Shipping from Asia to USA: Ocean Freight, Air Freight, Costs and Transit Times
Shipping from Asia to USA covers ocean freight, air cargo, and door-to-door consignments moving from manufacturing hubs across China, Vietnam, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore into US ports, distribution centers, and Amazon fulfillment facilities. The transpacific corridor is the busiest commercial shipping lane in the world, and the operational complexity of moving cargo across it determines whether an import program meets margin or loses it. Platton is a US-based freight forwarder built around that complexity, with one specialist, one invoice, and one tracking number per shipment.
Platton runs the lane as one accountable workflow across ocean freight (FCL and LCL), air freight, door-to-door, and customs coordination managed by Platton. One US-based freight specialist owns the file from origin pickup through final delivery, with country-specific tariff and AD/CVD review built into the quote before booking.
Why US Importers Ship from Asia Through Platton
Most importers we onboard run multi-country sourcing across Asia and have moved past the older forwarder model where every origin needs a separate point of contact and accessorial charges only show up at invoicing. Platton consolidates the entire transpacific operation onto one platform with a named specialist on every file.
One platform from factory pickup to US warehouse
Every shipment from any Asian origin runs through one workflow: factory pickup, export clearance, ocean or air transit, US customs entry, drayage, and final-mile delivery. The same dashboard shows live milestones across all your origins at once, so a 40HQ leaving Shanghai and an LCL consolidation leaving Ho Chi Minh City sit in the same view.
Customs clearance
on the same file
Platton coordinates US customs clearance on the same file as the freight. ISF (Importer Security Filing, also called 10+2) is transmitted at least 24 hours before vessel loading at origin, and the US customs entry is filed before vessel arrival so the container clears as soon as it discharges.
Real-time visibility and one point of contact
Vessel rollovers, port congestion, transshipment delays, and customs holds trigger alerts the same hour they happen. Your assigned specialist owns the resolution, including the rebooking conversation with the carrier and the revised ETA your warehouse needs.
Enterprise volume capacity
Platton operates at the volume profile of Fortune-tier importers and public-company supply chains, with allocation across the major Asia-USA ocean carriers and NVOCC contracts covering Northeast, Southeast, and South Asia. Capacity matters most during peak season (June through October) and Lunar New Year recovery, when spot rates spike and smaller forwarders run out of space.
Ocean Freight from Asia to the USA
Ocean freight moves more than 90 percent of the volume on the Asia-USA corridor and is the default mode whenever transit time can be measured in weeks rather than days. Importers choose between FCL (Full Container Load) and LCL (Less than Container Load) based on volume and downstream warehouse alignment.
FCL Shipping
from Asia to USA
Country-specific FCL guides:
LCL Shipping
from Asia to USA
Major Origin and
US Destination Ports
Asia covers three sub-regions, each with its own port profile and US gateway pairing:
Air Freight from Asia to the USA
Air freight fits time-sensitive cargo, high-value goods, and any program where ocean transit will miss a sales window. It costs 4 to 8 times more per kilogram than ocean, and the premium buys 5 to 10 day delivery instead of 18 to 35 days at sea.
Standard Air Freight from Asia
Standard air freight runs on scheduled commercial cargo flights with consolidated handling at origin and destination. Door-to-door transit averages 5 to 10 days from major Asian airports including PVG (Shanghai), CAN (Guangzhou), HKG, ICN (Seoul), NRT (Tokyo), and SGN (Ho Chi Minh City). Pricing is volumetric, applied as the greater of actual or chargeable weight.
Express Air Freight Services
Express air freight uses dedicated capacity and direct routings to compress door-to-door transit to 3 to 5 days. It fits product launches, retail replenishment under SLA pressure, and pharmaceutical or electronics cargo where the inventory cost of an extra week outweighs the freight premium.
Major Airport Pairs from Asia to the USA
High-volume pairs run between Asian export gateways and US gateway airports of LAX, ORD, JFK, ATL, DFW, and SFO. Common pairings include PVG to LAX or ORD for Shanghai general cargo, HKG to LAX or JFK for South China high-value cargo, ICN to LAX or ORD for Korean electronics, NRT to LAX for Japanese auto parts, and SGN or BOM to LAX or JFK for apparel and pharmaceuticals.
