If you’re reading this article, chances are you’re shipping from Shenzhen, China to the USA. You’re not alone. Shenzhen is China’s largest exporting city and a mecca for outsourced manufacturing, particularly for high-tech goods. But many of the advantages of working with China-based suppliers and manufacturers are lost if you are not optimizing shipping from Shenzhen to the USA. This article shares ideas on how to do just that.
Options for shipping from Shenzhen to the USA
Let’s start at a high level, then dive into more specific strategies. You can ship your China-to-USA freight via sea freight, air freight, or express shipping with one of the large global parcel carriers. The chart below summarizes the relative advantages and disadvantages of the air and ocean options, including the key issue of transit times.
Air freight shipping from Shenzhen to USA
Because Shenzhen is a hub for high-value, high-tech products and components with a shorter shelf life (think mobile phones) versus hard goods (think lamps and toasters), a large volume of the shipments from Shenzhen to USA moves via air.
Luckily, Shenzhen is very close to three of China’s largest cargo airports: Shenzhen International (SZX), Guangzhou Baiyun International (CAN), and Hong Kong International (HKG). This gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of carriers and schedules.
Guangzhou Baiyun is the main air cargo hub in South China and is near to Shenzhen. China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Eva Airways, All Nippon and Japan Airlines all offer services to the USA from CAN. For air freight shipping from Guangzhou, look for a freight forwarder, like Dimerco, that has block service agreements for long haul air freight capacity with these airlines. This will offer you the best price with the most flexible options. If you are a tech company, it also helps to choose a forwarder with strong experience shipping sensitive, high-tech products.
The proximity to Hong Kong also offers advantages if you’re shipping via air from Shenzhen to USA. Within an hour you can transport your outbound cargo to Hong Kong to access the fastest, most economical shipping lanes in the world.
Here are some benefits to using Hong Kong International Airport as a trans-shipment hub for shipping from Shenzhen China to the USA:
- Hong Kong is the world’s busiest international cargo airport. Flights are frequent, with many direct flights to your destination markets. These direct flights are critical when time to market is a priority.
- Free Port status. Free ports, like trade-friendly Hong Kong, have no customs tariffs. You don’t have to worry about additional costs or complex regulations.
- Fast customs clearance. Hong Kong prides itself on getting your goods cleared quickly without compromising safety. Clearance is even faster when you work with a company like Dimerco, which has achieved China’s highest level of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status.
Ocean freight shipping from Shenzhen to USA
If you’re shipping via ocean from Shenzhen to the U.S. to minimize costs, here’s a strategy that can bring costs down even further, and speed delivery times, too: Buyer’s Consolidation.
Here’s how it works. It’s not uncommon for U.S. companies to have multiple suppliers in and around Shenzhen, China. Buyer’s Consolidation lets you combine multiple smaller shipments from multiple suppliers into a cheaper, full container load (FCL) shipment.
It’s like online shopping at multiple stores but receiving all your purchases in one box that’s delivered faster and costs less. Specific benefits of a Buyer’s Consolidation shipping strategy include:
- Reduces costs by up to 10–15% vs. standard LCL shipping.
- Eliminates wait times and additional fees associated with deconsolidating separate shipments at warehouses. Your consolidated container goes straight to you, reducing delivery times by five days or more.
- Simplifies shipping by having a single point of contact. No more tracking multiple shipments from different suppliers.
- Makes customs clearance more efficient. All import documents for your multiple suppliers are submitted together, reducing the chance of customs-related delays.
The right freight forwarder can make a Buyer’s Consolidation strategy easy. They receive your orders from various suppliers; they work with these suppliers to arrange factory-to-warehouse delivery; they combine the shipments based on your instructions; and they arrange door-to-door global transport to your U.S. location.
The role of a Shenzhen FTZ warehouse
In this article, we’re talking about shipping. But there could be added benefits to utilizing a freight forwarder that operates a Shenzhen warehouse within a free trade zone (FTZ).
The Chinese government charges a value added tax on exports, but will immediately refund this VAT to exporters who store goods at an FTZ warehouse before final export. The rebate is triggered as soon as products leave the factory, not when they actually leave the country. This can provide a huge cash flow advantage, particularly for high value products. Learn more advantages of FTZ’s in China and Southeast Asia.
Shenzhen to USA shipping: the right forwarder can help
While some manufacturing is leaving China for other markets as part of a China Plus One strategy, Shenzhen remains a global manufacturing powerhouse. Shipping from Shenzhen to the USA is a critical trade lane, and it pays to ship smarter. One key to doing that is partnering with the right freight forwarder.
Here are some things you want to look for in a freight forwarder for China-to-USA shipping.
- Owned offices in China and the U.S. Most U.S.-based freight forwarders do not have offices in China but instead work with agents. This can lead to poor communication, poor visibility, and resulting errors and delays.
- Integrated services. It’s easier and less risky to work with a freight forwarder that can offer door-to-door coordination of your Shenzhen-to-USA shipments, including first-mile, warehousing, global shipping, customs brokerage, and last-mile services.
- Strong freight volume and carrier relationships in Asia. You want to ensure adequate freight capacity for your outbound freight.
Dimerco Express Group is a global 3PL that fits the bill on all of the above criteria. For your Shenzhen-to-USA shipments, we have 20 offices across North America and 130 offices across China and Southeast Asia, including several in the Shenzhen area; we offer integrated air, ocean, contract logistics, and customs brokerage services – all managed on a single system, globally; and Dimerco is a top 25 forwarder by volume with all major Asia-based carriers, giving you the freight capacity you need at the right price.
Do you need to optimize shipping from Shenzhen, China to the USA? Contact Dimerco today to start a conversation.
