embarquement de la cargaison, tandis que l'acheteur doit couvrir le reste, y compris le fret international et le fret terrestre dans le pays de destination.
CFR
CFR signifie que les vendeurs couvrent tous les coûts avant que la cargaison n'arrive au port de destination. L'acheteur n'a plus qu'à payer le fret intérieur dans le pays de destination.
DDP ET DDU
Ce type de frais d'expédition signifie que le vendeur couvre tous les frais d'expédition, y compris le fret intérieur et le fret international. Ces deux types de frais sont presque identiques, sauf que le DDP couvre les frais de douane, ce qui n'est pas le cas du DDU.
CIF
Le tarif CIF comprend un supplément d'assurance. En ce qui concerne l'assurance, nous vous conseillons de souscrire une assurance si vous craignez que votre cargaison soit endommagée ou perdue.
5. Main shipping methods from China to US
The shipping methods 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 signifie que vos marchandises ne sont pas suffisantes pour un conteneur complet. En d'autres termes, vous partagerez un conteneur avec d'autres acheteurs. Le coût du LCL est calculé par mètre cube.
FCL signifie que vos marchandises sont suffisantes pour un conteneur complet. Les frais de transport sont donc calculés en fonction du nombre de conteneurs.
Il existe principalement 4 types de conteneurs et voici les mètres cubes que chaque taille de conteneur contient.
| Taille du conteneur | 20GP | 40GP | 40HC | 45HC |
| Mètre cube contenu | 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
Le fret aérien est une méthode d'expédition qui permet de gagner du temps mais dont le coût est élevé. Il est généralement utilisé lorsque le client souhaite que ses marchandises soient expédiées de toute urgence ou lorsque la valeur des marchandises est élevée, car le transport aérien est plus rapide et plus sûr.
Normalement, le fret aérien ne comprend que les frais entre l'aéroport en Chine et l'aéroport dans le pays de destination. Par conséquent, il se peut que vous deviez payer d'autres frais express pour que vos marchandises soient livrées à l'endroit souhaité, ou que vous puissiez récupérer vos marchandises à l'aéroport à votre convenance.
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.
Comment calculer le poids en vrac ? (Notez la différence d'unité utilisée dans les deux méthodes de calcul suivantes !)
Poids en vrac = Longueur * Largeur * Hauteur （m³） * 167
Ou Poids en vrac = Longueur * Largeur * Hauteur （cm³） / 6000
Par exemple, l'un de nos clients a commandé 5760 jeux d'aiguilles à coudre. La quantité d'emballage est de 1440 jeux par boîte et le format de la boîte est de 48*40*26 cm, chaque boîte pesant 11,4 kg. Quel est le coût de 4 boîtes ?
Faites le calcul :
Vrac = 0,48*0,40*4 ≈ 0,20 m³
Poids en vrac=0,20*167=33,4 kg
Poids réel=11,4*4=45,6 kg ≈ 50 kg
La compagnie aérienne propose $4,3/kg + 60 de frais de dédouanement au départ de Shenzhen.
Le coût total est donc de $4.3*50+60=$275
Après avoir fait le calcul, vous pouvez comparer les coûts des différentes méthodes d'expédition et décider de choisir l'une d'entre elles.
5.3 Express
L'express est également expédié par avion. L'express signifie que vos marchandises sont livrées devant votre porte. Comme l'express est expédié par avion, il est également rapide et pratique. Normalement, le délai de livraison est de 3 à 5 jours. En raison du COVID-19, la livraison peut prendre 5 à 10 jours de plus.
a. Calculate the cost for Express
Le poids de l'express se calcule presque de la même manière que celui du fret aérien, à une légère différence près. Voici comment calculer le poids.
Poids en vrac = Longueur * Largeur * Hauteur （m³） * 200
Ou Poids en vrac = Longueur * Largeur * Hauteur （cm³） / 5000
Contrairement au fret aérien, le coût du transport express est calculé en fonction du prix par kg. Si le poids est supérieur à 21 kg, le prix est calculé par kg. Si le poids est inférieur à 21 kg, 0,5 kg est généralement utilisé comme unité de prix, comme le premier poids est $20/0,5 kg et le poids supplémentaire est $3.3/0,5 kg.
b. Compare express companies
En général, nous choisissons DHL, FedEx et UPS pour les envois express. Ils offrent des services presque similaires.
| DHL | FedEx | UPS |
| DHL est plus sûr et plus stable que les deux autres. En règle générale, pour l'envoi de documents, DHL est un meilleur choix. | Par rapport à DHL, FedEx est moins cher à poids égal. | UPS est légèrement inférieur à DHL et FedEx. De plus, dans certains pays, UPS est plus susceptible d'être inspecté à la douane. |
Sum Up
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.
