China to Hungary freight rates and market updates — dated log 2026
Rate log compiled 23 September 2026. Ocean, rail, air, express and DDP figures are indicative and must be confirmed at the time of booking.
China to Hungary — freight rate and market updates (dated log, 2026)
Compiled 23 September 2026 from our booking-desk logs and from market quotations shared by carrier and consolidator desks. Ocean and rail rates are per container; air, express and DDP rates are per kilogram. Figures are indicative, are in USD unless stated otherwise, and must be re-confirmed when you book.
For air cargo we recorded 5 service updates to Hungary in 2026, mostly on Shanghai Airlines (FM), China Cargo Airlines (CK), Emirates (EK).
On the China–Europe Railway Express we logged 51 quotations to Hungary in 2026, priced per 40ft container station to station.
Air freight
| Date | Airline | Destination airport | Rate | Space status and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-25 | Emirates (EK) / Qatar Airways (QR) | Budapest (BUD) | — | — |
| 2026-09-08 | China Cargo Airlines (CK) | Budapest (BUD) | — | — |
| 2026-09-10 | China Cargo Airlines (CK) | Budapest (BUD) | — | space open |
| 2026-09-20 | Shanghai Airlines (FM) | Budapest (BUD) | — | — |
| 2026-09-22 | Shanghai Airlines (FM) | Budapest (BUD) | — | — |
Airline promotions and capacity notices
Chronological record of the airline and consolidator promotion notices for China–Hungary air cargo that our quotation desk logged during 2026. Each line records what was being advertised on the day, not a confirmed rate; space, routings and prices move within hours, so treat every entry as market colour and ask us to re-check the flight before you commit cargo.
| Date | Airline | Departure airport in China | Promotion and capacity notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-23 | SF Airlines (O3) | Ezhou (EHU) | Has open space to Budapest (BUD). |
| 2026-07-29 | China Cargo Airlines (CK) | China (not stated) | Has open space to Budapest (BUD). |
| 2026-09-10 | China Cargo Airlines (CK) | Shanghai (PVG) | Offers onward connections to Budapest (BUD). |
Rail — China–Europe Railway Express
| Date | Origin in China | Border crossing | Destination rail hub | Rate | Service notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-24 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 6900 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-03-11 | Zhengzhou | — | Budapest | 1050 USD | — |
| 2026-03-18 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 61250 CNY | carrier-owned container |
| 2026-03-18 | Changsha | Alashankou | Budapest | 8950 USD | carrier-owned container |
| 2026-03-23 | Jinhua | Alashankou | Budapest | 8700 USD | carrier-owned container |
| 2026-04-07 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 8500 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-04-15 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 8500 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-04-15 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 60450 CNY | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-04-16 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 8500 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-04-21 | Shanghai | — | Budapest | 9600 USD | — |
| 2026-04-21 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 63950 CNY | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-04-22 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 9600 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-04-22 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 63950 CNY | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-04-23 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 8750 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-04-28 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 9700 USD | — |
| 2026-05-06 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 8600 USD | — |
| 2026-05-07 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 8600 USD | — |
| 2026-05-20 | Shanghai | Alashankou | Budapest | 8900 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-05-20 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 8600 USD | — |
| 2026-05-22 | Shanghai | Alashankou | Budapest | 8900 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-05-27 | Xuzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9350 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-05-28 | Xuzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 61600 CNY | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-05-29 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 10000 CNY | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-06-02 | Pinghunan | Alashankou | Budapest | 9150 USD | fixed scheduled block train; public block-train service; shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container; routed around the sanctioned zone; LCL rail consolida |
| 2026-06-11 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9450 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-06-12 | Gaoyi | Erenhot | Budapest | 8900 USD | — |
| 2026-06-30 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 64800 CNY | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-07-09 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9350 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-07-15 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 8550 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-07-21 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9200 USD | shipper-owned container; carrier-owned container |
