Air or sea, the route is chosen to balance cost, speed and reliability for your cargo.
- Sea (FCL & LCL) and air freight at negotiated, transparent rates
- Routing tuned to your deadline and your margin
- Real-time tracking from origin port to destination
- Cargo insurance options for high-value shipments
Choosing the mode: what actually decides it
The sea-or-air decision is usually framed as cost versus speed, but the more useful question is what the delay costs you. Air freight that prevents a stockout, or lands goods before a season, can be cheaper in net terms than sea freight that arrives after the window closed.
- Sea FCL. A full container, priced per box rather than per cubic metre. Best value once your volume approaches a full load, and the goods travel sealed from origin to destination.
- Sea LCL. Your cargo shares a container. Right for smaller volumes, though per-cubic-metre rates are higher and the extra consolidation and deconsolidation steps add days at both ends.
- Air freight. Days rather than weeks, priced on chargeable weight — the greater of actual and volumetric weight. Suits high-value, low-volume, urgent or seasonal cargo.
- A split shipment. Often the sharpest answer: air a small first tranche to start selling or testing, and send the balance by sea behind it.
Transit times, and the parts nobody quotes
A quoted transit time is usually port-to-port. The number that matters to your business is factory-to-door, and the gap between the two is where schedules go wrong.
Booking and space allocation, inland transport to the origin port, export clearance, the sailing itself, destination clearance and final delivery all consume time. On top of that sit the things that are predictable but easy to forget: Chinese New Year, when factories close for weeks and freight demand spikes before and after; Golden Week; and peak season before Western holidays, when space tightens and rates rise.
As a rough shape, sea freight from China runs roughly 20–40 days port-to-port depending on lane, with air at a few days — but plan against factory-to-door, and build in the calendar.
Insurance is not optional in practice
Carrier liability is limited by international convention and is calculated by weight, not by what your goods are worth. In a loss, it rarely approaches the value of the cargo — which means uninsured freight is an unhedged bet on a container you cannot see.
Marine cargo insurance is inexpensive relative to goods value and covers the gap. For high-value shipments it is not a nice-to-have, and we will quote it alongside the freight rather than leaving you to discover the limit after a claim.
How it works
- 1
Share the cargo details
Dimensions, weight, value, ready date and the deadline that actually matters at your end.
- 2
Compare routings
We price the realistic options — FCL, LCL, air or split — against your deadline and your margin.
- 3
Book and collect
Space booked, inland transport arranged from the factory, export clearance handled.
- 4
Track in transit
Live status from origin port to destination, with proactive flags if a schedule slips.
- 5
Clear and deliver
Destination clearance and final-mile delivery to your warehouse, store or site.
Frequently asked questions
How long does sea freight from China take?
Roughly 20–40 days port-to-port depending on the lane, plus inland transport, clearance at both ends and final delivery. Plan against factory-to-door rather than the port-to-port figure in a quote.
Is LCL always cheaper than FCL?
No. LCL is priced per cubic metre and carries fixed handling at both ends, so as volume rises there is a crossover point where a full container costs less outright — and moves faster, because it skips consolidation and deconsolidation.
What is chargeable weight for air freight?
Airlines charge on the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight, which converts the space your cargo occupies into a weight figure. Light, bulky goods are therefore priced on volume, not on what the scale says.
Should I ship FOB or DDP?
FOB gives you control of the freight and visibility of what is declared at destination. DDP quotes one convenient number but hands the import declaration to your supplier. For most buyers who want control of landed cost, FOB is the better starting point.
Do you insure cargo?
Yes, and we recommend it. Carrier liability is capped by weight under international convention and rarely reflects cargo value, so insurance covers the difference for a small fraction of the goods value.
Kaiz La works across Hong Kong, China, India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Requirements and duty rates differ by destination — tell us where the goods are going and we will confirm what applies to your product.