Transit times are subject to your supplier’s location.

China to the UK shipping time

• Southern China – Guangzhou/Shenzhen: 25-28 days on the water. We would recommend that you allow a total of 6 weeks from door to door (from the supplier’s factory to your delivery address).
• Central China – Shanghai/Ningbo: 28-32 days on the water. Allow a total of 7 weeks from door to door.
• Northern China – Qingdao/Tianjin/Xingang: 32-35 days on the water. Allow a total of 8 weeks from door to door.

India to the UK shipping time

Many suppliers are based in New Delhi, 1000km from the nearest sea, thereby adding extra process time before the goods reach the water.

• Western India – Mumbai: 19-22 days on the water. From Western India to the UK, approximate transit time is 5 weeks.
• Eastern India – Kolkata: 27-29 days on the water. Approximately 6 weeks in total.

Australia to the UK shipping time

Due to Australia’s considerable size – a ship will take over a week to cross from the East to the West coast – and positioning on the opposite side of the globe means that shipping time is a lot higher than most common countries. It typically takes: 

40-50 days on the water, often transshipping at Singapore. Door to door delivery will often take 9 weeks.

America to the UK shipping time

The shipping time varies considerably when importing from the USA as it depends on which coast you are shipping from.

• East Coast – New York: 10-14 days on the water. Door to door will take around 4 weeks.
• West Coast – Los Angeles: 30 days on the water. Door to door will take roughly 6 weeks.

Transit process

When working to a schedule it is vital that you know the transit time so you can plan accordingly.

1. Completion at the factory

Your goods will be waiting at the factory. The supplier may be responsible for arranging their transportation to the port, depending on the agreed shipping terms. If you’re working on EXW shipping terms you will be responsible for arranging the delivery of the shipment to the port and the supplier will simply leave the packaged products in their factory for you to collect.

2. Moving to port

It usually takes about a week before your products are onboard the vessel, including customs clearance, loading them into a container in a warehouse, and being transported to the quay before being loaded.

3. On the water

The main amount of time spent in transit is whilst on the ship, known as “transit time” of the shipment. This can vary considerably depending on where you are importing from.

4. The ship has landed

When the vessel lands the goods will follow the same procedure it went through at the original port, but this time in reverse. This usually takes another seven days.

To summarise, when importing products from China to deliver at your premises it will take approximately six weeks. It is advisable to add in an extra week to your estimation as production schedules can run over.