| 2026-07-29 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9200 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-07-29 | Shanghai | — | Budapest | 1300 USD | — |
| 2026-08-03 | Gaoyi | Erenhot | Budapest | 8600 USD | fixed scheduled block train; space available now |
| 2026-08-03 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9200 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-08-03 | Shanghai | — | Budapest | 1300 USD | — |
| 2026-08-04 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9200 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-08-04 | Shanghai | — | Budapest | 1300 USD | — |
| 2026-08-05 | Gaoyi | Erenhot | Budapest | 8500 USD | fixed scheduled block train; space available now |
| 2026-08-06 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9200 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-08-06 | Shanghai | — | Budapest | 1600 USD | — |
| 2026-08-06 | Shanghai | Alashankou | Budapest | 9300 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-08-07 | Gaoyi | Erenhot | Budapest | 8500 USD | fixed scheduled block train; space available now |
| 2026-08-10 | Gaoyi | Erenhot | Budapest | 8500 USD | fixed scheduled block train; space available now |
| 2026-08-12 | Suzhou | Alashankou | Budapest | 9200 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-08-12 | Shanghai | — | Budapest | 1400 USD | — |
| 2026-08-13 | Gaoyi | Erenhot | Budapest | 8500 USD | fixed scheduled block train; space available now |
| 2026-08-17 | Suzhou | — | Budapest | 9200 USD | — |
| 2026-08-19 | Suzhou | — | Budapest | 8900 USD | — |
| 2026-08-27 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 1500 USD | — |
| 2026-09-02 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 9300 USD | shipper-owned container |
| 2026-09-14 | China (as advised) | — | Budapest | 9500 USD | shipper-owned container |
Earlier quotations held in our log (2023–2025)
2024 AIR (1 entries), 2024 RAIL (3 entries), 2025 RAIL (14 entries). Ask our desk for the dated archive if you need to benchmark an earlier period.
Frequently asked questions — shipping from China
The answers below are drawn from the same quotation log as the tables above. Figures are indicative and are reconfirmed at booking.
What does the China–Europe rail service to Budapest cost?
Block-train quotations to Budapest in February to September 2026 ranged from USD 6,900 – USD 9,700 per container. Rail sits between sea and air: typically 18 to 25 days door-to-door to central Europe at a fraction of the air rate. The figure covers the rail leg and, on the services we quote, the customs declaration; pick-up in China and delivery beyond the rail terminal are charged separately.
How long does shipping from China to Hungary take?
Typical port-to-port sailing time from South China is roughly 28 to 42 days; add three to seven days if the cargo loads in North China. Direct services beat transhipment routings by one to two weeks, and schedule reliability, blank sailings and port congestion all move the date. We confirm the actual ETD and ETA against your booking rather than quoting a standard transit time.
What is included in the freight rates shown on this page?
Ocean and rail figures are the port-to-port (or terminal-to-terminal) freight only. They exclude origin handling, export customs, THC and CFS, documentation, destination THC, import duty and final delivery, unless the row names a door-to-door or DDP service. Air figures are airport-to-airport per chargeable kilo and exclude pick-up and delivery. Every figure is indicative until it is confirmed against a specific vessel, flight or train and a cargo ready date.
Can I ship less than a container load (LCL) from China to Hungary?
Yes. LCL groupage is charged per revenue tonne (1 CBM or 1,000 kg, with volume weight taken if it is greater) plus fixed documentation and CFS charges, so it is usually the better option below roughly 15 CBM. Above that a 20GP starts to win on cost per cubic metre. Give us the volume, weight and cargo readiness and we will price both side by side for Hungary.
Do I have to pay import duty and VAT in Hungary?
Import duty, VAT/GST and any destination port charges are assessed by the customs authority in Hungary and are payable by the importer of record, not included in the freight rates on this page. Where we quote a DDP service the duty and tax are absorbed into the per-kilo or per-container price and shown separately on the invoice. We can arrange a landed-cost estimate before you ship if you tell us the HS code, the declared value and the delivery address.
How do I get an exact quote for shipping to Hungary?
Send the commodity, gross weight, volume, the pick-up city in China and the delivery address in Hungary to sales007@goodhopefreight.com. We reply with the applicable service, the named vessel, flight or train, the cut-off and an all-in cost, usually the same working day. If you are weighing up routes, tell us the ready date and we will price sea, rail and air side by side.
Rates, surcharges, cut-offs and equipment availability change daily. Send your commodity, gross weight, volume, the pickup city in China and the delivery address in Hungary and we will confirm the applicable service, sailing or flight and the all-in cost: sales007@goodhopefreight.com.
