In the developing world, shipping is a fundamental part to sustain global trade. Shipping is used to transport goods such as coal, equipment, medicines, food and many more. No matter how rich and sufficient a country is, it needs importing and exporting of goods to maintain its trade and economy.
In recent times, the reach of shipping finished products widened and goods can be transported to and from almost everywhere in the globe. The shipping industry does not stand alone. It is interconnected to almost all the other existing industries, may it be directly or indirectly. It means that we are also connected to the large influence of shipping, and it is only significant to understand how the system works.
In the trade of goods between China and the United States, the scenario is usually like this: China as the shipper and United States as the receiver. Manufacturing of goods comprises one of the biggest portions of the economy of China. Another portion worth noting is the shipping of goods where one of the biggest contributors is China to USA shipping.
With China as the world factory and USA as one of the biggest consumers in the globe, it is expected that certain standards have already been applied to maintain the good trade relationship of the two countries. Here is the complete guide to shipping from China to USA.
The Process Overview
The process may be complicated depending on the volume of goods that need to be transported out of China to the USA. There are a lot of things to consider starting from what freight forwarder to choose, to the mode of shipping and many more. Below is an overview to understand the shipping process without confusing yourself with many details.
The first step into shipping anything is to find a freight forwarder. There are big companies who are key players in the industry, and there are also others who are yet to mark their contribution. Both may offer you good deals, but ultimately, there is only one that will check all that is included in your list.
But even before ticking off your checklist, it is important to read and understand the incoterms. Incoterms are widely used in sales especially for goods that will need to be transported outside the country. Incoterms set the rules and specify the responsibilities of the shipper and the receiver. This is very important to ensure safety for both of the parties in shipping from China to US.
It is very easy to affix your signature to any document especially those that you do not deem as important. This is not the case for your shipping documents. Carefully review everything in the documents and forms, and make sure not to pay any surcharge fees outside the contract.
You may ship small or big volumes of goods. Nevertheless, you should always prepare and pay for insurance for them. No matter how trusted the brand of your shipper is, sometimes unfortunate events still happen which may cause damage to your goods. Of course, you do not want that to happen. Insurance will save your day, just in case.
Another way to make sure your product is not damaged is to pick the correct packaging for your goods. If your item is fragile, make sure to take all necessary precautions. For other items, just make sure that everything is well-packed to avoid damages as much as possible.
Spot and Contract Rates
The nature of your shipment will determine if you will be using spot rates or contract rates. How does the two differ, and which is the best option for you?
A spot rate is used for one-time transactions. You do not have a pre-set schedule to ship your goods on time for this option. With the recent effects of the pandemic, spot shipping from China to USA is quite hard to avail. However, spot shipping is still the best option for emergencies.
Another option you can check is the contract rates. Contract shipping, from the name itself, involves a contract. This is usually used for large volumes of goods to be shipped in a long period. If you are a manufacturer, you should know that China to USA shipping experienced drastic change since the start of the pandemic. Spot shipping rates fluctuate from time to time. However, the contract rate has a fixed price – something that is ideal with the current situation across the globe.
The Modes You Can Choose From
There are enough modes of shipping from China to US you can choose from. This will ultimately depend on the nature of your goods, the cost you are willing to pay, and the speed of shipment you can tolerate.
If you are an entry-level manufacturer or importer, you may choose a regular post to ship your goods. This is the quick method of dropping your good to your customer without being congested in warehouses. This is quite an expensive choice, so this is only good if the volume of your goods to be shipped is low.
Depending on your product, air freight is also a good option. You can opt for air freight if larger volumes since a plane can hold more cargo compared to other regular options.
From the name itself, express shipping may be used for straightforward, fast, and direct shipping of goods. This is also particularly ideal for emergency shipping.
FCL and LCL are terms used for maritime shipping. For larger volumes that can occupy a full 20’ or 40’ container, FCL will be used. And for a lesser volume, LCL or less-than-container will be used. The downside of LCL is that other shipments will be consolidated with your products which make it harder to track. On the other hand, if you want to make sure that your goods have a lesser chance of damage, you can choose FCL.
Conclusion
There are three main things you should consider when shipping from China to the United States – cost, speed, and safety. These three should always be checked together and not just individually. All these should be weighed well before choosing the freight forwarder as well as the mode of shipping. At the end of the day, the most important thing to consider is the safety of the goods to be transported. There is no use to ship your goods quickly and at a low cost if your goods will only arrive damaged to your valued customers.
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