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Shipping & Logistics

Freight choices change your landed cost more than almost anything else. Compare shipping modes, routes and how consolidation works.

01Shipping from China to Amazon FBA: Rules, Options and PitfallsTo ship from China into Amazon FBA in the US, you need a US importer of record other than Amazon, delivery on DDP terms with no charges due on arrival, and cartons and pallets that meet Amazon's shipping and routing requirements, including a 50 lb box limit, 36 × 25 × 25 inch maximum box size and unique FBA box labels. Most sellers use a freight forwarder with DDP-to-FBA service, Amazon Global Logistics, or a prep center in between.6 min read
02LCL vs FCL: When to Book a Full Container from ChinaShip LCL (less than container load) when your cargo is below roughly 15 cubic meters, and switch to FCL (full container load) above that, because a container is priced per box while LCL is priced per cubic meter plus warehouse fees at both ends. The exact break-even depends on your route, local charges and cargo weight, so price both options whenever your volume is near that line.6 min read
03Sea vs Air vs Rail vs Express: Shipping from China ComparedUse express couriers for small, urgent parcels, air freight for mid-sized or time-critical cargo, and sea freight for anything heavy or bulky once you are past a few hundred kilograms. China–Europe rail sits between sea and air on both speed and price. Because every mode bills on chargeable weight (actual or volumetric, whichever is higher), compare quotes on your real carton dimensions, not just the gross weight.6 min read

Key terms

Air waybill: The transport document for air cargo, issued by the airline or its agent, that serves as a receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract of carriage but, unlike an original bill of lading, is not a document of title.
Bill of lading: A document issued by an ocean carrier or its agent that acts as a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and, in its original negotiable form, a document of title needed to collect the cargo.
CBM: Cubic meter, the unit of volume used to measure and price freight, calculated as length × width × height of each carton in meters, multiplied by the number of cartons.
Chargeable weight: The weight a carrier bills you for: the greater of the shipment's actual gross weight and its volumetric weight, which is calculated from its dimensions.
Container freight station: A warehouse near a port where LCL cargo from different shippers is received, consolidated and loaded into shared containers for export, or unloaded and sorted for release on import.
Dangerous goods (DG): Goods that can endanger health, safety or property in transport, classified into nine UN hazard classes and shipped under special packing, labeling and documentation rules.
Demurrage and detention: Daily charges from a shipping line or terminal when a container stays too long: demurrage while it sits full in the terminal beyond free time, detention while it is kept outside the terminal beyond free time.
ETD / ETA: ETD is the estimated time a vessel, flight or train departs from the origin, and ETA the estimated time it arrives at the destination; both are schedule estimates that carriers update as the shipment moves.
FCL: A sea freight service in which you book an entire container for your cargo alone and pay a flat rate per container, whether or not you fill it.
Freight forwarder: A company that organizes the transport of your goods on your behalf, booking space with shipping lines, airlines or rail operators and arranging paperwork, customs clearance and delivery.
LCL: A sea freight service in which your cargo shares a container with other shippers' goods and you pay for the space you use, per cubic meter or per 1,000 kg, whichever is greater.
Packing list: A shipping document listing how the goods are packed, carton by carton, with quantities, carton numbers, net and gross weights and dimensions, used by forwarders, customs and warehouses to identify and check the cargo.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS): A standardized 16-section document, aligned with the UN GHS, that describes a chemical product's hazards, safe handling, storage, emergency measures and transport information.
Terminal handling charge: A fee for handling containers at a port terminal, such as lifting them on or off the vessel and moving them within the yard, charged separately at the origin port (OTHC) and the destination port (DTHC).
TEU: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, the standard measure of container capacity: one 20ft container is 1 TEU and one 40ft container is 2 TEU, also called 1 FEU.
Transshipment: Transferring cargo from one vessel or other means of transport to another at an intermediate port or hub on the way to its final destination.
UN38.3: Section 38.3 of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria: a series of eight tests a lithium cell or battery design must pass before it can be transported as dangerous goods.