Shipping and Delivery
Global trade, shipping and delivery can be an extremely complex task. Not only do you need to choose the right combination (sea, air, rail, express, etc.) to deliver your goods from the place of production to your doorstep, but you also need to be familiar with the trade regulations, transport regulations, costs, times, etc. associated with them. If there is a mistake in any part of this process, it may result in delivery delays, fines and other losses at least, and even illegal actions and sanctions!
But you can have basic peace of mind when you turn your project over to WJPC for production – thanks to WJPC‘s over 10 years of international trade and logistics experience, with exports to more than 200 countries, we can properly help you handle everything from our factory to your doorstep.
Of the many ways to deliver internationally, ocean freight is the most cost effective. It can take a long time and there are no guaranteed delivery dates, but overall the process is very efficient: tons of cargo can be shipped tens of thousands of miles at a relatively low cost. The following is our most common ocean freight process.
Please note: Unless otherwise stated in the order contract, the customer is responsible for all costs involved as follows.
1. Export Customs
Once your shipment is complete, we will assist you in submitting the paperwork to the customs agency and pay the associated documentation fees to prepare for export. Each country has an agency that handles customs and imports, in the case of China it is the General Administration of Customs. These agencies are responsible for regulating all goods entering and leaving their home country, enforcing their country’s trade laws and customs policies, and collecting all applicable duties and taxes.
Tariff charges depend on the contents of your shipment and any applicable duties for that type of product. Some goods may be imported duty-free, while others may be subject to high fees. And in some countries, Value Added Tax (VAT) or GST (Goods and Services Tax) is also levied at different rates depending on the product being imported.
The complexity of handling customs, duties and taxes on any given international shipment depends on the laws and trade agreements between the exporting and importing countries. Countries with free trade agreements can make such transactions easier, while tariffs and duties are often designed to deliberately make it more difficult to import and export certain types of goods economically.
When the above is finished, your goods will depart from our factory and be trucked to the shipping warehouse for consolidation into shipping containers.
2. Loading Into Containers
Upon arrival at the shipping warehouse, your goods will be neatly packed into shipping containers. They are huge steel boxes, usually 40 or 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet high. Because these containers are so standardized, they can be loaded and unloaded onto ocean-going vessels very efficiently. Once the containers are filled, they are sealed and shipped to a bonded customs warehouse for export.
3. Ocean Freight
After passing customs inspection and clearance, the sea container with your goods will be loaded onto an ocean vessel. It will carry thousands of similar containers and then make an ocean voyage from the exporting country to the importing country, eventually arriving at the destination port for unloading. Since there are thousands of vessels and shipping companies, each company and vessel has different charges, speed, and required information. Therefore, please consult us for detailed and accurate shipping information.
Based on our past experience, standard ocean freight takes approximately 5~6 weeks to deliver your goods from China to your country. However, this time can never be guaranteed, as a variety of factors such as complicated customs clearance procedures, variable sea weather, port and vessel capacity, COVID controls, etc. can greatly affect the time it takes to receive your shipment. So to be on the safe side, we recommend that you add a few weeks to your estimated delivery date to allow for these unforeseen events.
To add, here will cover 3 points of time related to CLS (closing date)/ETC (estimated time of closing) – SI cutoff, CY cutoff and Customs Release Script cutoff.
- What is SI cutoff?
SI is Shipping Instruction, which means that before issuing OB/L (Original Bill), we need to send all the information needed on the bill of lading to the shipping company or freight forwarder, and then the BL confirmation will be issued by the bill maker according to the information given. Before that, the BL format and information can be modified several times; after that, modifying will incur additional costs.
This time is not standard, each shipping company has different time. But in general, for ships passing through US routes, SI must be submitted 48 hours before sailing and cargo information must be reported to US Customs through AMS (America manifest system).
- What is CY cutoff?
CY is Container Yard, which refers to the cut-off time for each vessel from picking up a heavy container to returning it, also known as the latest time in port. Because the resources of the terminal and port are limited, each ship has a limited time to operate at the terminal.
This time is usually delayed by half a day from the time of Customs Release Script cutoff. If the time is exceeded, the terminal will refuse to accept your heavy containers. You can try to apply for late come, but usually need to pay extra fee.
- What is Customs Release Script cutoff?
This is the latest time for the shipping company to accept the Customs Release Script. The cargo must be ready for customs release and submit the script to the shipping company by this time.
It is usually at the latest six hours after CY cutoff. If the time is exceeded, the shipping company will treat the cargo as not cleared for release and will not allow it to board the ship.
4. Import Customs
After a container is unloaded from an ocean vessel, it will pass through the customs of the destination country. This is the most unpredictable stage of ocean shipping, as the container is occasionally flagged for random inspection. And depending on the type of inspection, this can cause delays of days or even weeks.
For standard ocean shipments, tracking information is only available after customs clearance at the destination. After that, the container will be delivered to the ground transportation warehouse and you will receive the tracking number for the last section of your shipment.
5. Ground Transportation
In ground transportation warehouses, the goods in containers are separated and labeled, and then transported by train or truck to their final destination. You can choose a professional logistics company such as Fedex, UPS, DHL, etc. to take care of your ground transportation and provide high quality tracking information services.
6. Other transportation
Air transportation is the fastest and most direct way of transportation, but this speed is accompanied by high prices. In general, the customs process is very simple for air cargoes under 50 kg, but for cargoes over 50 kg, the customs process is similar to that of sea freight. If you need this expedited way of transportation, please contact us.
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