Global supply chain, priced leg by leg: from the factory to a US door
Warp prices and books a global supply chain from one account: origin pickup in 193 countries, ocean (FCL and LCL) or air, the US customs entry and ISF filed by licensed partners and itemized in the price, container drayage at 9 US ports and 3 rail ramps, transloading at port side cross docks, LTL, truckload, box truck and cargo van across the US, 70+ warehouses for fulfillment, and parcel to the end customer.
What is a global supply chain?
A global supply chain is the chain of steps that moves goods from a factory in one country to a customer in another: pickup at the factory, ocean or air freight, customs clearance, the container pull at the port, unloading, trucking, storage and delivery. Warp prices and books those steps from one account: ocean and air live from real sailing and flight schedules, then the container pull, unloading, trucking, storage and parcel after the port on the Warp network.
Who can run my supply chain from an overseas factory to US customers?
One company can run it if it covers ocean or air, customs, drayage, US trucking and storage on a single account. Warp does: ocean (FCL and LCL) and air priced live from major ports in China, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and South Korea, with origin work in 193 countries, the customs entry and ISF filed by licensed partners and itemized, container drayage at 9 US ports and 3 rail ramps, transloading, LTL, truckload, box truck and cargo van, 70+ warehouses and parcel. A lane the live network can’t price comes back as a firm team quote within one business day.
How much does it cost to ship a container from China to a US warehouse?
On Warp’s October 20, 2026 captures, the cheapest tier for a 40 foot high cube from Shanghai to Los Angeles was $8,507 in 18 days ($0.24 per pound at 35,000 lb), and Shanghai to New York was $10,377 in 35 days, both port to a door beside the port. If the warehouse is inland, container drayage from the port is a separate price: LA and Long Beach to Ontario, CA was $834.75 and NY and NJ to Edison, NJ was $719.01 (October 16, 2026). Duty and import tax bill after arrival, and rates move with sailings and fuel.
Warp customers
Eight stages: how freight gets from an overseas factory to a US door
Eight stages take goods from a factory to a US door. Each one says how Warp prices it, shows the number and its capture date where one exists, and links to the page that owns the leg.
- Origin pickup and export. Warp handles origin work in 193 countries: pickup at the factory on door to door tiers and export handling at the origin port. The origin fees are itemized in the quote: $110.56 on the Shanghai to Los Angeles capture of October 20, 2026. What are Incoterms→
- Ocean or air. Ocean: across 130 priced lanes captured October 11 and 20, 2026, the cheapest 40 foot high cube tier runs $7,613 (Xiamen to Oakland) up to $15,241 (Seoul to Miami), with 17 to 65 days of transit into Los Angeles and 34 to 51 days into New York. Air: the cheapest captured tier ran $3,813 to $7,432 for two pallets of 800 to 1,200 lb in 6 to 15 days door to door, captured October 20, 2026. Ocean freight quotes→ Air freight quotes→
- Customs entry and ISF. Licensed partners file the US customs entry and the ISF, and both are itemized in the door price; Warp isn’t a customs broker. On the Shanghai to Los Angeles capture of October 20, 2026 the entry fee was $49.75 and the ISF filing $11.06. Duty and import tax bill to the importer after arrival. Customs brokerage explained→
- Container drayage. Warp quotes and books the container pull from 9 US ports and 3 rail ramps to any US ZIP with licensed drayage carriers; 40 foot captures on October 15 and 16, 2026 run $435.53 (Dallas to Lancaster, TX) to $1,790.25 (Savannah to Atlanta, GA). Container drayage rates→
- Transload or cross dock. The container is unloaded, palletized and labeled at Warp cross docks near the ports of Los Angeles, Savannah, Houston, Seattle, New York and New Orleans and at the Chicago rail ramps, and the freight leaves the same day. A 40 foot container becomes about 20 pallet positions, dock handling is quoted per container, and the trucks after it price in about 10 seconds. Transloading services→
- US trucking. LTL covers 6,800+ Warp LTL lanes and 80%+ US zip-to-zip coverage. Full truckload runs nationwide across the 48 states, and box truck and cargo van run local and regional, each priced in about 10 seconds on the same account. LTL freight→ Truckload→ Box truck→ Cargo van→
- Warehousing and fulfillment. 70+ Warp warehouses store inventory near your customers and pick, pack and ship orders, with same day delivery within 30 miles of the Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and New Jersey fulfillment centers. Published rates (September 2026): receiving from $10.20 per pallet in Dallas, storage from $16.07 per pallet per month in Dallas ($0.54 a day). Fulfillment→
- Parcel and final mile. Parcel with FedEx, UPS and USPS prices 1 to 50 boxes as one shipment, and a cargo van or box truck covers same day local delivery, on the same account as the freight. Parcel quote→
What it costs, factory to door
Three real lanes, each the cheapest 40 foot high cube tier on the October 11 and 20, 2026 captures, with the US leg priced on its own.
