Through this blog post, you’ll learn about the cheapest and fastest way to ship from China to the United States of America or wherever you want. When you buy cheap products from China, you need the most affordable method to ship your cargo from China to the United States of America. But time and shipping rates depend on the method of transportation, weight, and dimensions of your shipment.
This article will provide you with an overview of your shipping options and answers to your questions about the cheapest shipping methods from China to the United States of America.
What are the most affordable shipping methods available for both small parcels and bulk cargoes from China to the USA?
There are three main ways to ship packages from China to the USA when purchasing in bulk.
- Express shipping
- Airfreight
- Sea freight
These three methods are applicable when buying from Alibaba or from a private label manufacturer in China.
1. Express shipping
So let’s talk about express shipping first. This shipping service is the quickest and most reliable to ship bulk cargo from China to the United States of America. UPS, FedEx, TNT, and DHL are the best express shipping carriers. You’ll receive your packages in less than five days through express shipping, but the speed and reliability of express shipping come at a high cost. The general thumb is that express shipping typically costs about two dollars per pound; however, during the pandemic, prices have nearly doubled to four dollars a pound to ship a package via FedEx from Xinjian China to California. It’s really very expensive.
2. Airfreight
The second method is air freight. Airfreight is the most economical option for shipments that weigh between 400 pounds and 1200 pounds. And at a price that is 30 to 40 percent cheaper than express shipping. However, air freight is more of a bother than express shipping because you probably require to hire a customs agent, and you even need to arrange for last-mile transport from the airport to your warehouse. Still, overall, air freight is a good compromise in terms of speed and cost for medium-sized shipments.
3. Sea freight
Finally, we have sea freight for shipments over 1200 pounds. Sea freight is often the most affordable option when shipping from China to the USA. You pay a partial amount for a container of 20 feet or 40 feet, and you can send as much as you want. But the shipping times are very long compared to airfreight. You don’t need to fill an entire container to ship; instead, you can opt for less than a container load, known as LCL shipping. In the LCL, several shipments are consolidated and loaded in one container.
An LCL tends to be more expensive because there’s more labor involved in consolidating and separating shipments, and the shipping times are also slightly longer than a full container. Shipments now with sea freight, you also need to hire a customs agent and arrange for last-mile transport from the port to your warehouse, but overall the low price of sea freight allows e-commerce businesses to achieve their business goals.
How long do large shipments take from China to the USA?
Shipping to the USA from China can take anywhere from one to 35 days, depending on the shipping method that you choose.
Here is the typical number of days it takes to shift from China to the USA. Express shipping is going to be one to five days, and air freight is 2 to 15 days, sea freight to the west coast of the USA is 15 plus days. Sea freight to the east coast is going to be about 30-plus days.
Here are the average shipping times for express shipping to the USA depending on the carrier. EMS takes three to 16 days, DHL takes one to four days, FedEx takes one to five days, and UPS takes one to five days. But there are other factors as well. The main reason for delays is the global pandemic and shortage of staff and containers.
How much are large shipments for China to the United States of America?
It relays on the shipping method, weight, and dimensions of your package, and the most important factor is how quickly you want your goods delivered to your destination? Nowadays, shipping prices are too high from China to the United States of America due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But you can refer to these prices for approximate pricing. Express shipping is four to five dollars a pound, air freight is three to four dollars a pound, and sea freight is five thousand to ten thousand dollars per container.
During the pandemic’s peak, shipping container costs increased to twenty thousand per container. But shipping costs are expected to be reduced in the middle of this year.
What are the cheapest shipping options for large shipments from China to the US?
Well, the best and most affordable way to ship from China to the USA for large shipments relies on the shipment weight and how quickly you want to be sent to your desired destination. It would be best to opt for express shipping for less than 200 to 400 pounds. At this weight, it wouldn’t be better for you to book a full container. So, it would be good to use LCL in order to get hassle-free from air freight, and you don’t need to hire a customs agent for customs clearance if you’re using express shipping.
Airfreight is usually the cheapest option for shipments between 400 to 1200 pounds. It’s also a fast shipping option. But before choosing this method, you should compare sea freight rates because sometimes LCL can be more affordable than air freight, and for all shipments over 200 pounds, sea freight is almost always the cheapest method.
