FCL and LCL ocean freight from Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Xiamen
We book full containers and consolidated part loads to and from Europe, North America including Mexico, and South Asia and the Gulf, port-to-port or door-to-door. Send the packing list and we answer with a quote within one business day.
What this service covers
For most shipments leaving China, sea freight is the mode that decides the landed cost. We run two products on it. FCL gives your cargo a container to itself, sealed at origin and opened at destination. LCL puts your cargo into a shared container and charges you for the space it occupies, which is what makes small and mid-sized consignments viable without paying for empty air. Both are available port-to-port or door-to-door, to and from Europe, North America including Mexico, and South Asia and the Gulf, and both are quoted from the same enquiry so you can see the two numbers side by side.
Our deepest operational experience sits at five gateways: Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Xiamen. We also handle import and export through the other major China seaports. The right gateway is not always the closest one to your supplier. Inland trucking cost, the lines calling that port and the service pattern on your lane all move the answer, and on a repeat programme the difference compounds. We look at the whole origin cost, not just the ocean rate.
We are not tied to a single default service on any lane. For each booking we compare what is actually loadable against your ready date and your port pair, which matters most when space tightens or a cut-off is missed: the question stops being what the rate is and becomes what can be lifted this week. Equipment choice sits in the same place. Standard 20ft, 40ft and 40ft high cube boxes cover most cargo, but open top and flat rack containers exist for pieces that will not go through container doors or stand taller than the box, and we use them regularly. Dangerous goods, out-of-gauge and break-bulk project cargo are among our specialisms rather than exceptions we take on reluctantly.
What you get from us alongside the booking is the operational detail that decides whether a shipment lands cleanly: HS code review before the declaration is filed, VGM submitted ahead of the carrier cut-off, a bill of lading arranged to match your payment terms, free time watched at destination, and cargo insurance available across the journey. Eissler Xiong quotes ocean freight and stays your contact through the booking. Quote requests are answered within one business day.
What you get when you book this service
FCL space compared across the lines serving your lane
We are not committed to one service on any lane. For each booking we look at what is loadable against your ready date and your port pair, and we tell you where the cheapest option costs you time and where it does not.
LCL consolidation and CFS handling
Delivery into the consolidation warehouse, measurement and re-measurement of the cargo as received, stuffing alongside other shippers' goods, and deconsolidation at destination. We quote destination CFS and handling charges up front, because those are where a cheap LCL ocean rate usually gets its money back.
Equipment matched to the cargo, including DG and out-of-gauge
20ft, 40ft and 40ft high cube for standard loads; open top where cargo is craned in from above or stands over height; flat rack for over-width pieces and machinery that cannot pass through container doors. Dangerous goods are booked against the declared UN number, class and packing group on lines and ports that accept them.
Export clearance, VGM and documentation
Commercial invoice and packing list checks, HS code review before filing, the export declaration at the loading port, and the Verified Gross Mass submitted ahead of the carrier's cut-off. Where the destination requires a certificate of origin or other regulated paperwork, we raise it at quoting stage rather than at the terminal gate.
Bill of lading and release management
We arrange the B/L and confirm with you whether the shipment needs original documents, a telex release or a sea waybill, matched to how you are being paid. You check the draft before the amendment deadline; corrections after the deadline are chargeable and are sometimes not possible at all.
Free-time, demurrage and detention monitoring
We confirm the free time that applies to your booking and track it at destination, so a slow clearance or a missed delivery appointment surfaces while it can still be fixed rather than as a daily charge on an invoice weeks later.
Inland legs, door delivery and cargo insurance
Collection from the supplier, haulage to the gateway port, and delivery from the destination port to the consignee's door where you want door-to-door instead of port-to-port. Cargo insurance is available across all modes and can be arranged to cover the full door-to-door journey, not only the sea leg.
From enquiry to delivery
Cargo profile and lane
We need the commodity and its HS code, a packing list showing cartons or pallets with gross weight and dimensions, whether the cargo is stackable, the ready date, the Incoterm, the pick-up address or loading port, and the destination port or door address. Tell us at this point if any part of the shipment is dangerous goods, over height or over width. A photo of the packing list is usually enough to start.
