Logistics Insights & Shipping Guides

01

Trade Lane Updates

China–Europe Rail Freight: A Practical Alternative to Ocean and Air

Faster than ocean, more affordable than air — rail sits in a sweet spot for the right cargo.

Understanding the China–Central Asia Rail Corridor

Rail and road to Kazakhstan and neighboring markets — a cost-effective option ocean freight can't reach.

Shipping to North America: FCL, LCL and Air Options from China

Sea and air freight connect China to the US, Canada, and — for project cargo — Mexico.

Sea and Air Freight to India and the UAE: Routing Considerations

South Asia and the Gulf are supported by a mix of ocean and air freight, plus road for oversized cargo.

Five China Gateways Explained: Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin, Xiamen

Transeasy's deepest operational experience is concentrated in these five ports — here's what each one is good for.

Peak Season Planning: Booking Capacity Before Golden Week

Rail, ocean, and air capacity all tighten around major China holidays — plan bookings accordingly.

Road and Rail to Russia: Routing Through Central Asia

Overland transport to Russia remains one of the more specialized lanes Transeasy operates.

Sea or Rail to Europe: The Decision Axes That Actually Matter

A practical way to choose between ocean and rail on the China–Europe lane, consignment by consignment rather than once for the whole account.

What Changes on a China Lane Around Chinese New Year

How the Lunar New Year shutdown reshapes capacity, customs and cargo-ready dates on China export lanes, and how to plan backwards from it.

Transhipment Through Singapore: What It Means for Your Cargo

Why so many China ocean bookings change vessels at a hub port, and the contract, documentation and cost consequences that follow.

Mexico as an Entry Point to North America: What to Weigh

The routing, customs and equipment questions that decide whether Mexico works as your entry point into the North American market.

Red Sea Diversions and the Cape Route: What It Means for Your China–Europe Transit

Why Asia–Europe sailings are running around southern Africa, what it adds to your transit, and how to plan around it rather than be surprised by it.

Shipping Solar and Renewable Energy Equipment from China

Panels, inverters and mounting systems each behave differently in transit. What to know about handling, classification and project sequencing.

Shipping to the UK After Brexit: GB Declarations Explained

Why a China shipment bound for the UK needs its own GB import declaration, and what an EU customs entry does not cover.

Moving Production to Vietnam: Rebuilding a China Freight Plan

What a partial production move to Vietnam does to sailing options, consolidation density, origin rules and inbound legs.

Panama Canal Draft Limits and US East Coast Routings

How Panama slot and draft restrictions differ, which cargo gets rolled first, and how the US East Coast alternatives compare.

Golden Week: The October Capacity Gap on China Lanes

How the fixed-date October National Day break hits peak-season capacity and documentation differently from Chinese New Year.

Why Air Freight Rates Follow Passenger Belly Capacity

Air capacity is largely a by-product of passenger aircraft schedules, which is why rates move when cargo demand has not.

02

Customs & Compliance Guides

A Shipper's Guide to Customs Documentation

Delays at customs are almost always a paperwork problem, not a policy one.

HS Code Classification: Why Getting It Right Matters

The Harmonized System code on your invoice determines duty rates and clearance speed.

Incoterms Explained: EXW, FOB and CIF in Plain Terms

Three common Incoterms, and what each one actually means for who pays for what.

Dangerous Goods (DG) Shipping: Classification and Documentation Basics

DG cargo needs correct classification, compliant documentation, and mode-specific handling.

Certificate of Origin: When You Need One and How to Get It

This document confirms where goods were manufactured — and it's not optional for most shipments.

Understanding Bonded Warehousing for Import and Export

Bonded storage lets goods sit in China without customs duty due until they actually move.

Import Duty and Landed Cost: What Actually Goes Into the Number

Landed cost is the unit price plus every duty, tax and charge required to put the goods in your warehouse, and the unit price is usually the smallest part of it.

Restricted and Prohibited Goods: How to Check Before You Book

Some goods cannot be imported at all, some can be imported only with a permit obtained in advance, and some are legal to import but restricted by transport mode.

Commercial Invoice Errors That Cause Customs Holds

Most customs holds are triggered by a commercial invoice that is vague, inconsistent with the other documents, or missing a field the entry cannot be filed without.

Customs Bonds and Guarantees Explained

A customs bond is a financial guarantee that duties and taxes will be paid, and it is what allows goods to move or be released before the final assessment is settled.

Lithium Battery Shipping Rules: Air, Sea and Rail Compared

Lithium batteries are dangerous goods in every mode, but the rules differ sharply between them. What applies where, and what gets shipments stopped.

Twelve Practical Ways to Reduce Your Landed Cost from China

Most landed-cost savings are not won by negotiating the freight rate. They are won upstream, in decisions made before anything is booked.

EU Import VAT: How It Is Assessed and Where Deferment Applies

Import VAT is charged on a base wider than your invoice and falls due at the border unless you have arranged otherwise first.

AEO and Trusted Trader Status: What It Actually Gets You

AEO reduces no duty and stops no audit, but it changes your guarantee, your risk score and the simplifications you can use.

Customs Valuation: When the Invoice Is Not Accepted

An invoice is evidence of a value, not the value itself, and the burden of proving the price qualifies sits with the declarant.

