What makes up the cost of freight from China
The rate for freight from China changes every day, so there is no fixed price on the site. A quote is built from five factors: the city of dispatch, the truck type, weight and volume, customs and the season. Here is what each one means, and what to send us so that the manager can give you an exact figure.
Distance and city of dispatch
"China" means different starting points in a quote. Urumqi is about 1,800 km from Tashkent, while Yiwu and Guangzhou are 5,700–5,900 km away. We count transit time from loading at the shipper to unloading in Tashkent. That is roughly a week on the road: a full truck takes 6–13 days from Urumqi and 12–21 days from Yiwu and Guangzhou. The further from Urumqi the truck is loaded, the longer the trip and the higher the rate.
The route matters too. We normally go through the Khorgos border crossing between China and Kazakhstan, and if it is congested, there is a fallback route through Kyrgyzstan. The manager agrees the choice with you. For the route and transit times, see the China to Uzbekistan page.
Truck type
Ordinary goods travel in a tilt truck. Temperature-sensitive cargo needs a reefer, oversize cargo needs a low-bed trailer, and dangerous goods need a truck approved under ADR rules plus a safety data sheet (MSDS). These trucks are priced separately from a standard tilt. For container shipments there is a container carrier.
The second choice is between a full truck and groupage. With a full truck you pay for the whole vehicle: a standard truck holds 82–120 m³ and up to 20–22 tonnes. With groupage you pay for your own space on a truck made up of several consignments.
Weight and volume
A full truck usually starts to pay off from 10 tonnes or 40 m³. Groupage is charged by volume or by weight, whichever is greater after conversion, with 1 m³ counted as 250–300 kg. Light but bulky cargo is charged by volume. For example, a 1.2 m³ pallet weighing 200 kg counts as 300–360 kg. So give both weight and volume in your request, not only weight.
Customs
Clearance can be ordered together with the transport or separately. Tell us in the request whether you need it, and we will quote with it included. The full cost of importing is the freight plus duty, VAT and fees, and the last three depend on the goods and the HS code. We select the code from the description of the goods and calculate the payments before dispatch. A wrong code means the cargo is held and the payments are recalculated.
Season
The rate is not the same all year, and it applies on the day of the quote: an order for another date may be priced at another rate. Before holidays in China there are fewer trucks and higher rates. In the busy season it is better to book a truck in advance. In winter the Irkeshtam crossing may be closed, so if Khorgos is congested, the fallback route through Kyrgyzstan will not be available.
How to get a quote
Send us the city of loading in China, the destination, what the cargo is, its weight, volume and the date it will be ready. If you are not sure which option is cheaper, ask for a full truck and groupage to be quoted together. During working hours, 9:00 to 18:00 (Tashkent time), a manager replies within 5 minutes with the price and transit time, and then tells you where the cargo is at every stage.