How much does it cost to ship from China to Singapore?

1The two published rates

We publish two rates and they are the only two we have. Both are hub to door: from the moment your cartons arrive at our hub in China (Foshan for sea, Shenzhen for air) to the moment they are delivered to your Singapore address, with the import permit and customs clearance done in between. The same figures appear on the pricing page and in the CBM calculator.

Sea LCL is charged by volume: S$82 per cubic metre (CBM), with a minimum of 1 CBM. Your cargo shares a container with other customers' cargo, so you pay for the space you occupy. Heavy cargo is the exception: the charge is on the greater of the volume and the weight at 500 kg per CBM, so 1,000 kg counts as 2 CBM. A shipment smaller than 1 CBM is charged at the minimum, S$82, because a single carton still occupies a slot on the vessel.

Air freight is charged by chargeable weight, from S$6.50 per kg for general cargo, with a minimum of 10 kg. Chargeable weight is the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 6000. Light, bulky cartons are charged on volume; dense cartons on the scale weight. Below 10 kg the minimum charge of S$65 applies.

2Why a full container is quote-only

We do not print a price for a 20-foot, 40-foot or 40-foot high-cube container, and that is deliberate. Carrier rates for full containers move weekly, so any figure printed on a website is wrong within days. Instead we quote each FCL booking when you ask. Send the request through the quote form and you have a reference number immediately; the confirmed quote follows in writing within a few hours, priced on the day's carrier rate. If you are not sure whether your volume justifies a full container, LCL vs FCL explains how to compare the two for your own cargo, and we will quote both side by side.

3What the rate includes and what it does not

The per-CBM and per-kg figures are meant to be the whole freight bill. The list below is the same list that appears on your confirmed quote.

4What you pay on top: GST and duty

Singapore charges GST at 9% on the import value of goods. Singapore Customs defines that value as the CIF value: the cost of the goods, plus insurance, plus freight, plus duty if any. The rules are set out on the Singapore Customs pages on GST on imports and establishing customs value.

Duty is narrower than most importers expect. It applies only to liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products. Everything else is duty-free and still GST-liable. As Registered Declaring Agent we lodge the permit, pay the GST at clearance and pass it through on your invoice at cost. Our GST and customs clearance guide goes into the detail, including why the commercial invoice must show the real value of the goods.

5How to estimate your own cost

You need three things from your supplier: the carton dimensions, the weight per carton and the number of cartons. They are usually on the packing list. With those, the estimate is arithmetic.

1. Work out the CBM. Length × width × height in metres gives the volume of one carton; multiply by the number of cartons. A carton of 60 × 50 × 40 cm is 0.6 × 0.5 × 0.4 = 0.12 CBM, so 25 such cartons are 3 CBM.
2. For sea, multiply by the rate. 3 CBM × S$82 per CBM is your indicative sea freight, hub to door. If the total is under 1 CBM, the S$82 minimum applies instead. If the cargo weighs more than 500 kg per CBM, use the total weight divided by 500 as the CBM figure.
3. For air, find the chargeable weight. A carton of 50 × 40 × 30 cm is 60,000 cubic centimetres, ÷ 6000 = 10 kg volumetric. If it weighs 8 kg on the scale, it is charged at 10 kg; if it weighs 14 kg, at 14 kg. Ten cartons at 10 kg chargeable are 100 kg × S$6.50 per kg.
4. Add GST. Take 9% of the CIF value: goods plus insurance plus freight. That figure is paid to Singapore Customs and passed through at cost.

The CBM calculator does this for any number of carton types at once and shows the indicative figure from the published rates. The import GST calculator adds the tax, and if you are setting our figure against another forwarder's, the six questions on the freight forwarder page make the two comparable.

6Indicative rates, the confirmed quote and how you pay

The published rates, and the instant quote worked out from them, are indicative. The figure you rely on is the one on your confirmed quote, which our team sends in writing within a few hours, after checking your details. Nothing is booked and nothing is payable until you accept that quote. When your cargo reaches Singapore, before we deliver it, you pay the freight plus the GST we paid at clearance, by PayNow or bank transfer. There is no deposit and we do not take card details.

For the whole process from supplier to door, read the China to Singapore shipping guide. The sea freight guide and the air freight guide go deeper into each mode. When you have your carton details, get an instant quote and we will confirm the figure in writing.