Shipping from China to the US: what it costs right now
Live shipping costs from China to the US, priced from real sailing and flight schedules: a 40 foot high cube from Shanghai to Los Angeles ran $7,966 to $16,866 door to door on the August 18, 2026 capture, and air freight from Shanghai ran about $6 per pound. Quote your exact lane in about a minute, lock a tier online, and Warp runs the US leg after it lands.
By Troy Lester, Co-Founder & CRO
Live all-inclusive rates
How much does it cost to ship a container from China to the US?
Live captures from August 2026: a 40 foot high cube from Shanghai priced at $7,966 to $16,866 to Los Angeles (14 to 20 days) and $11,469 to $23,247 to the New York area (26 to 40 days), both carrying 35,000 lb. West Coast lanes run cheaper and faster; the speed tier you pick moves the number most.
How long does shipping from China to the US take?
By ocean, 14 to 20 days to the West Coast and 26 to 40 days to the East Coast on the August 2026 captures, door to door by tier. By air, about 10 days door to door including airport recovery and final delivery, with the flight itself just 1 to 3 days.
Warp customers
Live rates from China, dated and real
Every number below is a real production quote from Warp's live rate engine, priced with a ship date two business days out, with its capture date and service scope on the row. Rates move with sailings, flights, and fuel: the live calculator prices your exact lane in about a minute.
| Mode | Lane | Load | Live quote | Transit | Scope | Captured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean FCL | Shanghai to Los Angeles | 40'HC, 35,000 lb | $7,966 to $16,866 | 14 to 20 days | Port to door | Aug 18, 2026 |
| Ocean FCL | Shanghai to New York area | 40'HC, 35,000 lb | $11,469 to $23,247 | 26 to 40 days | Port or full door by tier | Aug 20, 2026 |
| Air | Shanghai to Los Angeles | 2 pallets, 1,000 lb | $5,980 | 10 days | Port to door | Aug 20, 2026 |
| Air | Shanghai to Chicago | 2 pallets, 1,200 lb | $6,612 | 11 days | Port to door | Aug 18, 2026 |
Per pound on these captures: ocean moved freight from China for $0.23 to $0.66, air for $5.50 to $6. That is roughly an order of magnitude apart, and the trade is 1 to 5 weeks of transit time.
Get your number
What moves the China to US rate
Route and speed tier move the number most: the same 40 foot high cube priced $7,966 to Los Angeles and $23,247 on the fastest door to door service to New York in the same week.
Under the headline rate sit vessel space, season, and fuel, which shift week to week, plus the door legs on each end.
That is why Warp quotes live from real sailing schedules instead of publishing a tariff that goes stale.
Air or ocean from China
Fly when the calendar is the constraint: product launches, stockouts, the first order of a season while the rest rides the water.
Float everything else; at $0.23 to $0.66 per pound against $6, ocean wins on cost whenever 2 to 5 extra weeks are acceptable.
Many China importers split the order: fly the first 10 percent, float the rest, and let the US leg consolidate both into one delivery plan.
After it lands: the US leg
This is the part most quotes leave out.
Warp runs port drayage from 10 US container gateways, container unloading and palletization at a Warp dock, storage by the pallet day, and delivery into Amazon FBA, retail DCs, or your 3PL on its own network.
One plan from the origin port to the final door; customs brokerage stays with your broker.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to ship from China to the US?
A full container by ocean to a West Coast port on the best value tier: $7,966 for a 40 foot high cube Shanghai to Los Angeles on the August 18, 2026 capture, about $0.23 per pound on a 35,000 lb load.
Smaller loads price as shared container space, and anything urgent flies at a premium.
Do I need a freight forwarder to ship from China to the US?
Not to get a price. Warp quotes the ocean and air legs live with no forwarder login and no email chain, and runs the US legs on its own network.
Customs brokerage stays with your customs broker, and lanes outside the live network come back as a firm team quote within one business day.
Can Warp deliver my China shipment to Amazon FBA?
Yes.
After the container clears, Warp unloads and palletizes at its own dock, then delivers into Amazon FBA, retail DCs, or your 3PL with LTL, FTL, box truck, or cargo van, all under one tracking spine.
About the Warp freight network
More about the Warp freight network
Warp is a technology-driven freight network that combines cargo van, box truck, LTL, and FTL capacity under one operating system. Shippers get instant rates, real-time tracking, and access to 70+ cross-dock facilities and 14,000+ cargo vans and box trucks — with 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.
Cross-dock facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, Savannah, Orlando, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Columbus, Denver, New Orleans, and Milwaukee 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 eliminates warehouse storage. Inbound freight is sorted and transferred directly to outbound vehicles, typically within hours.
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.
Ready to ship?
Get instant rates or talk to our team about a custom freight program.
By Troy Lester