Full container
The cheapest cost per unit once you fill a box. We plan the cubic load with the factory so you ship air, not empty space, in a 20-foot or 40-foot high cube.
- Best for Volume & weight
- Transit 18–34 d
- Minimum 1 × 20'
Home / Freight
The freight is not a separate company
We book the vessel, the aircraft or the train out of South China with the same team that sourced the goods and inspected them. One landed cost, one document set, one person who answers when the schedule moves.
FCL / LCLOcean freight out of Nansha, Yantian and Shekou
4–7 dAir freight from Hong Kong or Guangzhou
20–26 dChina to Europe by rail
DDPDelivered, cleared and duty paid at destination
Modes
Pick the mode by cash flow, not by habit
The right answer depends on the value density of the cargo and on how long your money can sit on the water. A pallet of grips and a pallet of rackets do not belong on the same ship.
Groupage
For a first order or a trial run that does not fill a container. Slower at destination because the box has to be de-consolidated, and that step is where most delays actually happen.
- Best for Trial orders
- Transit +5–10 d
- Minimum 1 cbm
Air freight
Expensive per kilo and worth every cent when a season is at stake. Out of Hong Kong or Guangzhou, four to seven days door to door, with the same document set.
- Best for High value, urgent
- Transit 4–7 d
- Minimum 45 kg
China–Europe rail
The middle option that most importers forget. Roughly half the sea transit to Europe at a fraction of the air cost, when the calendar slipped but not catastrophically.
- Best for Europe, mid-urgency
- Transit 20–26 d
- Minimum LCL / FCL
Courier
Samples, spare parts and the racket you need in your hand before you approve two thousand of them. Three to five days, customs included, priced per kilo.
- Best for Samples
- Transit 3–5 d
- Minimum 0.5 kg
Multi-supplier consolidation
Four factories, four cities, one container. We receive, check, re-palletise and load in our Guangzhou warehouse, which is usually the single biggest saving on the whole quote.
- Best for Many suppliers
- Free storage 14 d
- Minimum 2 suppliers
Lanes
The corridors we run every week
Indicative port-to-port transit. Real timing depends on the carrier, the season and how fast your broker clears at destination.
| Lane | Mode | Transit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guangzhou → Los Angeles | Sea FCL | 18–24 d | West coast, fastest Pacific option. Congestion returns every peak season. |
| Shenzhen → Manzanillo | Sea FCL | 24–30 d | Main gateway for Mexico and inland Latin America. |
| Guangzhou → Valencia | Sea FCL | 28–34 d | Suez routing. Watch the Red Sea diversions, which add ten to fourteen days. |
| Guangzhou → Santos | Sea FCL | 32–40 d | Brazil. Documentation is checked hard, so the paperwork has to be right the first time. |
| Guangzhou → Jebel Ali | Sea FCL | 16–21 d | Gulf hub, and the usual transhipment point for the wider region. |
| Hong Kong → São Paulo | Air | 4–7 d | Season rescue for high-value cargo. Priced per chargeable kilo. |
| Guangzhou → Duisburg | Rail | 20–26 d | China-Europe rail. Roughly half the sea transit, a fraction of the air cost. |
Consolidation
The cheapest freight is the box you did not have to book twice
Most importers buying several categories in China pay for three half-empty LCL shipments because their suppliers sit in three different cities. We collect from all of them, inspect on arrival at our warehouse, re-palletise for cubic efficiency and load one container. The saving is usually larger than the entire sourcing fee.
- Collection from factory
- Arrival check
- Re-palletising
- Cubic optimisation
- 14 days free storage
- Loading photos
Documents & customs
Cargo does not get stuck at sea. It gets stuck on paper.
A wrong HS code, a packing list that does not match the invoice, a certificate of origin issued for a different consignee: each one is a week of demurrage and a phone call you did not budget for. We prepare the set, check it against the destination requirement, and give your broker something they can actually file.
- Commercial invoice
- Packing list
- Bill of lading / AWB
- Certificate of origin
- HS classification
- Fumigation / ISPM-15
- Test reports
Cargo insurance is arranged for you through licensed underwriters. Laikan is a forwarder and a sourcing company, not an insurer, and we will always tell you what the policy does and does not cover before you sail.
Incoterms
Where your risk starts, in one line
The Incoterm is not a formality. It decides who pays the port charge, who carries the risk when the box falls off the crane, and who is standing at customs when something is missing. These are the four we use most.
EXWYour risk from the factory gate. Cheapest on paper, most expensive in practice.
FOBWe handle everything up to the ship's rail in China. The default for most importers.
CIFFOB plus the ocean freight and insurance to your destination port.
DDPDelivered to your warehouse, cleared and duty paid. The price you approve is the price you pay.
Rail
The option most importers forget exists
When the vessel is too slow and the aircraft is too expensive, the train from China to Europe covers the middle. Twenty to twenty-six days to Duisburg or Madrid, at a cost that sits between the two, and it does not care what the Red Sea is doing this month. It is the mode that saves a season that slipped by three weeks.
- 20–26 days to Europe
- FCL or LCL
- Not affected by Suez
- Weekly departures
Freight questions
What importers ask before they book
Can you handle freight if we sourced the goods ourselves?
Yes. We collect from your factories, consolidate in Guangzhou, prepare the documents and ship. Many clients start with us this way and later ask us to inspect the goods before they are loaded, which is the point where the freight actually becomes safe.
Why is my quote different from the online rate I saw?
Because an online rate is usually the ocean leg alone. The real cost includes origin handling, documentation, destination terminal charges, customs and delivery. We quote the landed cost so nothing arrives as a surprise on the invoice.
What happens if the vessel is delayed?
We tell you the day we know, not the week after. If the delay puts a season at risk we will price the air or rail alternative immediately so you can make the decision while it still helps.
Do you arrange cargo insurance?
We arrange it through licensed underwriters, and we explain what the policy covers. We are not an insurer, and we do not pretend to be one. For fragile cargo such as tempered glass, the packing standard matters more than the policy.
Can you deliver DDP to my warehouse?
Yes, in most of our main markets. On DDP we handle destination clearance and duty through our agents. It is the simplest option for a buyer who wants one number, and it is the only one where the quoted price is genuinely the final price.
Who classifies the HS code?
We propose it and your broker confirms it, because the duty depends on it and the responsibility is yours at destination. Getting this wrong is the most expensive administrative mistake in importing, and it is completely avoidable.
Send us the cargo and the destination.
Volume, weight, incoterm and port. We come back with the mode, the transit and the landed cost.
Ask for a freight quote