China is one of Australia’s biggest and most important trade partners. Through the years, the countries had almost 1 to 1 trade relations. During the last two decades, Australia exported 16.5% more goods to China. The top exported products were iron ore, petroleum gas, and coal briquettes. If you want to export from Australia, in this article, we will take a closer look at ways of shipping from Australia to China.
Shipping from Australia to China – modes of transportation
Sea freight from Australia to China
Sea transport is the best shipping method for those who want to transport heavy goods. As sea shipping has the highest weight limit of all the other ways of transport, shipping products such as petroleum is more profitable. However, you cannot transport goods with a short expiry date, such as pharmaceuticals and food.
For sea transport, the most popular is containerized cargo. You can choose one of the container modes, LCL or FCL.
- LCL (Less Container Load) is the best when you do not have enough product to fill the whole container. With the LCL method, your goods will occupy only a part of the container.
- FCL (Full Container Load) is the best when shipping high-volume goods. FCL will save time and money, as the FCL option is cheaper than the LCL one (a flat rate).
How much does sea shipping from Australia to China take?
Sea freight from Australia to China usually takes 30-40 days.
Main cargo seaports in Australia
- Port Hedland
- Port of Sydney
- Port of Brisbane
- Port of Melbourne
- Port of Fremantle
Main cargo seaports in China
- Port of Shanghai
- Port of Shenzhen
- Port of Ningbo – Zhoushan
- Port of Guangzhou
- Port of Hong Kong
Airfreight from Australia to China
Air transport is most suitable for products with a short expiry date. Because of its high cost, air shipping is the least popular method of transportation. If you decide to ship by air, remember that this method of transportation has a volume limit—your products should fill a maximum of 2-3 pallets. Every aircraft and company has different requirements for the weight limit, but you should remember that transport by plane has more limitations than sea freight.
How long does it take to ship from Australia to China by air?
Air freight is much faster than other modes of transport. Shipping from Australia to China by aircraft takes up to five days, which is better for perishable products or urgent shipments than sea freight.
Main cargo airports in Australia
- Perth International (PER)
- Melbourne International (MEL)
- Sydney International (SYD)
- Brisbane International (BNE)
Main cargo airports in China
- Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG)
- Beijing Capital International (PEK)
- Guangzhou Baiyun International (CAN)
- Shenzhen International (SZX)
- Hong Kong International (HKG)
How much does it cost to ship from Australia to China?
As you can see, both transportation methods have pros and cons. Everything depends on what goods you want to transport, budget, and time. Before making the final decision, check different forwarders and their shipping offers. You can easily do this on ShipHub, where you can get free quotes from reliable freight forwarders. Just fill in the form and wait for the offers to show up.
Shipping from Australia to China – summary
- China is Australia’s one of the most important trade partners.
- There are only two available methods of transport from Australia to China – sea freight and air freight.
- For sea transport, the most popular is containerized cargo, whether LCL (Less Container Load) or FCL (Full Container Load) mode. Sea freight is the least expensive way of transport.
- Airfreight is the best option for shipping valuable goods or products with a short expiry date. It is the most expensive option but also the fastest one.
- Before making the final decision, compare offers from reliable forwarders on ShipHub.
- If you want to know more about shipping to different countries, be sure to check our blog.
