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Shipping cargo from China to more than 200 countries worldwide
Minimum Shipment Size/Weight
Ship to Port or Ship to Door
Worldwide Shipping Offered
Shipping Time of about 15-30 Days
For ocean shipping, the minimum shipment size is about 1 CBM (cubic meter) for shipping to port, or about 100kg for shipping to door. The bigger your shipment, the more cost-effective it is to ship by sea.
You can choose to either ship to port or all the way to your doorstep. The former would cost significantly less than the latter. Do also let us know which port in your country is closest to you.
We offer worldwide ocean shipping from China to any port around the world, whichever is closest to you. Or if you're getting us to ship all the way to door, then let us know your full address. Do note that shipping to door costs signifcantly more than shipping to port.
Ocean Shipping generally takes about between 15-30 days for shipping to port, or 20-35 days for shipping to door, depending on the country being shipped to.
How do I ship by sea freight via CWELogistics?
Firstly, you need to get the seller(s) to send all your items to our warehouses in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai or or our partner warehouses all over China - whichever is cloest to your supplier. We'll ship from the port that is closest to your supplier. Email us at business@cwelogistics.com and let us know where in China your supplier is located, we'll send you the warehouse address that is closest to them. If you've requested for an ocean shipping cost estimate above, we'll also automatically send you our warehouse address details
Get all the sellers/suppliers you are purchasing from to send all your purchases to the ocean shipping warehouse address. We'll consolidate all your purchases and have them sent to the nearest port in China for ocean shipping.
We'll send you a payment invoice for payment of international shipping costs. After payment has been made, we'll proceed to process your international shipment. Depending on where you're shipping to and the shipping route used, ocean shipping should generally take between 15-30 days.
What is 1 CBM?
What does 1 CBM refer to when we use the term in the ocean freight industry? CBM stands for cubic meters and hence 1CBM = 1 cubic meter.
How big is 1 cubic meter? 1 cubic meter equals to 1 million cubic centimeters. 1 meter equals 100 centimeters. If you have a box with length, width and height of 1 meter each, this translates to 100 centimeters each. 100 X 100 X 100 = 1 million. Therefore, a package with length, width and heights of 1 meter each will give you a volume of 1 CBM. Any numerical combination of lengths, widths in centimeters that gives you a total volume of 1 million cubic centimeters also counts as 1 CBM.
Why is CBM important in ocean shipping?
CBM is the basic unit of measurement when calculating the cost of an ocean shipment. Ocean shipments are charged on a per CBM basis. The minimum chargeable volume per ocean shipment is also 1 CBM, regardless of whether the space is completely used up.
If you're buying in bulk from suppliers and manufacturers in China as a business, then profit margins are important to you.
If time is not an issue and you don't mind waiting, ocean shipping would be a much more cost effective option for you compared to air courier shipping. Shipping 1 CBM via air courier would cost many times what it would cost to ship by ocean.
If like many ocean shippers you're shipping many cubic meters of goods in terms of volume, then the savings you would enjoy in shipping ocean would be plentifold and likely make a huge difference to your bottomline.
Of course, if the items you're shipping are very light and small and do not take up much space, then air courier would probably still be the better and faster option.
Not sure whether to ship via air or ocean? Simply email us at business@cwelogistics.com with the details of what you want to ship and we'll help you figure our the best shipping solution for that particular order.
Why Ocean Shipping Makes Sense for You
For Larger Volumes: Container Shipping
For shipments of larger volumes, we start measuring shipment volumes by the container. We offer 2 container sizes for ocean shipping - 20 ft containers and 40 ft containers. Here are their respective capacities in terms of CBM.
Container Size Capacity
20 ft Container About 26 CBM
40 ft Container About 56 CBM
Generally speaking, if a shipment contains volume of 15 CBM or more, it is more cost-effective to book an entire 20 ft container and ship on a FCL (Full Container Load) basis rather than a LCL (Less Container Load i.e. groupage basis).
What is the difference between LCL and FCL?
LCL stands for 'Less Container' load while FCL stands for 'Full Container Load'. Smaller ocean shipments (Under 15 CBM) would fall under LCL because their volume would not justify booking a whole container load. Larger shipments (15 CBM and above) would fall under 'Full Container Load' as even though an entire 20 ft container could fill up to 26 CBM of cargo, it would generally be more cost effective to ship 15 CBM (and upwards) of cargo on a FCL basis since the cost per CBM is lower for FCL shipments than LCL shipments.
Why does LCL cost more than FCL on a per CBM basis?
LCL costs more because there is more work required on the part of the freight forwarder in two respects. Firstly, the freight forwarder has to consolidate 2 or more LCL shipments into a single container for ocean shipping. Secondly, for LCL shipments, more work is required in the unloading process upon arrival at the port of destination in order to separate the shipments according to the respective consignees/recipients for that particular container load.
Shipping to the US and not sure which port to ship to? Need to find out which port is closest to you? Click here to find out.
Which ports in China can CWELogistics ship from?
This is also known as the Port of Lading or the Port of Departure. We can ship from major ports all over China like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Qindao, Tianjin, Dalian and Xiamen. However, note that door to door ocean shipments (shipments in which you require us to ship all the way to your doorstep instead of just the port closest to you) will need to be shipped out of either Shenzhen or Guangzhou ports, both of which are located in Guangdong province.
