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When air freight China to Singapore makes sense
Air is for deadlines, high-value goods and the restock that has already run out. Samples that must be on a stand before a trade show, electronics, urgent replacement parts, a product line your shop has sold through: anything where a fortnight at sea costs you more than the freight does. Your supplier delivers to our air freight warehouse in Shenzhen; we consolidate, fly it to Singapore, clear customs and deliver to your address in 3–5 days.
Two honest limits. First, if you have a single parcel, an express courier is the right tool: Shiplet does not offer express courier or single-parcel service. We book consolidated commercial cargo onto carriers as an agent, on one route, China to Singapore, by air and by sea. Second, if the goods can wait about two weeks, sea LCL at S$82 per CBM is usually the better trade for anything bulkier than a few cartons. The guide to shipping from China to Singapore compares the two across the whole route.
How air freight is priced: chargeable weight
Air freight is not charged on what your cargo weighs. It is charged on chargeable weight, which is the greater of two numbers: the actual gross weight, which is what the scale says, and the volumetric weight, which is the space the cargo takes up expressed in kilograms. Volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres, divided by 6000, per carton, added up across the shipment. Whichever of the two is higher is the figure your quote is built on.
Our published rate is from S$6.50 per kg of chargeable weight for general cargo, hub to door, with a 10 kg minimum. Anything under the minimum is billed as the minimum, which comes to S$65. The rate is indicative until it is on your confirmed quote; nothing is booked and nothing is payable until you accept it.
Worked example 1: light and bulky
Ten cartons of cushion covers, each 60 × 40 × 50 cm and 4 kg. On the scale that is 40 kg. Volumetrically, 60 × 40 × 50 ÷ 6000 = 20 kg per carton, so 200 kg for the ten. The chargeable weight is 200 kg, five times the actual weight, and the indicative freight is 200 × S$6.50. This is the case where air bites hardest, and the case where sea, priced on the same 1.2 CBM of volume at S$82 per CBM, is dramatically cheaper if the deadline allows it.
Worked example 2: dense
Now ten cartons of the same size full of ceramic tiles at 25 kg each. Actual weight is 250 kg; volumetric weight is still 200 kg. The chargeable weight is 250 kg, and the indicative freight is 250 × S$6.50. Same boxes, different answer. Dense goods pay for their weight, light goods pay for their space, and the chargeable weight calculator works out both figures from your carton dimensions so you can see which one you are in before you ask for a quote.
Worked example 3: 300 kg
Twelve cartons of 50 × 40 × 30 cm at 25 kg each: 300 kg on the scale. Volumetrically, 50 × 40 × 30 ÷ 6000 = 10 kg per carton, 120 kg for the twelve, so the chargeable weight is the actual 300 kg and the indicative freight is 300 × S$6.50. By sea the same cartons are 0.72 CBM, and the 300 kg counts as only 0.6 CBM at 500 kg per CBM; both are under the 1 CBM minimum, so it is billed as 1 CBM, which is S$82. Bulkier cartons could push the volumetric weight past 300 kg, and then that figure sets the air price.
Tell us what you're shipping.
Tell us what you're shipping and roughly how big. Your instant quote appears as you type, you get a reference number immediately, and the confirmed quote follows in writing within a few hours.
What the air freight rate includes and excludes
The per-kg rate is a hub-to-door figure for general cargo. This is what is inside it and what is not.
| Item | In the rate? |
|---|---|
| Receiving and carton check at our air freight warehouse in Shenzhen | Included |
| Consolidation of several suppliers' cartons into one consignment | Included |
| Air freight to Singapore | Included |
| Singapore import permit and customs clearance, lodged by us as Declaring Agent | Included |
| Delivery to your Singapore address | Included |
| Cargo cover at declared invoice value | Included |
| GST at 9% on the import value, and duty on dutiable goods | Not includedPassed through at cost |
| Collection from your supplier to the warehouse | Not includedYour supplier delivers to us, or we quote a pickup separately on request |
| Storage at the Shenzhen warehouse | Terms confirmed when you book |
| Special handling: stairs, timed delivery, unpacking | Not includedQuoted if you need it |
| Goods that are not general cargo (batteries, liquids, powders, magnets, aerosols) | Charged at a higher published rate than general cargo, subject to carrier acceptance — contact us before your supplier ships |
Cargo cover means that if cartons go missing in transit you are compensated in full at the declared invoice value; damage is assessed case by case. If the delivery address has stairs and no lift, or you need a fixed delivery window, say so when you ask for the quote so it is priced rather than discovered on the day.