Anti-Dumping Duty: Why It Can Exceed Your Freight Bill

Trade-remedy duties are assessed on customs value, so they scale with cargo value rather than weight, and they are not recoverable.

ATA Carnet and Temporary Import Without Paying Duty

Samples, exhibition stands and test equipment can cross borders with duty suspended, provided every voucher is stamped on the way out.

03

Shipping How-Tos

FCL vs LCL: Choosing the Right Ocean Freight Option

Not every shipment needs a full container — here's how to tell which one you need.

Shipping Oversized Cargo: What OOG and Flat-Rack Really Mean

Out-of-Gauge and flat-rack containers open ocean freight to cargo that never fits a standard box.

Door-to-Door vs Port-to-Port: Which Should You Choose

One trades cost for simplicity; the other trades simplicity for control. Neither is wrong.

FTL vs LTL: Getting Road Freight Pricing Right

Full Truckload and Less-than-Truckload pricing work differently — picking the wrong one costs money either way.

How to Pack and Palletize Cargo for International Shipping

Good palletizing protects cargo and speeds up handling at every stop along the route.

Air Freight Chargeable Weight: How It's Calculated

Air freight is priced on whichever is greater — actual weight or volumetric weight.

Cargo Insurance 101: What It Covers and Why It Matters

Freight liability from carriers is limited by default — cargo insurance is what actually protects the value of your goods.

Multimodal Shipping: Combining Rail, Road and Sea

One coordinated route, several transport modes, a single point of contact.

How to Read a Bill of Lading, Field by Field

A walk through the boxes on an ocean bill of lading and what each one commits you to.

CBM and Container Capacity Planning, With the Arithmetic

How to calculate cubic metres, compare them against container capacity, and work out whether volume or weight will govern your shipment.

Demurrage, Detention and Port Storage: What They Are and How to Avoid Them

The three charges that accumulate when a container sits too long, and the planning that keeps them off your invoice.

How to Brief a Forwarder So the First Quote Is Accurate

The information a forwarder needs up front, and why leaving parts of it out leads to a quote that changes later.

Shipping Electronics from China: Packaging, Battery Rules and Customs

Electronics are high-value, fragile, often battery-powered and heavily scrutinised at customs. The four things that most often go wrong, and how to prevent each.

Shipping Furniture from China: Volume, Damage and Cost Control

Furniture fills a container by volume long before it reaches the weight limit. How to get more product into the same box without arriving with damage.

Textile and Apparel Shipping from China: Origin, Timing and Presentation

Apparel logistics is governed by season and by origin documentation. What determines whether your shipment clears cleanly and lands in time to sell.

Automotive Parts Logistics from China: Sequencing, Packaging and the Cost of Being Late

Automotive supply chains punish lateness harder than almost any other sector. What that means for how you should route, pack and buffer parts from China.

Machinery Exports from China: Crating, Lashing and Centre of Gravity

Heavy machinery does not fail in transit because the ship moved. It fails because the cargo moved relative to the ship. How to secure it properly.

Container Types Explained: GP, HQ, Open Top, Flat Rack and Reefer

Choosing the wrong container costs more than choosing the wrong carrier. What each type is for, what it holds, and when to step outside the standard box.

How to Read a Freight Quote: Line by Line

The cheapest headline rate is frequently the most expensive shipment. How to compare quotes on what you will actually pay.

The First-Time Importer's Checklist: China to Anywhere

Everything you need settled before your first shipment leaves, in the order you need to settle it.

VGM Explained: Who Declares Verified Gross Mass, and When

What the SOLAS verified gross mass covers, who signs the declaration, when it falls due, and what a missed one costs.

Booking Cut-Offs: Which One Actually Rolls Your Cargo

Documentation, VGM, manifest and gate-in cut-offs each fail differently, and only one of them physically rolls your container.

How to Load a Container: Weight, Balance and Securing

Payload limits, centre of gravity, floor loading and securing: how to stuff a container that stays legal and stable.

Shipping Marks and Carton Labelling That Survive Transit

Mark content, placement, print durability and the regulated marks: carton marking that still reads at destination.

Why Letter of Credit Shipments Fail on Documents

Letters of credit are paid against documents, not cargo: the clauses, dates and bill of lading details that cause refusals.

Choosing Between Air and Sea Freight: A Framework

Air is cheaper than sea on almost no shipment, so the useful decision is a four-step test in which cost comes last.

What a Freight Forwarder Actually Does

A forwarder's product is not marked-up carrier space but an assembled movement sold as one accountable undertaking.

Questions to Ask a Freight Forwarder Before Booking

The questions that reveal how a forwarder will actually handle your cargo, and what the answers tell you before you book.

How We Choose a Carrier for a Booking

Rate is part of the carrier decision and rarely the deciding part: the filters, criteria and terms applied in order.

Reading a Sailing Schedule: Strings and Transhipment

Two accurate quotes on the same lane can differ by ten days, and the reason sits in the rotation rather than the rate.

04

Company News & Case Studies

Logistics updates, trade-lane news, and shipping guides

Trade Lane Updates

Customs & Compliance Guides

Shipping How-Tos

Company News & Case Studies

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