In any case, most suppliers/manufacturers in China are located in Guangdong or neighboring parts of southeastern China. Whether your supplier/manufacturer is located in or outside Guangdong, they can still send the goods to our ocean shipping warehouse in Guangdong (domestic shipping in China is very inexpensive), or we can arrange for collection from them. Of course, if you're only intending to ship to the port closest to you in your country of destination and not to door, then we can simply ship from the port in China which is closest to your supplier. For further details, feel free to contact us at business@cwelogistics.com.
Door-to-door vs Shipping to Port
For ocean shipments from China, you can either choose to ship to the port closest to you or all the way to your doorstep. Generally speaking, it costs much less to ship just to port as opposed as shipping all the way to your doorstep. The downside of shipping to port however, is that you would either have to either collect the goods from the port itself or arrange for your own domestic delivery from the port to your doorstep. If you're shipping a very large volume of goods, it can be impractical to collect the goods from the port itself as they might not even fit into a single vehicle. Most customs brokers, agents and local freight forwarders in your country can also arrange to collect the goods on your behalf and have them transported to your doorstep. If you don't wish to go through the hassle of arranging for your domestic delivery and don't mind paying more, you can choose door-to-door shipping instead.
What does door-to-door ocean shipping include that shipping to port does not?
While door-to-door ocean shipping costs significantly more than just shipping to port, it of course includes the 'last mile delivery', meaning delivery from the shipping port closest to you all the way to your doorstep, which shipping to port does not. Also door-to-door shipping will also include customs clearance and customs duties whereas for shipping to port, customs duties will typically be paid upon collection of goods. Note however that door-to-door shipping can often cost 2-3 times (sometimes more) the cost of shipping to port, as arranging for domestic delivery in your country from China can be very expensive. Often you will find that arranging for your own domestic delivery would be more cost-effective for you. Door-to-door ocean shipments from China have to be shipped out of either Shenzhen or Guangzhou port.
Factors that determine the cost of door-to-door shipping
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The volume or size of your shipment, as measured in CBM (cubic meters)
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The total weight of your shipment in kilograms (kg)
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The type of items you will be shipping (best to provide the HS Code and the Chinese name of the goods when asking for a quote. If you don't have this information, please ask your supplier)
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The country of shipment and the port closest to you
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The value of the goods being shipped (in USD)
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Your address of delivery
Factors that determine the cost of Shipping to Port
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The volume or size of your shipment, as measured in CBM (cubic meters)
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The weight of the shipment in Kilograms (KG)
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The type of items you will be shipping
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The country and port you will be shipping to
If you would like to contact us to ask for an ocean shipping cost quote, please ensure you send us the above details as well depending on whether you want to ship to door or just ship to port.
Minimum Shipping Size for Ocean Shipping from China
Note that there is a minimum shipping size for ocean shipments. Small shipments do not qualify for ocean shipments and in any case would not be cost effective to ship because of the minimum charges for ocean shipments. Ocean shipments are meant for large shipments.
For shipping to port, the minimum shipping size is about 1 cubic meter (1 CBM).
For shipping to door, the minimum shipping weight is about 100 kg (although this can vary from country to country and the type and value of goods being shipped.
Shipping together from Multiple Suppliers/Manufacturers in Different Parts of China
If you're purchasing from multiple suppliers/manufacturers in different locations in China, we can consolidate your purchases into a single international ocean shipment for you. Simply get the suppliers/manufacturers to send the packages to our ocean shipping warehouse and we'll handle the package consolidation for you before having all your goods shipped out of the same port in China as a single ocean shipment. Logistically, this saves you a lot of hassle while financially this minimizes your overall shipping costs. The larger the shipment, the lower your shipping costs per CBM. For more details or to get our ocean shipping warehouse address, contact us at business@cwelogistics.com.
Busiest & Most Major Ports in China
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Port of Shanghai, handling over 35 million TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) per year, it is now also the busiest port in the world by container shipping volume
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Port of Shenzhen (inclusive of Yantian Port, Chiwan Port, Dachan Bay Port and Shekou Port). Many factories and manufacturers are located in Guangdong province which is where Shenzhen is and hence a large portion of our customers' shipments are shipped out of Shenzhen Port.
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Port of Ningbo, which is located in Zhejiang province, about 150 km south of Shanghai
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Port of Qingdao (located in Shandong province)
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Port of Guangzhou (also located in Guangdong province). While Guangzhou is not considered a coastal city in China, the Port of Guangzhou is located in the heart of the Pearl River Delta
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Port of Tianjin (Tianjin is located just 150km southeast of Beijing, and is one of China's four municipalities alongside Shanghai, Chongqing and Beijing itself)
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Port of Dalian (located in Liaoning province)
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Port of Xiamen (located in Fujian province, close to Taiwan)
Documentation
For ocean shipping from China, CNEbuys will help you handle all the standard documentation typically required in the ocean shipping process such as preparing the Bill of Lading (usually in the form of a Telex Release), the Commercial Invoice and the Packing List. We can also use the packing lists provided by the suppliers you're purchasing from.
Ocean Shipping Insurance
Depending on the profile and nature of your ocean shipment, shipping insurance can be purchased (usually applicable only to shipments to ports and not to door). Ocean shipping insurance typically costs about $20 or 0.1% of the cost of goods being insured, whichever is higher.