Shipping kitchenware from Ningbo without losing the margin
Kitchenware is bulky, light and cheap per kilogram — the worst combination for freight. This page is the maths we run before quoting, so you can sanity-check any supplier’s numbers.
- FOB
- Ningbo, Zhejiang
- LCL
- from ~1 CBM, W/M basis
- ÷6000
- volumetric divisor, air & courier
- 12–30
- days production, then sea transit
Incoterms: what FOB actually includes
We quote FOB Ningbo by default because it is the term most buyers can compare across suppliers. Everything before the ship’s rail is ours; everything after it is yours — but the split matters, so here it is in plain language.
| Term | Supplier pays up to | Buyer pays from | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Nothing — you collect from the factory or our warehouse | Inland haulage, export clearance, everything else | You already have a forwarder in China and an export licence |
| FOB Ningbo | Production, export packing, inland haulage, export customs clearance, terminal charges to the rail | Ocean freight, insurance, import clearance, inland delivery | Default — easiest to compare quotes |
| CIF | Everything to FOB, plus ocean freight and insurance | Import clearance and inland delivery to door | You want one number and do not mind a markup inside the freight |
| DDP | Everything including import duty and final delivery | Nothing | Small trial shipments, or when you want a landed-cost benchmark |
LCL or a full container
- Under about 12–15 CBM
- LCL. You pay for the space you use plus fixed local charges at both ends, so very small shipments carry a disproportionate share of documentation and terminal fees.
- Around 15 CBM and above
- A 20′ container usually becomes cheaper than LCL once the fixed charges are counted. Run both numbers before you book.
- Full container
- We load mixed cartons across categories into one container, which is the normal pattern for a distributor opening a kitchen range. Loading plan and a per-carton mark list are supplied before loading.
- Consolidation
- If your order is under MOQ for one item but you want the full range, we can mix categories to reach an economical volume instead of forcing you into a container you cannot fill.
Volumetric weight: where dining sets quietly double their cost
LCL is charged on a weight-or-measure basis (W/M): the carrier takes whichever is greater, either the actual tonnage or the volume in cubic metres converted at roughly 1 CBM = 1,000 kg. Kitchen and cleaning items are light and bulky, so the CBM almost always wins and the volume is what you are really buying.
For air and courier the divisor is different and equally brutal: chargeable weight is the greater of actual weight and volume ÷ 5,000 or ÷ 6,000, depending on the carrier. A carton of stacking containers can bill at three times its real weight.
That is why our carton dimensions and per-unit CBM are published on every product row. Two suppliers can quote the same unit price with a 30% gap in landed cost purely because one uses a more efficient carton.
Volume-reduction options we use where the product allows: nesting and stacking in the mould design, vacuum compression for soft goods (can cut shipped volume by 50–80% on textiles and sponges), and knocking down rigid items to flat-pack. Each one changes the packing list, so confirm it before production rather than before loading.
Indicative sea transit from Ningbo
| Destination port | Sea transit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney / Melbourne | ≈ 14–22 days | Direct and transhipment services; peak season adds dwell time |
| Auckland | ≈ 18–26 days | Often transhipped; biosecurity inspection can add days for wood and bamboo |
| Jebel Ali, UAE | ≈ 18–26 days | High frequency sailings, straightforward documentation |
| Singapore / Port Klang | ≈ 7–12 days | Shortest run in the region, good for restocks |
| Laem Chabang / Ho Chi Minh | ≈ 8–14 days | Fast restock cycle, watch for port congestion at peak |
| Apapa / Tincan, Nigeria | ≈ 30–45 days | Add demurrage risk to your landed-cost model, not to ours |
Charges that appear after the quote
- Origin: terminal handling, documentation, export declaration, and where applicable a container imbalance or peak-season surcharge.
- Ocean: bunker adjustment factor and any emergency surcharge. These are pass-through costs, and a supplier who quotes "all-in freight" for a year is either absorbing or hiding them.
- Destination: terminal handling, customs clearance, inspection, and in some markets a quarantine or standards fee.
- Time-based: demurrage and detention if the container is not returned promptly, plus storage after the free days. These are avoidable — the timeline below is designed to prevent them.
The order-to-delivery timeline
| Stage | Typical duration | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Quotation and clarification | 1–3 days | Us |
| Sample, if required | 5–10 days plus transit | Us |
| Order confirmation and deposit | 1–2 days | You |
| Production | 12–30 days depending on category and customisation | Factory, monitored by us |
| Pre-shipment inspection | 1–2 days | Third party or our inspector |
| Booking and loading | 3–7 days | Us and the forwarder |
| Sea transit | See table above | Carrier |
| Import clearance and delivery | 2–7 days | You and your broker |
Questions on this page
Short answers with the number or the constraint attached, so they are useful without a follow-up email.
Can you quote CIF or DDP instead of FOB?
Yes. FOB is our default because it is transparent and comparable, but we will quote CIF on request, and DDP for trial shipments where you would rather see one landed number. Ask for both and compare — the gap is normally your forwarder’s margin plus local charges.
What is the smallest shipment you can send?
For trial orders we ship LCL from about 1 CBM, and for a first sample order just a courier parcel. What we will not do is pretend a 0.3 CBM shipment is economical — below that, courier or a consolidated air shipment is usually cheaper once destination fixed charges are counted.
Do you handle customs clearance at destination?
We do not clear goods in your country — that needs a local licence and a local entity. We prepare the commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and test reports in the format your broker asks for, and we answer their questions directly if that saves you a day.
How do you avoid demurrage on our side?
By sending the documents and the loading photos before the vessel sails, and by telling you the free-time window in writing at booking. Demurrage is nearly always a documentation timing problem rather than a shipping problem.
Send the specification you need quoted
Send the items, quantities and destination market. If the specification is not settled yet, send the categories and we will answer with the ranges that apply.
Reply within 24 hours (Mon–Sat)