Ocean Freight: Ocean & Sea Freight Shipping: Rates, Quotes, and Charges [2023]
If you are in the market for shipping freight overseas, then you will need to familiarize yourself with the different types of ocean and sea freight shipping. On this page, we will discuss the different rates, quotes, and charges associated with ocean freight shipping. We will also provide tips on how to get the best rates for your business!
Ocean Freight Meaning: What Is Ocean Freight?
Ocean freight, or sea freight, refers to the transport of cargo by ship across the ocean. This type of shipping is typically used when large volumes of goods need to be shipped over long distances at a relatively low cost. There are a number of different factors that determine the rates for ocean freight shipping, including the distance between your origin and destination, the size and weight of your shipment, and the type of vessel used for transport.
Ocean freight is the most common mode of transport that importers and exporters use. In fact, a full 90% of goods are shipped by ocean freight and sea freight. The other international freight transport modes (courier, air freight, express) are all faster, but they are also more expensive. Smaller shipments, and products with a high value, generally go by these other modes.
Why Ship By Sea?
Shipping goods by sea is still popular nowadays due to low cost, high sea vessel load capacity, and minimal restrictions on a vessel carrying capacity.
There are a number of reasons why businesses might choose to ship goods by sea, including:
Ocean freight is the most cost-effective way to transport large shipments over long distances.
Sea freight is a reliable mode of transport that is less susceptible to delays than other modes, such as air freight.
Ports are located all over the world, making it easy to find a port near your origin or destination.
Now the shipping company improve the service, transport time is fast. such as from china to USA by fast ship, the transport time is only about 9-12days.
If you are looking for a cost-effective way to transport large shipments overseas, then ocean freight is the best option!
Honour Ocean freight forwarding services
The most trusted Chinese freight forwarder, proficient in the sea, air, rail.
Additional services for international freight forwarder china
Ocean freight rates
How much ship by sea? You can contact with HonourOcean expert team to get newest freight .
Table of Contents
Freight forwarding company
As china freight forwarding companies since 2009.
Honourocean provides international freight forwarding services with the import and export of all kinds of cargo.
On-Time: We provide reliable, cost-effective logistics services to companies with unique shipping needs.
Best freight forwarders from China
As one of China s best sea freight forwarders, we have strong cooperation with the top 50 shipline, including China,USA, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Australia,Canada, Middle East. Providing air shipping to every country and airport is simple and effective. Honourocean offers low-cost sea transportation on the Chinese shipping markets even during the peak seasons to guarantee the available space on your shipment.
That is possible through international air freight companies that provide air freight shipping services through international air carriers that transport the goods from airports in China to various parts all over the world.
What Are The Downsides Of Ocean Freight?
- Speed – Airplanes are about 30 times faster than ocean liners; passenger jets cruise at 575 mph, while slow-steaming ocean liners move at 16-18 mph. No surprise then, that a shipment going by air freight from China to the US usually takes at least 20 days more than by ocean freight.
- Reliability – Port congestion, customs delays, and bad weather conditions generally add much more days to ocean freight than air freight. To date, tracking technology in air freight is often more advanced than ocean freight. That means that ocean freight is more likely to get misplaced than air freight. This is especially true when the ocean shipment is less than a container load. That said, ocean freight is becoming more reliable thanks to digitization.
- Protection – Ocean freight is more likely to get damaged or destroyed than air cargo. That’s because it is in transit a lot longer, and because ships are more subject to movement. But don’t worry too much about ocean cargo falling off ships. The urban myth says 10,000 lost per year, but it’s more like 546 of the 120 million container movements per year that fall in the drink. Even less likely is piracy. Hotspots in recent years have included the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Malacca Straits.