Transit time and departures
Air freight takes 3–5 days hub to door: from the day your cargo leaves our Shenzhen warehouse to the day it is delivered to your Singapore address, with the import permit and customs clearance done inside that window. We never quote airport-to-airport transit times, because cargo sitting at Changi is no use to you until it has been cleared and delivered.
Air cargo is received at our air freight warehouse in Shenzhen, not at the Foshan hub that handles sea cargo. It receives Mon–Sat, 8:00am – 5:00pm, except public holidays. Departures run Monday to Saturday, and cargo received at the warehouse on a working day leaves on the next working day. If you are consolidating from several suppliers, the clock starts when the last carton is in. Give your suppliers the address below, in Chinese, exactly as written. The transit times guide shows the next departure and ETA for today.
Give this address to your supplier
Address in Chinese — this is what your supplier needs
When you book, you get a marking code like WHL/SHIPLET/K7M3P. Ask your supplier to write it on every carton.
Receiving hours
Mon–Sat, 8:00am – 5:00pm
Closed Sundays & public holidays
Documents, GST and payment
Two documents cover almost every air shipment: a commercial invoice (what the goods are, the quantity, unit price, total value and currency) and a packing list (carton count, dimensions and weights). For air the weights matter as much as the dimensions, because both go into the chargeable weight. Once you accept your confirmed quote we email you a link to upload both, and the permit is lodged without delay.
GST at 9% is charged on the import value, which Singapore Customs defines as the CIF value: the cost of the goods plus insurance and freight, plus duty if any. An air shipment valued below S$400 is not charged GST. Duty applies only to liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products. We lodge the permit as Registered Declaring Agent, pay the GST at clearance and pass it through at cost. The value declared must be the real invoice value. The GST and customs clearance guide has the detail, and the rules are on Singapore Customs' GST page.
You pay when your cargo reaches Singapore, before we deliver it, by PayNow or bank transfer: the freight and the GST together. We take no card details and no deposit.
Batteries, liquids, powders, magnets, aerosols: contact us before shipping
Anything with a battery, a liquid, a powder, a magnet or an aerosol needs dangerous-goods checks before it can fly, and some of it cannot go by air at all. Tell us exactly what the goods are before your supplier sends them to the warehouse. For many of these items sea is the practical route. The restricted goods guide lists what needs what.
Sea vs air from China to Singapore
The choice is usually made by the deadline and by how dense the goods are. This is how the two compare on the same route with Shiplet.
| Sea LCL | Air freight | |
|---|---|---|
| Priced on | Volume: S$82 per CBM | Chargeable weight: from S$6.50 per kg, general cargo |
| Minimum | 1 CBM | 10 kg |
| Transit, hub to door | 10–14 days | 3–5 days |
| Departures | Monday to Saturday | Monday to Saturday |
| Suits | Bulky, light or low-value goods; anything that can wait a fortnight | Deadlines, high-value goods, dense small consignments, restocks that ran out |
| Batteries, liquids, powders, magnets | Often the practical route; contact us before shipping | Dangerous-goods checks first; contact us before shipping |
| Permit, clearance, Singapore delivery | Included | Included |
| GST | 9% on the import value, paid on arrival in Singapore | 9% on the import value, paid on arrival in Singapore |
For the cushion covers above, sea wins on cost by a wide margin and loses about ten days. For the tiles, air is charged on real weight, so the gap is narrower but still there. The sea freight guide covers the LCL side in the same detail as this page.
Getting an air freight quote
Send the carton dimensions and weights through the quote form. The instant quote appears as you type and you get a reference number immediately; the confirmed quote follows in writing within a few hours, with the chargeable weight, the all-in figure, the transit window and the next departure. Nothing is booked and nothing is payable until you confirm. If you would rather talk it through first, WhatsApp +65 8162 1037 or email info@empiricalmarine.com; we answer every day, 9:00am to 6:00pm Singapore time.
Frequently asked questions
How much does air freight from China to Singapore cost per kg?
How much does it cost to air freight 300 kg from China to Singapore?
What is chargeable weight?
How long does air freight from China to Singapore take?
What is the minimum for air freight?
Is air freight the fastest way to ship from China to Singapore?
Can you fly batteries or liquids?
Is air or sea cheaper from China to Singapore?
Does the air freight rate include customs clearance and delivery?
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