| Lane | Ocean, 40 foot high cube | Transit | What the price covers | Captured | US leg, priced separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai to Los Angeles | $8,507 $0.24 per pound at 35,000 lb | 18 days | Port to door, to a door beside the port | October 20, 2026 | LA and Long Beach to Ontario, CA: $834.75, October 16, 2026 |
| Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles | $8,249 $0.24 per pound at 35,000 lb | 23 days | Port to door, to a door beside the port | October 11, 2026 | LA and Long Beach to Ontario, CA: $834.75, October 16, 2026 |
| Mumbai (Nhava Sheva) to New York | $11,182 $0.32 per pound at 35,000 lb | 51 days | Port to door, to a door beside the port | October 11, 2026 | NY and NJ to Edison, NJ: $719.01, October 16, 2026 |
The ocean price already includes a short truck to a door beside the port. If your warehouse is inland, container drayage to that ZIP is its own price, and LTL or truckload carries the freight on from the dock. The legs aren’t added into one total here, because the inland leg depends on your ZIP and what rides in the container.
Every figure is a dated live capture and rates move with sailings and fuel. Open a lane for its tier breakdown, see the itemized charges on the ocean freight calculator, or compare air against ocean on international shipping quotes.
How many companies does a global supply chain take?
A typical import program uses up to seven separate companies. With Warp the same legs book on one account.
| Leg | The usual stack | With Warp |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean or air booking | A freight forwarder | Priced and booked on the Warp account, live from real sailing and flight schedules. Licensed forwarder partners carry the ocean leg. |
| US customs entry and ISF | A customs broker | Filed by licensed partners and itemized in the door price. Warp isn’t a customs broker, and duty bills to the importer after arrival. |
| Container pull from the port | A drayage carrier | Quoted and booked in the Warp dashboard with licensed drayage carriers. |
| Unloading and palletizing | A transload warehouse | Warp cross docks near the ports, with same day outbound trucks. |
| US trucking | A freight broker or an LTL carrier | Warp LTL, truckload, box truck and cargo van, priced in about 10 seconds. |
| Storage and fulfillment | A 3PL | 70+ Warp warehouses, published rates. |
| Parcel to the end customer | A parcel carrier account | Parcel with FedEx, UPS and USPS on the same account. |
You can keep a provider you already like: the free Warp TMS runs your own carriers beside Warp rates on one screen. For a program that runs the whole chain, see the end to end supply chain program.
Corridors: which country do you ship from?
Five origin corridors have their own pages, each with dated captures for the whole trip.
Limits: what stays with the importer
Warp prices and books ocean and air live, but it isn’t a licensed ocean forwarder or a customs broker. Licensed partners carry the ocean leg and file the US customs entry and the ISF, and when a price ends at a door those fees are itemized in it. Duty, import tax, the MPF entry fee (and HMF on ocean), a customs bond if you don’t hold an annual one, and any exam or storage fees bill to the importer after arrival.
Ocean and air price live from major ports in China, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and South Korea. A lane outside the live network comes back as a firm team quote within one business day. Dock handling at a transload is quoted per container. Read what Incoterms decide before you sign with the factory, since they set who pays for each stage above.
