How long it takes to get goods from a factory in Asia to your customers depends far more on where they are going than on where they are made. A container from China reaches Sydney or Los Angeles in about two to three weeks. The same box takes five weeks or more to reach New York or Rotterdam. Here are the current lead times to the four markets most of our customers sell into, and what is changing them.
Port to port is not door to door
Quoted transit times usually cover the ocean voyage only. Add factory pickup, export clearance, waiting for the sailing, unloading, customs and the final truck, and the real lead time is often one to two weeks longer. The chart shows both for shipments from China.
US West Coast: the fastest way into the US
Direct transpacific services from Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen reach Los Angeles and Long Beach in roughly 14 to 18 days, or 25 to 35 days door to door. From Vietnam allow 20 to 30 days port to port, as many sailings call at a hub first. For warehouses in the Midwest or South, containers usually continue by rail from the West Coast, which can still beat an all-water East Coast routing.
US East Coast: longer, but closer to most customers
All-water services to New York, Savannah and Norfolk through the Panama Canal take about 28 to 35 days from China, or 38 to 50 days door to door. From Vietnam allow 32 to 45 days. The East Coast is the longer sail but puts stock closer to most of the US population, so the right choice depends on where your warehouse and customers are, not just the ocean leg.
Europe and the UK: it depends on the route
Since late 2023 most container lines have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea, adding 10 to 14 days to every voyage. Lines are now returning to the Suez Canal service by service, which brings Shanghai to Rotterdam back to about a month. Until the return is complete, two sailings to the same port can differ by two weeks, so always ask your forwarder which route each booking takes.
Door to door into Germany, the Netherlands or the UK typically runs 37 to 50 days. For urgent, mid-volume cargo, the China–Europe rail service takes about 12 to 14 days by train, at a higher cost per container than sea freight.
Australia: short sailing, strict arrival
Australia is the quickest of the four. Direct sailings from Shanghai to Sydney take about 12 to 16 days, though many regular services run 20 to 27 days, and services that transship through a Southeast Asian hub take longer. Door to door, plan on 22 to 32 days. The extra step is biosecurity: around 8.5% of containers arriving in Sydney from Shanghai need additional inspection, adding 2 to 5 days, so treated timber, clean packaging and correct paperwork matter.
The delays that don’t show in a quote
What to do
- Plan on door-to-door times for each destination, not the port-to-port figure in a quote.
- For Europe, confirm whether each sailing goes via Suez or the Cape before you promise delivery dates.
- Choose the US coast by where your stock needs to be, and compare West Coast plus rail against all-water East Coast.
- For Australia, check packaging materials and documents against biosecurity rules before goods ship.
- Build Chinese New Year into every order placed between now and March.
A 5-page planner with final cut-off dates for the US, Europe and Australia, a week-by-week timeline, a factory closure tracker, LCL and container packing guidance, and checklists.
Talk to us
Bellson Global manages production and shipping from factories in China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia to customers in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK and Europe, and plans every order around real lead times. Get in touch or see what we do.
Sources: GoFreight, Dimerco, JCtrans, Sourcing Pioneer, Topway Shipping, Sino Shipping and Goodhope Freight.
Last updated 7 November 2026. Transit times change with routes, carriers and seasons, so confirm them with your forwarder for each booking.
