There are kinds of delivery methods when it comes to shipping from China. But any type of importer or buyer you are, courier logistics is a must for the following two kinds of specific cases.
- A sample or small quantity goods transportation needs a courier
- Original shipping documents transportation need a courier
With express courier services, you get every package hand-delivered anywhere in the world within 1 week. No need to clear shipments personally if low value, such as under $2,000 for U.S. imports. Besides, you can save on freight charges for smaller package, even more competitive than LCL sea shipping.
As you may know, DHL/FedEx/UPS/TNT (FedEx acquires TNT on May 25, 2016) are the top 4 couriers of the world. All of them have a sizable share of the express market.
Though many Chinese sellers from Aliexpress or eBay choose China Post, Hong Kong Post or EMS as their first worldwide delivery option, the transit time are not so dependable. Especially you are waiting for the documents provided by China vendor, such as original B/Lor Certificate of Origin for customs clearance and pickup.
Time cost and money cost are the two main concerns when you make a decision in international trade business. We had a post comparing what’s the delivery time of different carriers. The conclusion is there’s no big difference of the top 4. Normally all the delivery can be done within one week.
DHL/FedEx/UPS/TNT are famous brands known by people in every country. They have a worldwide shipping network. So choosing either one of them will never be wrong. But if there’s a chance for saving dollars, nobody says no.
So let’s just focus on the rates. If one is cheaper, we can take it as our primary choice. We’ll select the rate from the 4 official websites (all English version) for a comparison.
- DHL – Get Rate and Time Quote
- FedEx – Rates and Transit Times
- UPS – Calculate time and cost
- TNT – Check a Price
Rates comparison
Please note:1. We are assuming some stuff ( ① an envelop with documents or ② a carton with samples) shipping from the same address in China to different countries. Some of the basic parameters are locking down as:
Origin Country: China
Origin Zip: 200001, Shanghai
Documents in an envelop: chargeable weight 0.1 kgs
Samples in a carton: chargeable weight 5 kgs, and customs value US Dollar $200
2. The destination countries we choose in this case study are:
- 90001, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- 20001, Hamburg, Germany
- 4029, Durban, South Africa
- 20001, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 2000, Sydney, Australia
3. Each courier may have different delivery variables and options to choose from, such as International First/Priority/Economy, so it’s difficult to make an apples to apples comparison. Since we have explained the time issue above (within one week), we’ll look only into the cheapest one.
4. All prices are calculated by each official tool online on the same day. Lower negotiated rates or discounted rates from any sources are not taken into account.
Let’s compare the published rates offered by the 4 officials.
Courier to United States
DHL
Envelop price: CNY290.33 (USD46.69)
Parcel price: CNY1305.87 (USD210)
* The currency unit is only available for the original country. 1CNY=0.1608USD
FedEx
Envelop price: USD53.53
Parcel price: USD200.29
UPS
Envelop price: USD53.7
Parcel price: USD213.38
TNT
Envelop price: USD55.14
Parcel price: USD259.45
We put the data into a table as below.
| China - U.S. | DHL | FedEx | UPS | TNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documents in an envelop | 46.69 | 53.53 | 53.7 | 55.14 |
| Samples in a carton | 210 | 200.29 | 213.38 | 259.45 |
Conclusion
If you are in America or Canada, try DHL/FedEx/UPS.
Courier to Germany
| China - Germany | DHL | FedEx, | UPS | TNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documents in an envelop | 49.54 | 68.70 | 75.68 | 49.02 |
| Samples in a carton | 236.28 | 232.55 | 257.39 | 231.71 |
* UPS Worldwide Expedited has the lowest price of USD189 with time cost 10 days.
Conclusion
If you are in Europe, try TNT.
Courier to South Africa
| China - South Africa | DHL | FedEx | UPS | TNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documents in an envelop | 87.08 | 84.62 | 54.33 | N/A |
| Samples in a carton | 394.43, | 246.86 | 272.76 | N/A |
Conclusion
If you are in Africa, try FedEx/UPS.
Courier to Brazil
| China - Brazil | DHL | FedEx | UPS | TNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documents in an envelop | 87.08 | N/A | 54.33 | N/A |
| Samples in a carton | 394.43 | N/A | 272.76 | N/A |
* UPS Worldwide Expedited has the lowest price of USD189 with time cost 10 days.
Conclusion
If you are in South America, try UPS/DHL.
Courier to Australia
| China - Australia | DHL | FedEx | UPS | TNT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Documents in an envelop | 43.26 | 46.72 | 44.96 | 43.66 |
| Samples in a carton | 196.84 | 132.13 | 189.02 | 198.42 |
* UPS Worldwide Expedited has the lower price of USD143.12 with time cost 9 days.
Conclusion
If you are in Australia, try DHL/FedEx.
10 tips from practical experiences
We work with top of the world’s most trusted courier companies, meaning you can always be sure that your documents, parcels or samples are in good hands, no matter how far around the world they are travelling.A lot of people would think that international shipping is a complicated and expensive task before they come to us. This doesn’t have to be the case and you might just be surprised at how easy it is using the cheap courier services available from us.
We offer a range of postage options, so you can choose the one that best suits your package and bank balance. Besides, we’d love to share our experiences, but as you know, different destinations and unlimited weight/volume data make it harder to sum up many basic rules. So just a few below.
1. First of all, find a courier agent, hopefully us. As you may know, prepaid is always cheaper than collect. Prepaid through a broker, which is the super VIP of the carrier, is the key point to save money on courier shipping.
2. DHL vs. UPS
- ＜5.5kgs, DHL win
- 6-21kgs, UPS win
- 21-100kgs, DHL win
- ＞100kgs, UPS win
4. We don’t recommend TNT if you are out of Europe or Middle East.
5. Most big businesses just pick one carrier and focus on them, because it has much bigger discounts on pricing, while small and medium businesses tend to utilize two to three carriers to maximize cost savings.
6. Fuel oil surcharge / fuel adjustment factor range from 10% to 25%, and update on a monthly basis. So our quote can valid till the end of the month.
7. The total length (length+width*2+height*2) should be less than 330cm. And the weight should be less than 70kg per package for the best available rate.
8. Use reinforced cartons and take care of the packing quality.
Note: The carrier uses advanced laser scanning machines to calculate the volume of packages. This means, even a small bulge in your cartons can lead to a significant difference in volume.
9. The trade term between you and your supplier should be FOB, which is for your best interest if other shipping methods, but EXW for courier shipments.
10. There are special lines for some specific destination and specific weight. Such carriers are not so famous, but also reliable and more cost-effective.
No comments:
Post a Comment