Frequently asked questions
Is Warp a freight forwarder?
Warp prices and books ocean and air live, but it isn’t a licensed ocean freight forwarder or a customs broker.
Licensed forwarder partners carry the ocean leg, and when a price ends at a door, the US customs entry and the ISF filing are filed by licensed partners and itemized in it.
After the port, drayage, transloading, trucking, storage and parcel are booked on the Warp network.
How long does it take to ship from China to a US door?
On the October 20, 2026 captures, the cheapest tier from Shanghai ran 18 days into Los Angeles and 35 days into New York, and the fastest tier 18 and 35 days, port to a door beside the port.
Add the days the container waits for customs and the drayage and trucking days to your warehouse. Air on the captured lanes ran 6 to 15 days door to door (October 20, 2026).
Can one company handle ocean, drayage and US trucking?
Yes. Warp quotes and books the ocean leg, the container pull from the port and the trucks after it from one account.
A licensed drayage carrier booked in the Warp dashboard delivers the box to a Warp cross dock, where it’s unloaded and palletized the same day, and the pallets leave on Warp LTL, truckload, box truck or cargo van, or go to a Warp warehouse for storage and fulfillment.
What happens after the container lands in the US?
Customs releases the container, a licensed drayage carrier pulls it from the terminal inside its free time, and it’s unloaded, palletized and labeled at a Warp cross dock, usually the same day.
A 40 foot container becomes about 20 pallet positions.
From there the pallets go out on LTL, truckload, box truck or cargo van, into a Warp warehouse for storage and fulfillment, or into parcel for the end customer.
Should I ship by air or by ocean?
Ocean when cost per pound decides, air when the calendar does.
On the October 20, 2026 capture a 40 foot high cube from Shanghai to Los Angeles cost $0.24 per pound at 35,000 lb, while the cheapest captured air tiers ran $3.81 to $7.12 per pound on pallet loads of 800 to 1,200 lb (October 20, 2026).
Many importers fly the first units and float the rest; both price on the same account.
Do I need my own customs broker?
Not to book a lane that ends at a door. Licensed partners file the US customs entry, and the ISF filing on ocean, and both are itemized in the price.
Warp itself isn’t a customs broker, so duty, import tax, the MPF entry fee (and HMF on ocean), a customs bond if you don’t hold an annual one, and any exam or storage fees bill to the importer after arrival.
Which countries can Warp ship from?
Warp handles origin work in 193 countries.
Ocean and air price live from major ports in China, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and South Korea, with 130 ocean lanes into 10 US ports on dated captures; a lane outside the live network comes back as a firm team quote within one business day.
After the port, the legs run on the Warp US network.
About the Warp freight network
More about the Warp freight network
Warp is the open source freight network: the tech is free and the network is open. We run Warp LTL, our own carrier, Warp FTL, cargo van, box truck and fulfillment ourselves, with every major LTL carrier, parcel, ocean, air and drayage plugged in beside them. Our driver app rides on every truck and our warehouse app runs every cross-dock, so an open network of 38,000+ carriers behaves like one carrier you control. Warp is licensed by the FMCSA as a property broker and freight forwarder, and runs the network itself: instant rates, live tracking, 70+ cross-dock facilities, 14,000+ cargo vans and box trucks, 80%+ US LTL zip-to-zip coverage and nationwide FTL, box truck and cargo van.
The network is supported by 24,000+ vetted FTL carriers.
Unlike traditional brokers, Warp uses AI to match the right vehicle to every load based on weight, dimensions, urgency, and cost targets. Cross-dock operations reduce transit time by eliminating unnecessary terminal transfers.
Pool distribution and zone-skipping programs help enterprise shippers lower per-unit delivery costs while maintaining tight appointment windows.
Self-serve shippers can quote, compare, and book freight online in under two minutes. Enterprise accounts get dedicated capacity planning, committed rate programs, and a named operations team. Every shipment includes scan-level visibility from pickup through final delivery.
