On this page
One route, two modes
We do one thing: cargo from China to Singapore, by sea or by air. Sea means LCL, where your cartons share a container, and FCL, where the 20', 40' or 40' high-cube container is yours. Air means general cargo priced on chargeable weight. Express courier and single parcels are outside what we do, and so is any other route. The narrowness is the point: every departure, permit and delivery we handle is on the same lane, so the process is one we run six days a week rather than one we look up.
If you are deciding between sea and air, or between LCL and a full container, the guide to shipping from China to Singapore is the place to start; the sea freight guide and LCL versus FCL go deeper on the sea side.
An agent, not a carrier
A freight forwarder is an agent. We do not own vessels or aircraft; we book your cargo onto the carriers that do, and we take responsibility for the pieces around the freight that a carrier does not touch: receiving and counting your cartons, consolidating them, lodging the import permit, paying the GST at clearance, and putting the goods on a truck to your address. Because we are not tied to one carrier, your shipment goes on whichever departure fits your deadline. It also means the figure we quote is hub to door, never port to port, because a port-to-port price leaves you to sort out the part that actually goes wrong.
Freight forwarder Singapore: what being registered here means for you
You can book China to Singapore freight through an agent in China, an online platform or a forwarder in Singapore. Choosing the Singapore-registered one changes some practical things, and they are the reason this section exists.
- A Singapore company with a UEN. Shiplet is the freight-forwarding brand of Empirical Marine and Trading Pte. Limited, UEN 202418701E, registered office 7 Fourth Lok Yang Road, Singapore 629704. Your invoice, your contract and your recourse are all in Singapore.
- Registered Declaring Agent. We lodge your import permits with Singapore Customs in-house, with no third party in the chain and no waiting in someone else's queue. Singapore Customs explains the role on its Declaring Agent page.
- GST paid at clearance and passed through at cost. GST at 9% is due on the import value. We pay it when the permit is cleared and show it as a separate line on your invoice, at cost, so it is never buried in the freight rate. The GST and customs guide explains the calculation.
- Pay on delivery, in Singapore. Cash or PayNow when the goods are at your door. No card details, no deposit, no paying a stranger overseas before you have seen a carton.
- A Singapore contract. Every shipment is carried on our published Standard Trading Conditions, which set out cargo cover, liability and how a claim is handled, in plain terms you can read before you book.
- Someone who answers. WhatsApp +65 8162 1037 or info@empiricalmarine.com, every day, 9:00am to 6:00pm Singapore time, from quote to delivery.
What we do, and what we do not
| Service | Offered? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sea LCL, China to Singapore | Yes | S$82 per CBM hub to door, minimum 1 CBM, 10–14 days |
| Sea FCL, 20', 40', 40'HC | Yes, quote only | Carrier rates move weekly, so every container is quoted per booking |
| Air freight, China to Singapore | Yes | From S$6.00 per kg on chargeable weight, minimum 10 kg, 3–5 days |
| Consolidation of several suppliers | Yes | All deliver to our Foshan hub; we count, hold up to 5 days free, ship as one |
| Singapore import permit and clearance | Yes | Lodged in-house as Registered Declaring Agent; included in the rate |
| Delivery to a Singapore address | Yes | Commercial, industrial or residential; included in the rate |
| Express courier | No | Not offered |
| Single parcels below 1 CBM | No | The LCL minimum is 1 CBM; below that, the rate does not fit |
| Any route other than China to Singapore | No | Not offered, in either direction |
| Collection from your supplier to the hub | No | Your supplier delivers to us; the rate starts at the hub |
Restricted goods such as batteries, liquids, powders, food, cosmetics, magnets and medicines are accepted in many cases, but the paperwork has to be arranged before the goods are packed. The restricted goods guide lists what needs attention, and the rule is simple: contact us before shipping.
Tell us what you're shipping.
Send the details and any invoice or packing list you have. You get a reference number immediately and a written quote the same business day.
How pricing works
LCL and air are on published rates. Sea LCL is S$82 per CBM, hub to door, with a 1 CBM minimum. Air is from S$6.00 per kg on chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight (length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 6000), with a 10 kg minimum. Both rates include receiving and the carton check at the Foshan hub, consolidation, the freight itself, the Singapore import permit and customs clearance, delivery to your Singapore address, cargo cover at declared invoice value and 5 days' storage at the hub.
Excluded are GST at 9% and any duty, collection from your supplier to the hub, storage beyond 5 days at S$20 per CBM per day, and special handling such as stairs, timed delivery and unpacking. Duty applies only to liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products, so most general cargo pays GST alone.
FCL is quoted per booking. Carrier rates for containers move weekly, and a published container price would be wrong within days of being printed, so we quote each 20', 40' or 40'HC on the day against the carriers' current rates. Every figure, LCL, air or FCL, is indicative until it is on your written quote, and nothing is booked or payable until you confirm that quote. The CBM calculator gives you the volume and chargeable weight, and an indicative figure from the published rates, before you ask.
The Foshan hub and consolidation
Everything we ship passes through our hub in Foshan, Guangdong. Your suppliers, whether one factory or a dozen 1688 sellers, deliver there. We receive each delivery, count the cartons against your packing list and tell you if the numbers do not match, which is when a shortfall is still the supplier's problem rather than yours. Cartons wait free for 5 days while the rest of the order arrives, and the order then leaves as one consignment on the next working-day departure. The hub receives Mon–Fri, 9:00am – 6:00pm (China time) and Sat, 9:00am – 1:00pm (China time); departures are Monday to Saturday.
Consolidation is what makes small orders from several suppliers workable. Five suppliers sending five separate shipments would each hit the 1 CBM minimum; consolidated into one consignment they pay for their combined volume once. The 1688 shipping guide covers the routine for business buyers.
Track record
140,000+ CBM moved and 2,000+ shipments handled, all on this one lane. We count shipments, not sailings, because one departure carries many customers' cargo and the honest measure is how many consignments have gone from a supplier's door in China to a customer's door in Singapore. The about page has the company details.
How to get a quote
- Send the details through the quote request form: what the goods are, roughly how many cartons and how big, where the supplier is, and when they will be ready. Attach the commercial invoice and packing list if you have them. You get a reference number immediately.
- We reply with a written quote the same business day: the mode, the transit band and the all-in hub-to-door figure, with GST shown separately.
- You confirm. Only then is anything booked, and nothing is payable until delivery.
- Give your supplier the hub address. We receive, count, consolidate and ship; you pay on delivery, cash or PayNow, when the goods are at your door.
For a quick question, WhatsApp +65 8162 1037; for documents, info@empiricalmarine.com. Someone answers every day, 9:00am to 6:00pm Singapore time.