FCL or LCL, equipment and gateway
We work out whether your volume justifies a container of its own, which container type fits the cargo, and which of the five gateways gives the best total origin cost on your lane. Dense cargo hits the weight limit long before it fills the box, so this step is about weight and volume together, not volume alone.
Quote, then booking and cut-offs
You get the quote within one business day, priced both ways where FCL and LCL are close. On acceptance we book the space and confirm the three dates that actually govern the shipment: the shipping instruction cut-off, the VGM cut-off and the container yard cut-off. Everything at origin is planned backwards from those.
Collection, stuffing and export clearance
For FCL the empty container is positioned at the supplier or loaded at the terminal, stuffed, sealed, and the seal number recorded against the documents. For LCL the cargo is delivered into the CFS and stuffed there. The VGM is declared and the export declaration filed at the loading port.
Loading, documents and release
Once the vessel loads, the draft bill of lading comes to you for checking. You confirm consignee details, marks, description and quantity, we correct anything wrong before the deadline, and the document is then released as originals, a telex release or a sea waybill, depending on your payment terms.
Arrival, clearance, delivery and container return
We pre-alert you before arrival with the documents the destination needs, clear the import where the service includes it, arrange delivery, and watch the free time so the empty container goes back before detention starts. You keep one point of contact on the file rather than being handed between desks.
When this is the right service — and when it is not
Best for
- Regular production volumes out of China where cost per unit matters more than a few days of transit time
- Full container quantities moving to Europe, North America including Mexico, or South Asia and the Gulf
- Part loads that do not fill a container, where paying only for the cubic metres used beats paying for empty space
- Dense, heavy cargo such as machinery, tiles, stone and hardware, where weight reaches the limit before the container is full
- Oversized, over-height or out-of-gauge pieces that need open top, flat rack or break-bulk handling rather than a standard dry box
- Dangerous goods that are accepted at sea and can be correctly classified, packed, marked and declared before booking
When another mode fits better
Sea freight is the wrong choice when the delivery date is worth more than the freight saving. If the cargo is time-critical, high in value per kilogram, or small enough that the air rate is tolerable, use air freight instead; Turbe Tan quotes it and we will say so rather than sell you a container. On the Europe, Central Asia and Russia lanes, rail is often the better middle ground, usually faster than sea and usually cheaper than air, and for landlocked destinations across Central Asia there is no sea option at all, so rail or road is the route. Sea is also a poor fit for very small consignments: LCL minimum charges, origin handling and destination CFS fees do not scale down, and on a few cartons they can exceed the value of the goods, which is where e-commerce or express channels belong. And if one part on the packing list will stop your customer's line when it is late, take that part out and fly it. Put the rest on the water.
Container types and what they suit
These are industry-general figures for standard equipment rather than TransEasy measurements; actual internal dimensions, tare weight and permitted payload vary by container owner, by shipping line and by the road weight limits in force at each end. We confirm the exact figures for your booking before you fix a packing plan.
| Container type | Approximate internal capacity | Payload in practice | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard (20'GP) | Around 33 m³ | Gross weight limits, not volume, are usually what fills it; road limits at destination often cap it lower than the container's own rating | Dense, heavy cargo: machinery, tiles, stone, hardware, fasteners, liquids in drums |
| 40ft standard (40'GP) | Around 67 m³ | Roughly the same gross weight ceiling as a 20ft, so the extra space is volume rather than extra tonnage | Standard-height cargo where volume is the constraint and the total weight is moderate |
| 40ft high cube (40'HQ) | Around 76 m³ | As per the 40ft standard | Light, bulky goods: furniture, packaging, textiles, e-commerce stock. Roughly 30 cm more internal height than a 40ft standard |
| 45ft high cube | Around 86 m³ | As per the 40ft high cube | Very low-density cargo, where the destination port and the inland road route both accept 45ft equipment |
| Open top (20ft / 40ft) | Around 32 m³ / 65 m³ | Similar to the equivalent dry box | Cargo craned in from above, or cargo standing above door height under a tarpaulin roof. Over-height loading makes the shipment out-of-gauge and changes both the rate and the routing |
| Flat rack (20ft / 40ft) | No enclosed capacity; measured by the cargo itself | Generally tolerates higher concentrated point loads than a dry box | Over-width and over-height pieces, machinery, structures and anything that will not pass through container doors. Lashing and securing are engineered per piece |
A shipment we have already run
Equipment was matched to each piece of cargo — standard FCL, flat-rack and open-top according to dimensions — and documentation kept aligned across more than ten separate container movements rather than treated as one bulk shipment.
