FCL Price List of International Shipping from China to the UK

A full container load (FCL) rate card for ocean freight from China to the United Kingdom, covering the two main UK container gateways — Felixstowe and Southampton — from the two reference load ports of Shanghai and Qingdao. The card below reproduces a 2020 tariff so you can see how a China–UK container rate is structured; the commentary underneath explains what determines the final figure and what has to be checked before booking.

FCL rate card: Shanghai and Qingdao to Felixstowe and Southampton

All rates are ocean freight only, quoted in US dollars per container, and exclude origin and destination local charges, customs brokerage, duty and value-added tax.

Read the table by column: the cut-off day is the weekly deadline for delivering the loaded container to the terminal, and transit time is the port-to-port sailing time — it does not include booking, loading, customs clearance or inland delivery in the UK.

Why the rate card uses Shanghai and Qingdao as reference ports

The UK has two principal container gateways, but China has many load ports — among them Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin and Dalian — plus a long list of inland river and rail ports. Listing every China–UK combination would run to hundreds of lines, so the two most representative load ports are shown as a benchmark. From this benchmark you can gauge what a container between China and the UK costs, and then ask us for the sailing that fits your factory location and delivery date.

The same logic applies to the destination: some sailings call Southampton first, others Felixstowe first, and the inland leg that follows is what usually decides which one is cheaper for your consignee.

The UK’s two container gateways: Felixstowe and Southampton

Felixstowe

Felixstowe is one of the five major gateway ports of Europe and handles the largest share of UK container traffic. On the Asia–North Europe loops, COSCO operates the fastest service from South China: the first Europe loop reaches Felixstowe in about 19 days from Shenzhen, where competing carriers (Maersk, ONE, OOCL, MSC and HMM) typically need 25 days or more. Inland connections from Felixstowe cover Birmingham, the Midlands, Manchester, Leeds and Scotland.

Southampton

Southampton is the second UK gateway and the other of the five European base ports. It sits on the south coast, which shortens the feed leg for cargo moving west towards Bristol, South Wales and the Irish Sea, and it feeds the London and Thames Valley market through rail and road.

In other words, the choice between Felixstowe and Southampton is rarely about the ocean leg alone. It is about which port puts your consignee closest to the container once the ship has berthed.

How long does a container take from China to the UK?

Expect roughly 19 to 25 days of sailing time from China to the UK, measured port to port. The fastest South China–Felixstowe loop achieves about 19 days; services that call an intermediate European port such as Rotterdam, Antwerp or Hamburg before the UK add several days. Add booking lead time, the weekly cut-off, UK customs clearance and inland delivery to reach a realistic door-to-door figure.

Reading the rate card: two worked examples

A 40GP container from Shanghai to Felixstowe is quoted at USD 1,300 on the COSCO service, with a Saturday cut-off and about 21 days of sailing. On the same tariff a 20GP container from Qingdao to Southampton is USD 860 on the Maersk service, with a Monday cut-off and 29 days of sailing.

Note how the 40GP and 40HQ rates are usually identical in this tariff, while the 20GP is roughly two thirds of the 40-foot rate. Rates also differ by load port: Qingdao can be cheaper than Shanghai for one destination and dearer for another, depending on which carrier covers the loop and how full the vessel is.

Which cargo the rate card covers

The rates shown are for ordinary goods: furniture, household appliances, stationery, moulds, hardware, textiles, machinery parts and similar commodity cargo. Special equipment is quoted separately, because the container itself is priced differently from a standard dry box:

1. Reefer containers (RF) — temperature-controlled cargo; quotation depends on the set point and the plug availability on board.
2. Flat rack containers (FR) — over-width or over-height machinery and project cargo, usually booked as breakbulk or on-deck.
3. Garment-on-hanger containers (GOH) — used for shipping suits and hanging apparel without folding.
4. Open-top containers (OT) — cargo that must be loaded by crane from above.

Dangerous goods, chemicals, foodstuffs (tea, dried fruit), beverages, garments on hangers and out-of-gauge cargo all need a dedicated quotation. Before a rate can be confirmed we need the actual package count, dimensions, gross weight, commodity and HS code, the loading address, and whether the container is port-to-port or door delivery.

What to check before you book a China–UK container

• Space, not just price. In the peak season before Christmas and Chinese New Year, vessels fill weeks ahead. Waiting for space can cost far more than a few dollars of freight.
• Terminal cut-off. The loaded container must be at the terminal by the weekly cut-off; missed, it rolls to the next vessel.
• Customs closing time. The export declaration in China must clear before the customs closing time, which is earlier than the terminal cut-off.
• Sailing date and routing. Confirm whether the service is direct or calls a transshipment port, and which UK port it discharges at first.
• Origin charges. Trucking to the port, terminal handling, documentation and customs declaration sit outside the ocean freight.
• Destination charges. In the UK, the consignee pays terminal handling, THC, documentation, customs entry and delivery; these are quoted in GBP and are not part of the USD ocean rate.

Why the rate you are given may differ from this card

Two forwarders can quote different numbers for the identical container. The difference usually comes from the agent’s own contract with the carrier and from how much of that contract they pass on. A very large forwarder whose core trade is not the UK may simply not hold competitive UK rates — their volume sits on China–US lanes. A specialist on the China–UK trade keeps a weekly allocation on both Felixstowe and Southampton and can hold a rate for a longer validity window.