However, sea freight is too slow. If you want to ship your goods fastest, express mail is almost always the quickest way to import from China to the United States of America. You don’t need a custom agent and your goods will arrive at your desired destination.
How can you ship small parcels from China to the USA?
If you want to ship small parcels of less than five pounds from China to the USA. There are three main options for you to choose from regular post express shipping and epacket. These three shipping methods are most reliable for you when you buy products from Alibaba, Aliexpress, private label manufacturers, or samples from a wholesale supplier.
Now let’s talk about regular post. Regular Post is the cheapest method to ship light products or parcels from China to the USA. However, it can be delivered within 90 days, or sometimes it takes up to 90 days, and also it depends on the chosen method. There are various options for regular posts with different shipping times and rates. The three main methods are:
- China post small parcel air
- China post small parcel surface
- China international EMS
The most rapid regular post choice is China international EMS. It takes only 3 to 15 days. But the overall regular post is the cheapest way to ship small products; however, as your package size increases, the price of regular posts can be high. First, you should compare prices between express shipping couriers like FedEx, DHL, and UPS before making any shipment. If your package is heavier, the next method is express shipping. Express shipping by international couriers like FedEx, UPS, DHL, or TNT is a speedy method to ship quickly from China to the USA.
If you want your goods as rapidly as possible, then express shipping is the best option for you, but it is the most expensive method to ship small parcels from China to the USA.
Finally, we have e-packet shipping. E-packet is a special shipping option that provides a fast and inexpensive rate when shipping small parcels from China to the US. Choose E-packet if your box is smaller than 24 inches and your box’s total size, height, and thickness is less than 36 inches. E-packet shipping is actually the cheapest way to ship a package from China to the US.
In addition, your package cannot weigh more than 4.4 pounds, and the merchandise cannot exceed 400 in value. Now give you an idea of how cheap e-packet is sending a package from China to California with e-packet is actually cheaper than shipping from California to Nevada. Using UPS, as a result, e-packet is the preferred shipping method that aliexpress dropshippers use to send their products.
A small parcel’s cost depends on the shipping method and how quickly you want to be delivered your products. The regular post will be from 7 to 90 days, express shipping is one to five days, and in e-packet is seven to thirty days.
Express shipping is your best choice if you need your products as quickly as possible. However, epacket shipping is also the most suitable option.
A small parcel’s shipping cost from China to the United States of America depends on your shipping method, weight and dimensions, and how quickly you want it delivered. For example, we are about to quote you prices for sending a two-pound package from Shanghai to the US. China post small parcels of air, which would cost you forty-three dollars, and it takes seven to thirty days. China post small parcel surface, which takes 20 to 90 days, would cost you 21 dollars. China international EMS, which takes three to 15 days, would cost you 49 dollars. China EMS epacket, which takes 7 to 30 days, would only cost 14 dollars. Finally, express shipping via FedEx would cost 74 dollars.
Now, what’s the cheapest way to ship from China to the USA for a small parcel weighing two pounds e-package shipping is the most economical shipping option with a reasonable delivery time. However, when your package weighs less than 4.4 pounds, delivery times can take as long as 30 days.
If you want guaranteed fast delivery, express shipping by TNT, DHL, UPS, and FedEx is your best choice. However, the prices are significantly higher.
You should be aware of the Chinese holidays now. All the shipping times we just quoted are subject to delays due to Chinese holidays. However, major ports in China are open 365 days. But most factory workers and carriers work during the holiday. Here’s just a brief list of major Chinese holidays that will cause shipping delays.
Chinese new year is from the end of January to mid-February, the chiming festival is in early April, labor day in China is in early May, the dragon boat festival is in early June, the golden week is in early October, and the national day of the people’s republic of China is in early October.
During these holiday periods, China’s shipping service is more or less shut down for all bulk shipments from China to the USA. It’s highly recommended to hire the best freight forwarder. It doesn’t matter how large or small your shipments are because a good freight forwarder can help you by your first shipment to avoid common mistakes and choose the best and cheapest mode of transportation to ship your goods from China to the United States of America.
There are also many forms assigned when importing from China to the United States of America, so the best freight forwarder will guide you to understand each and everything about shipping from China to the United States of America.
You should also be aware of your products’ packaging and label requirements so they can pass customs in your country. We hope you learned a lot about the cheapest shipping methods from China to the United States of America.
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