For many companies, shipping from China to the UK is a daunting task. When you are faced with sea freight, airfreight or other options for transporting goods from China to the UK, it can be hard to know what will work best for your business.
In this blog post we will discuss how long shipping from China to the UK will take and different options available so that you can make an informed decision about which way of shipping is right for your company!
Firstly, there are two common ways businesses use to get their goods from China to the UK: sea freight and air freight. When comparing sea freight to airfreight, a few factors should be taken into account: shipping time, cost of the service and distance travelled by sea or air.
Sea Freight Shipping for Goods from China to UK
When it comes to sea freight versus air freight, one has an advantage over the other. The sea freight shipping option is cheaper than airfreight, but it takes much longer to deliver your goods from China to the UK.
Sea Freight Shipping Time: Shipment of goods from China to the UK takes around four to five weeks normally, but a weekly limit for sea freight shipping can make air freight more suitable.
During the pandemic, sea freight shipping of goods from China to the UK was disrupted, leaving many companies without their supplies. Transit time also can be increased to 6-8 weeks or even longer due to container shortage, various vessel delays and port congestion.
Sea Freight Shipping Costs: A sea freight shipment normally can cost anywhere between £1000 and £3000, which is cheaper than airfreight costs. But now the sea freight is ludicrously eccentric, some 40HQ containers can go up to £17,000.
When shipping less than a container, the cost is calculated in cubic meters. If your shipment is small, air transport might actually be cheaper for you. (It could also still be more expensive but with a smaller difference between the two options).
Advantages of Sea freight
A. Low-Cost
Ocean shipping is one of the most cost-efficient methods for transporting goods internationally.
E-commerce products like electronics, apparel, cosmetics and home goods are all excellent candidates for international sea freight.
This form of long distance transportation is a great option because it is much less expensive than moving products by air. If time isn't an important deciding factor in choosing a preferred method for freight, ocean freight is the obvious choice.
B. Efficiency
Even for smaller shipments, sea freight companies offer value for both the shippers and customers. Shipping small volumes of cargo can be accomplished collaboratively with other containers full of cargo or by filling one or more containers on their own. Regardless, vessels are the ideal way to move high volume items as they carry a large amount of bulk goods while offering unmatched storage
C. Oversized, heavy and bulky cargo capability
With many shipping companies able to handle oversized, heavy or bulky cargo – often referred to as break bulk or Not in Trailer (NIT) loads - sea freight is one of the most popular methods of international transportation.
Many cargo items are too large for air, rail and truck transport forcing them to rely on overseas containerization services that offer sea freight shipping as a viable option.
D. Safety
Ships are designed to carry hazardous materials and dangerous cargo. The industry is well-versed in the handling of such goods and has regulations in place to ensure the safety of the vessel, crew, cargo and environment. Cargo loss caused by incidents during transportation is continually dropping as maritime safety increases, and has decreased significantly in recent years.
E. Environmental friendliness
If your business is concerned with the carbon footprint that your products leave with sea freight is probably the option for you. While sea freight accounts for 3% of the globe's total greenhouse gas emissions, it is certainly still a long way more environmentally friendly than air freight. In fact, as shown in our graphical representation, sea freight emits 15g of CO2 per tonne of cargo moved a km, whilst air freight emits a massive 545g per tonne moved a km.
You should always be mindful of both the air and ocean freight markets as they are volatile. In order to make tendering and negotiations for global procurement professionals more efficient, readily available rate data of both types of freight is essential.
Air Freight Shipping for Goods from China to UK
The air freight shipping option is more expensive, but it takes less time than sea freight.
Air Freight Time: Air Freights are quicker and can take just a few days or up to one week in the best conditions. They will also include customs clearance which sea freights don't have.
Air Freight Shipping Costs: Airfreights are more expensive. The cost of sea freight shipping per cubic meter is usually around £0.50, whereas air freight can be as high as £90 or higher for a container load (depending on the service).
Advantages of Air freight
A. Fast
Air freight is the best option for any shipment that needs to arrive at a specific destination in a timely manner.
B. Reliable arrival and departure times.
The departure and arrival times of flights are highly reliable, as airlines tend to be very on top of their schedules. Even missing a flight wouldn’t cause much delay as there are usually flights departing every hour.
C. Send cargo to locations all around the world
Many airlines have a global network of destinations that covers the majority of places in the world. This means you can send your shipment to most locations.
D. Low insurance premiums
Air cargo is a relatively fast mode of transportation, which leads to comparatively low insurance costs. Even if air freight can be expensive, this brings about savings in terms of lower insurance prices.
E. Fewer facilities and items in stock
With the quicker transit times of air freight, you have less need for local warehousing. Customs clearance, cargo inspection and cargo handlers are more efficient as most of your goods are cleared within a matter of hours.
F. Keep track of your shipment
Utilize shipment tracking that is available via web application the moment you purchase your products to track your cargo as it departs, arrives and makes stops in-between.
It's important to find out what your company needs and decide from there which shipping option is best.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to import goods from China, the UK is an excellent place for your company. The UK has one of the largest trading relationships with China in Europe and imports more than any other nation in the EU (US$24 billion).
However, when importing into a new country like the UK, it can be difficult to know what regulations need to be followed or how long shipping will take. Fortunately our team at Mizar Sourcing knows all about this!
Contact us today if you want help finding out more information on importing products from China into the UK. We’ll give you up-to-date advice on everything that needs considering before exporting goods internationally so that your business can succeed overseas too!