Door to Door Shipping from Asia to the USA
Door-to-door is one booking that covers the move from supplier loading dock in Asia to your warehouse, 3PL, or fulfillment center in the US. It rolls supplier pickup, export documentation, ocean or air freight, US customs clearance, drayage, and final-mile delivery into one rate, one invoice, and one accountable owner.
Origin Pickup
and Export Clearance
Platton coordinates empty container pickup at the factory or warehouse, supervises loading where the cargo type calls for it, and seals the container. Packing list, commercial invoice, and bill of lading instructions are validated before gate-in at the origin port.
US Customs Clearance
and Documentation
US customs clearance runs on the same file as the freight. ISF is filed at least 24 hours before vessel loading at origin to avoid the $5,000 non-compliance penalty. Customs entry, HTS classification, duty calculation, and any Section 301, AD/CVD, or Section 232 review are completed before vessel arrival.
Last-Mile Delivery
to Warehouse or Amazon FBA
Drayage pick up the container at the terminal inside the free time window, which keeps demurrage off the invoice. Cargo is delivered to your warehouse, 3PL, distribution center, or Amazon fulfillment center on the appointment booked.
Asia to USA Shipping Transit Times
Transit time on the Asia-USA lane depends on origin sub-region, US gateway, routing (Pacific direct, Panama, or Suez), and whether transshipment is involved. The table below covers major port pairs out of Northeast, Southeast, and South Asia.
Ocean Freight Transit Times by Port Pair
Port-to-port transit times for FCL on direct services. Add 5 to 7 days for LCL deconsolidation at destination CFS, and 2 to 4 days for inland delivery to a non-port warehouse.
Air Freight Transit Times to US Gateways
Standard air freight runs 5 to 10 days door to door, including export handling, flight, US import handling, customs clearance, and inland trucking. Express compresses the window to 3 to 5 days using direct routings and dedicated capacity.
| Sub-region and origin | US gateway | Transit time (days) |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast Asia (Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Hong Kong) | Los Angeles / Long Beach | 12 to 18 |
| Northeast Asia (Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Hong Kong) | New York / New Jersey via Panama | 25 to 35 |
| Northeast Asia (Busan, Yokohama, Kobe, Kaohsiung) | Los Angeles / Long Beach | 12 to 16 |
| Southeast Asia (Cat Lai, Hai Phong, Laem Chabang) | Los Angeles / Long Beach | 14 to 22 |
| Southeast Asia (Tanjung Priok, Port Klang, Singapore) | Los Angeles / Long Beach | 16 to 22 |
| Southeast Asia (Cat Lai, Laem Chabang, Singapore) | New York / New Jersey | 28 to 38 |
| South Asia (Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Chennai) | Los Angeles / Long Beach | 22 to 28 |
| South Asia (Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Chennai) | New York / New Jersey via Suez | 25 to 30 |
| South Asia (Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Chennai) | Savannah via Suez | 23 to 28 |
How Much Does Shipping from Asia to USA Cost?
Shipping cost from Asia to the USA breaks into ocean or air freight, customs duties, and accessorials. The base rate is one line on the quote. Total invoice depends on surcharges, terminal handling, drayage, and tariff exposure on the cargo's country of origin and HTS classification.
How Shipping from Asia to USA Works
The sequence below covers what happens between supplier handoff in Asia and final delivery in the US. Each step has clear ownership, clear handoff criteria, and a milestone visible in the Platton dashboard.
Booking and rate comparison. You provide origin, destination zip, mode, dimensions and weight, ready date, commodity, and Incoterm. Platton returns a comparison of live rates with all surcharges and fees broken out as line items.
Supplier pickup and export documentation. Platton coordinates pickup, supervises loading where required, and validates the packing list, commercial invoice, and bill of lading or air waybill before gate-in.
ISF filing and pre-arrival customs entry. ISF (10+2) is transmitted at least 24 hours before vessel loading. The US customs entry is filed before vessel or aircraft arrival to enable same-day release on discharge.
International transit and real-time tracking. Live milestones surface in the dashboard. Vessel rollovers and flight rebookings trigger alerts with a revised ETA.
US arrival and customs release. Customs release is granted against the pre-filed entry. Duties, MPF, HMF, Section 301, AD/CVD, and Section 232 obligations are paid through the customs entry.