Ocean Freight Services
There are a number of different ocean freight services that businesses can use when shipping their goods overseas. These include full container load (FCL), less than container load (LCL), and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) shipping.
Full container load services are the most common type of ocean freight service, and involve shipping a single container that is filled by one customer.
Less than container load services allow smaller shipments or packages to be consolidated with other shipments in a single container, while roll-on/roll-off shipping is used for the transport of large vehicles and machinery.When choosing an ocean freight service provider, it is important to consider factors such asprice, reliability, and transit times.Overall, ocean freight is the most cost-effective way to transport large shipments overseas.
shipping costs -Sea Freight Rates per kg
With the exception of particularly heavy goods, most LCL is priced per volume of goods, and not by weight.
For most products, use these rules of thumb for which selecting the most cost-effective mode:
- Shipments weighing more than 500 kg becomes uneconomic to go by air freight.
- Ocean freight is around $0.8-$3/kg, and a China-US shipment will take around 22-40 days or more.
- At about $5-8 per kilo, a China-US shipment between 150 kg and 500 kg can economically go air freight and will take around 8-10 days.
- Express air freight is a few days quicker, but more expensive.
- Packages that are lighter than 150 kg can economically go by courier (express freight).
- you may interested : SHIPPING FROM CHINA TO RUSSIA
The Fast & Efficient Freight Forwarder in China
Honour Ocean Shipping is a leading provider in the logistics industry. we can supply competitive prices with global supply chains
It is clear to us that shipping from China aims for quick and efficient delivery. Our experienced freight forwarders know everything and can handle pressure.
International logistics is a very important link in the supply chain link, Our service can save your cost and time, energy .

Common Ocean and Sea Freight Costs, Rates, and Charges in Your Freight Quote:
Door to Door Arrangements
seaport to seaport transport
sea freight documents
import shipping services import
shipping shipments from China manufacturers
export shipping from the various China cities
custom clearance in major airports
Dangerous goods transportation
labels packaging and palletization.
Pick up from any city in China
Honourocean provides all kinds of one point services from the delivery to the delivery.
Secured shipping space
Shipping freight cost including below(export to usa for example) :
- china local charge: including pick up and return container by truck , loading container charge, custom clearance charge.
- loading of port charge: THC, DOC,ISPS, SEAL
- International sea freight
- destination port charge
- custom clearance charge at destination port
- pick up from destination port and delivery to door
shenshen to USA Coast freight trends

Shipping from china to us
The cost to ship a 40-foot container from China to the U.S. West Coast now stands around $2000 a box, down 90% from January.
volumetric weight
Volumetric weight also mean dimensional weight , it refers to the overall size of a parcel and is measured in volumetric kilograms. Volumetric weight can be calculated by multiplying the length, width, and height of a parcel (in cm) and dividing that figure by 5000 for sea shipping.
Important documents when Importing From China
Ability to manage challenging objects with flexibility ensuring a smooth and efficient transport across the world..
Customs clearance is the process of getting your shipment through customs so that it can be delivered to its final destination. To do this, you’ll need to provide certain documents, including:
– A commercial invoice
– A packing list
– A bill of lading (if shipping by sea) or an air waybill (if shipping by air)
– A certificate of origin
The commercial invoice is the most important document for customs clearance. It’s a document that lists the products being shipped, their value, and other important information like the HS code. The HS code is a harmonized system code that’s used to classify and track international shipments. You can find the HS code for your products on the website of the World Customs Organization.
The packing list is a document that lists all of the items in your shipment, their dimensions, and their weight. This is a helpful document for customs officials to have because it helps them verify the contents of your shipment.
The bill of lading (B/L) is a document that’s used when shipping by sea. It acts as a contract between the shipper and the carrier, and it lists the products being shipped, their destination, and other important information. The B/L also serves as a receipt for the goods once they’ve been loaded onto the vessel.
customs clearance
Customs clearance is a critical part of the freight forwarding process. When importing or exporting goods, it’s important to make sure all necessary paperwork is in order. This can be a complex process, so it’s important to work with an experienced freight forwarder who can help ensure everything goes smoothly.
Honourocean is freight forwarding company china ,we can arrange customs clearance in both china and your local country.
Of course, if you need other shipping methods, such as air freight, or railway freight, you contact our team too.