Warp operates across the contiguous United States with regional density in the Southeast, Texas, Midwest, and Northeast corridors, and West Coast and Southwest coverage from Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix.
Warp operates 70+ cross-dock facilities across the US, with named markets including Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, New York, Savannah, Orlando, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Columbus, Denver, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Dallas-Fort Worth, Nashville, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Los Angeles. They support faster transfers and fewer touches on recurring lanes.
Freight modes and vehicle types
| Mode | Max payload | Max cube | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo van | 3,500 lbs | 400 cu ft | Time-sensitive, last-mile, light pallets |
| Box truck | 10,000 lbs | 1,500 cu ft | Regional distribution, no dock required |
| LTL | Per-pallet | Shared trailer | Lower per-pallet cost via cross-dock routing |
| Dry van / FTL | 42,000+ lbs | Full 53-ft trailer | High-volume lanes, recurring programs |
Cargo vans handle loads up to 3,500 pounds and 400 cubic feet, ideal for time-sensitive deliveries, last-mile retail replenishment, and lightweight palletized freight.
Box trucks carry up to 10,000 pounds and 1,500 cubic feet, fitting most regional distribution and store delivery needs without requiring a loading dock.
Dry vans and full truckloads move 42,000+ pounds for high-volume lanes and recurring programs. LTL shipments share trailer space on optimized routes through Warp cross-docks, reducing per-pallet cost by consolidating multiple shippers on the same vehicle.
Warp does not default every shipment to a 53-foot trailer. The AI engine evaluates load weight, cube, delivery window, and cost to recommend the right vehicle. Shippers see all available mode options with live pricing in one comparison screen before booking.
Cross-dock operations
Cross-docking at Warp facilities keeps freight moving instead of storing it: inbound freight is sorted and transferred directly to outbound vehicles, typically within hours. When inventory does need to sit, Warp's fulfillment centers in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and New Jersey hold it inside the same network, with same day delivery within 30 miles of each.
This reduces dwell time, lowers damage risk, and compresses delivery windows. Warp cross-docks support pallet-in, pallet-out operations with scan-level tracking at every handoff point.
- Atlanta — Southeast retail flow
- Chicago — Midwest manufacturing and replenishment
- Houston — Texas industrial distribution
- New York — dense Northeast delivery
Facility locations are selected for corridor density: Atlanta handles Southeast retail flow, Chicago serves Midwest manufacturing and replenishment, Houston covers Texas industrial distribution, and New York supports dense Northeast delivery. Each facility operates on appointment-based scheduling to prevent congestion and maintain throughput consistency.
Enterprise freight programs
Enterprise shippers get committed rate programs, dedicated account management, and custom SLA design. Warp builds lane-by-lane rate structures that account for volume commitments, seasonal variation, and mode flexibility. Operations teams monitor shipment execution daily and intervene proactively when exceptions occur.
Self-serve freight quoting
Shippers enter origin and destination, load details, and delivery requirements to see live rates across all available modes. Quotes include estimated transit time, vehicle type, and total cost.
Booking takes one click. After booking, shippers track every shipment with real-time GPS location, milestone updates, and proof of delivery documentation.
Industries and use cases
Retail shippers use Warp for store replenishment programs that deliver to hundreds of locations per week on tight appointment windows. Apparel brands use zone skipping to bypass regional parcel sortation and reduce per-unit delivery cost.
Food and beverage companies rely on time-definite delivery for perishable goods. Manufacturing operations use Warp for inbound vendor consolidation, combining multiple supplier shipments into fewer, fuller loads through cross-dock facilities.
Distribution companies use pool distribution to serve multiple delivery points from a single origin, splitting full truckloads at cross-docks into smaller last-mile vehicles.
Urgent freight recovery covers emergency capacity needs when primary carriers fail or demand spikes unexpectedly. Middle-mile optimization reduces cost and transit time on the longest segment of multi-leg shipments.
Price the first leg now.
Run your lane for a live ocean or air rate, then price the container pull and the trucks after it. Warp books each leg on one account.