Drayage and inland transport. Drayage pick up the container at the terminal inside the free time window, which keeps demurrage and detention off the invoice.
Final-mile delivery and file closure. Cargo is delivered to your warehouse, 3PL, distribution center, or Amazon fulfillment center on the appointment booked. Empty return closes the file.
Tariffs and Customs on Asia to USA Imports
Tariff exposure on the Asia-USA lane changes sharply by country of origin and HTS classification. Importers running multi-country sourcing across Asia need to model duty layers per origin, not as a single blended rate, because a Section 301 line on Chinese cargo can erase margin on a SKU that ships duty-free out of Vietnam or India.
U.S. Import Duties and
HS Code Classification
HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) classification sets the base duty rate, MPF, HMF, and any preferential treatment under trade programs. Misclassification is the single largest source of post-entry cost adjustments and CBP penalties on the lane. Platton's customs team review the HTS on every line before entry.
Section 301 (China), AD/CVD
by Country, and Section 232 Across Asia
Section 301 duties of 7.5 to 25 percent apply only to Chinese-origin goods on Lists 1, 2, 3, and 4A and do not apply to Vietnam, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, or Singapore. AD/CVD orders are country-specific: Chinese steel, aluminum, and solar; Vietnamese wooden furniture and frozen shrimp; Indian frozen shrimp and steel pipe. Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum apply across Asian origins on covered HTS codes.
How Platton Handles US
Customs Clearance
Platton manages US customs clearance on every Asia to USA shipment on the same file as the freight. ISF, entry summary, AD/CVD review by origin country (Chinese steel, Vietnamese furniture, Indian shrimp, others), Section 232 declarations where applicable, and duty payment all sit on one workflow with one tracking number and one invoice.
Amazon FBA Shipping
from Asia to the USA
Amazon FBA shipments out of Asia run on their own playbook because receiving requirements at the FC, the appointment scheduling system, and labeling tolerances do not move around freight delays. Programs that hit Amazon receiving cleanly are the ones where prep and routing decisions get made before the cargo leaves origin.
FBA Prep and Labeling at Origin or US Warehouse
FNSKU labeling, polybagging, bundle prep, and box content compliance can run at the supplier in Asia or at a US warehouse before final-mile delivery to the FC. Origin prep is the lower-cost option when supplier capability is reliable. US prep is the right call when programs run across multiple Asian suppliers with inconsistent prep standards.
Direct Delivery to Amazon Fulfillment Centers
Platton books LTL and FTL appointments at Amazon FCs across the US network and coordinates delivery against the appointment window the FC issues. ASN compliance, ARN tracking, and pallet-build standards are validated before dispatch.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Shipping from Asia to USA
Ocean freight runs 12 to 18 days from Northeast Asia to Los Angeles, 14 to 22 days from Southeast Asia to Los Angeles, 22 to 28 days from India to Los Angeles, and 25 to 38 days to East Coast gateways. Air freight runs 5 to 10 days standard or 3 to 5 days express, door to door.
FCL ocean freight to the US West Coast runs $1,500 to $3,500 per 40HQ in stable markets and $4,000 to $8,000 in peak season. LCL averages $40 to $90 per cbm port to port. Standard air freight runs $4 to $9 per kilogram on chargeable weight.
Ocean LCL is the cheapest mode for shipments under 13 cbm; FCL gets cheaper above that volume. Air freight is always more expensive per kilogram and is selected for transit speed, not cost.
Express air freight is the fastest mode, with door-to-door transit of 3 to 5 days. Standard air freight runs 5 to 10 days. Ocean freight is the slowest at 12 to 38 days port to port.
Transpacific shipping is the movement of containerized ocean freight across the Pacific Ocean between Asian ports and US or Canadian West Coast ports. It is the busiest commercial shipping lane in the world.
Ship to the West Coast for the fastest transit and lowest ocean rate from Northeast and Southeast Asia. Ship to the East Coast when your distribution network sits east of the Mississippi or when shipping out of India via Suez
Ready to Ship from Asia to the USA?
Platton runs Asia-USA freight as one accountable workflow across China, Vietnam, India, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. One specialist, one invoice, one tracking number per shipment.