Read the full case studySea Freight (FCL & LCL) — common questions
There is no fixed crossover volume, and any figure quoted as one is a guide rather than a rule. It moves with the lane, with how the ocean rate is sitting that month, and with the fixed handling charges at both ends, which LCL carries more of. Dense cargo crosses over sooner, because LCL is charged on weight as well as volume, so a heavy part load can cost more than a container of its own. Rather than give you a rule of thumb, we price both options on the same enquiry so you can compare landed cost rather than ocean rate.
On whichever is greater, the volume in cubic metres or the weight in tonnes, commonly applied at a ratio of one cubic metre to one thousand kilogrammes. On top of that sit origin handling, documentation, and the destination CFS and delivery-order charges, which are billed at the far end and are the usual reason an LCL shipment costs more than the quoted rate implied. Ask us for the full landed figure, including destination charges, and compare that number rather than the ocean rate alone.
Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Xiamen are the five gateways where our operational experience is deepest. We also handle import and export through the other major China seaports. If your supplier sits between two gateways, tell us both and we will compare the total origin cost, since the cheaper ocean rate sometimes sits behind the more expensive trucking leg.
It depends on your Incoterm and on who you want holding the risk at each end. Port-to-port stops at the terminal and leaves import clearance and inland delivery to your consignee or their own broker. Door-to-door means we arrange the inland legs, the import clearance and delivery to the receiving address, and you deal with one party for the whole chain. Door-to-door is usually the right answer when your buyer is not set up to clear cargo themselves, or when you are selling on DAP or DDP terms.
Demurrage is charged when the container stays inside the terminal beyond the free time allowed. Detention is charged when the container has left the terminal and stays out with the merchant beyond its free time before the empty is returned. Both are carrier charges and both normally land on whoever controls the cargo at that point. Free time varies by carrier, by port and by contract, so we confirm what applies to your booking and monitor it rather than quoting a number here that may not be yours.
Yes. Dangerous goods are one of our specialisms. We need the safety data sheet, the UN number, the class and the packing group before we can book, because not every line accepts every class and some ports and some classes require approval in advance. Packing, marking, labelling and the dangerous goods declaration all have to match. Send the SDS with your enquiry rather than after the booking, and we will tell you quickly what is loadable and what is not.
Then it goes on open top or flat rack equipment, or moves as break-bulk, and the shipment is handled as out-of-gauge. That changes the rate, the lashing and securing, the ports that can take it, and the inland route at both ends. We do this regularly: on one project we matched equipment piece by piece across more than ten specialised containers moving to Mexico and coordinated the documentation across the full multimodal journey. Send dimensions and weights per piece and we will tell you what the cargo needs.
It depends on how you are being paid. Original bills of lading are used where the document controls release of the cargo, typically against a letter of credit or where you want to hold title until payment. A telex release or a sea waybill is faster and avoids couriering documents, and suits established relationships or prepaid shipments. We confirm which one applies before the shipping instruction cut-off, because cargo sitting at destination waiting for a document is the most avoidable delay in this business.
Guides related to this service
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.
Read More Trade Lane UpdatesFive 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.
Read More Shipping How-TosDoor-to-Door vs Port-to-Port: Which Should You Choose
One trades cost for simplicity; the other trades simplicity for control. Neither is wrong.
Read More Trade Lane UpdatesShipping 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.
Read MoreExternal standards bodies and government sources, linked for reference. Transeasy is not affiliated with these organisations.