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How much does it cost to ship a container to USA?

The price to ship a container to USA ports, of course depends upon the region and country of departure and the shipping distance involved.

Furthermore, container freight rates are variable, fluctuating in line with seasonal demand and other aspects such as the size of the container (20-foot or 40-foot), available vessel capacity, and carriers’ itineraries and schedules.

As a very rough guide, rates can start as low as $750 (USD) and run all the way up to $6,500 or more.

How much does it cost to ship a 20-foot container?

To ship a 20-foot container to the USA, depending on the route, you should budget for an average price from $750 to $3,000 (USD).

How much does it cost to ship a 40-foot container?

Again, the cost to ship a 40-foot container to the USA will depend on where you are shipping from, but it’s reasonable to plan for an average price from $750 to $5,000 (USD).



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Container shipping rates to USA

At Interworld Freight, we strive to ensure that our shipping rates to USA ports are among the cheapest you will find. That said, the only way to get an accurate and current price for your shipment is to obtain a quote, due to the fluctuating nature of container shipping rates.

When providing you with a quote, we can also help you determine the right size of container for your freight, and compare rates for shipping 20-foot containers against those for 40-foot containers.

If you’d like some ballpark figures for container freight rates to the USA, purely to give you an idea of cost, you’ll find a few average prices for shipping from different countries in the table below.

Country of Departure
 Container Size FCL Rates From (USD)
Spain 20-foot $ 4.602
Spain 40-foot $ 7.546
Germany 20-foot $ 3.829
Germany 40-foot $ 4.970
Netherlands 20-foot $ 2.891
Netherlands 40-foot $ 3.717
Belgium 20-foot $ 2.607
Belgium 40-foot $ 3.587
China  20-foot $ 4.757
China  40-foot $ 5.939
Argentina  20-foot $ 7.079
Argentina  40-foot $ 7.881
United Arab Emirates 20-foot $ 3.257
United Arab Emirates 40-foot $ 3.865
Brasil 20-foot $ 6.974
Brasil 40-foot $ 7.032
Panama 20-foot $ 2.041
Panama 40-foot $ 2.171

How long does it take to ship a container to the United States?

Average transit times for FCL and LCL container shipping to the USA, like average prices, are dependent on distance as much as anything else, although you also have to consider, for example, how many ports your container’s conveyance will visit en route to your chosen US destination.

Shipments from European ports typically involve the longest transit times, along with those from Asian ports bound for the East coast of the USA. Freight from South and Central America and the Caribbean will involve much shorter transit times.

Take a look at the following table for a guide to average transit times from seven countries for US-bound container freight. 

Country of Departure
 Transit Days
Panama 3 to 13
Spain 30 to 35
Germany 20 to 30
Netherlands 20 to 30
Belgium  20 to 30
China  25 to 35
Singapore 20 to 25

United States container shipping services

Container shipping to the United States of America rarely involves ocean freight transportation alone. At the very least, you’ll need transportation for your shipment from its origin to the port of loading or from the port of discharge to the final destination.

That’s why our comprehensive USA container shipping solutions include options for both road freight and ocean freight, meaning you only need a single partner for all your container logistics needs. 

Ocean

Ocean Freight

For the maritime legs of your shipments, you can choose either full container load (FCL) or less-than-container-load (LCL) shipping.

Road-1

Road Freight

When you need to get your goods moved to and from ocean freight terminals and/or consolidation/deconsolidation centers, our road freight services, which include container drayage, FTL and LTL trucking, make it as simple as can be.

Industry-1

Integrated Shipping for Industry

While container shipping is a standardized practice, goods for some industries require special handling practices and conditions. We offer specialized container services for US imports connected with the following industries:

Ocean freight to USA

There are several benefits of ocean freight that are immensely valuable for commercial shippers and individuals shipping for non-commercial reasons. Perhaps the most important advantages are the following:

  • The ability to choose either full-container-load (FCL) or less-than-container-load (LCL) services.
  • The almost limitless quantity of freight you can transport in a single FCL shipment.
  • The economy of shipping compared with other transportation modes
  • The wide range of goods and materials that you can ship

If you’re wondering why you might choose FCL over LCL shipping or vice versa, it will usually come down to the amount of goods you wish to send to the USA in a single consignment.

FCL shipping is most suitable for large shipments, for example six or more pallets, or more than 15 cubic meters in volume. For quantities smaller than that, many shippers will opt for the LCL, as that’s the lower-cost option for small consignments.

Port-Kingston

Top container shipping routes to USA from Central America

The top five countries in Central America and the Caribbean from which our customers trust us to ship containers into the United States are as follows:

Top Americas container shipping routes from USA

Interworld Freight is one of the largest NVOCCs carrying container freight south from the USA. Our services are especially popular with exporters shipping to the following five countries in the Americas:

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Main ports in United States

There is no shortage of container ports in the United States to land FCL and LCL freight shipments. Interworld Freight serves many of them, including the following 20 key container gateways:

Shipping container to New York 
Shipping container to Newark 
Shipping container to Baltimore
Shipping container to Houston 
Shipping container to New Orleans 
Shipping container to Mobile
Shipping container to Savannah 
Shipping container to Charleston 
Shipping container to Norfolk
Shipping container to Miami 
Shipping container to Oakland 
Shipping container to San Francisco    
Shipping container to Los Angeles 
Shipping container to Long Beach 
Shipping container to Tampa
Shipping container to Port Everglades 
Shipping container to Jacksonville 
Shipping container to Seattle
Shipping container to Tacoma 
Shipping container to Portland

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