Freight quotes from China are not comparable until you know what is inside them. This is the anatomy of a China–UK shipment price, in the order the costs are actually incurred.
However it is presented, a shipment price is assembled from the same seven blocks. Knowing them lets you see instantly what a quote has left out.
A quote that only mentions “freight” is quoting line 2. That is the smallest and most volatile part of the total for most importers.
This is where first-time importers lose money, because the same carton is measured three different ways depending on the mode.
| Mode | Charged on | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Air freight | Chargeable weight | Greater of actual kg or volumetric kg (L×W×H in cm ÷ 6000) |
| Sea LCL | Revenue ton / CBM | Greater of cubic metres or weight tonnes — light bulky cargo pays by volume |
| Sea FCL | Container | Flat rate per 20GP, 40GP or 40HQ regardless of how full |
| Express courier | Chargeable weight | Usually ÷5000, which is why couriers feel expensive for light boxes |
A carton 60×50×40cm weighs 12kg on the scale but 20kg volumetric by air (120,000 ÷ 6,000). You pay for 20kg. Ten of those cartons is 2 CBM — enough that sea becomes worth considering, since LCL is priced per cubic metre rather than per kilo.
Transit time is a cost line too, because it is cash tied up in stock on the water. Typical door-to-door timings for China to the UK:
| Mode | Door-to-door | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Air freight | 5–8 days | Samples, launches, restocks, high value per kg |
| Rail (China–Europe–UK) | 22–28 days | Mid-volume cargo, cheaper than air, quicker than sea |
| Sea FCL | 30–38 days port to port, plus inland | 15+ CBM, heavy or bulky goods |
| Sea LCL | 32–40 days | 1–15 CBM, mixed SKUs |
Those figures assume normal conditions. Port congestion, blank sailings and Chinese New Year all add days, and no honest forwarder will promise a fixed arrival date on the sea.
Put them side by side, not top to bottom. Add freight, origin, clearance, duty and delivery, divide by the number of units, and you have a landed cost per unit. The cheaper headline quote is regularly the more expensive shipment once duty and delivery are counted — particularly when one quote assumes port-to-port and the other is door-to-door.
If you want that maths done for you, send the product, weight, carton dimensions, Chinese city and UK postcode, and we will return a fixed all-in figure with every line shown. Request a quote — usually back within 24 hours.
Air freight for 100kg of general cargo is usually the cheapest door-to-door option at that size, because LCL has a minimum charge per cubic metre that outweighs the saving on freight. The exact figure depends on chargeable weight and postcode — ask for a quote with the lines itemised.
Per kilogram, yes, by a wide margin. Per shipment, only once you have enough volume — LCL carries minimum charges that make small consignments uneconomic compared with air.
No. Duty is charged on the customs value of the goods. Import VAT, however, is calculated on value plus duty plus the freight to the UK border, so freight does increase the VAT.
LCL is normally the cheapest for a single cubic metre, though the minimum charge means 1 CBM and 3 CBM can cost almost the same. Consolidating several suppliers into one LCL shipment is usually the biggest saving available.