How long a container from China takes via Suez or around Africa
Counted from the day the goods are ready in China to their arrival at your warehouse, a container takes about 60 to 75 days via Suez, or 70 to 90 days around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. Transit times are approximate. We confirm the exact time and route for each shipment, based on the current situation on the sea lanes.
Only a small share of ships have started using Suez again, so allow for the longer route around Africa when you plan. For each shipment we check the booked sailing and its transshipment connections and give the estimate in the quote.
Production is not included in these times. A supplier may need several weeks or more, and that is often the longest step of the whole import.
Door to door to the Balkan capitals
Roughly the same range applies through all three ports, Thessaloniki, Durres and Bar. We do not plan a sea shipment to any of these cities at under 60 days.
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| Destination | Port | Inland leg |
|---|---|---|
| Skopje | Thessaloniki | about 237 km by truck |
| Pristina | Durres | about 250 to 280 km by truck |
| Tirana | Durres | a short truck leg |
| Podgorica | Bar | about 50 to 60 km by truck |
| Belgrade | Thessaloniki or Bar | by truck |
| Sarajevo | Bar | by truck |
What the estimate includes
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| Step | Approximate duration | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Receiving and checks in our warehouse in Yiwu or Ningbo | depends on the last supplier | We collect, count and check goods from several suppliers. |
| 2. Trucking to the port of departure | usually a day or less | Ningbo for a shared container, the port nearest the supplier for a full container. |
| 3. Export documents and port cut-off | 2 to 5 days | The container has to be at the port by the ship's deadline. |
| 4. Sea leg | according to the sailing | Checked for each booking. |
| 5. Transshipment and waiting for the connection | 3 to 10 days | Depends on the connection to the port of arrival. |
| 6. Customs clearance and inland delivery | 1 to 3 days | Clearance is handled by a forwarder. |
| Total once the goods are ready | about 60 to 75 days via Suez, about 70 to 90 days around Africa | An estimate, with an allowance for the weekly sailings. |
These steps are all included in the estimate and are not added a second time. Production comes before them. We do not carry out customs clearance. A forwarder handles it, your own or one we recommend.
Sea or air
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| Mode | Approximate time | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Sea, full container or shared container | 60 to 75 days via Suez or 70 to 90 days around Africa, once the goods are ready | Every shipment that is not urgent. The lowest cost per cubic metre. |
| Air | 7 to 14 days door to door to Skopje, and the same to Belgrade | Urgent or high-value shipments. The minimum air shipment is 50 kg. |
A shared container takes a few days longer than a full one, because it waits to be filled and is unloaded in a warehouse on arrival. Air freight costs more than sea and is charged by weight. More on the page air freight from China.
Holidays in China that shift the schedule
Chinese New Year. Factories and the Yiwu market close for a long period around the holiday, and production slows before and after it. An order that has to be produced, collected or loaded in those weeks is delayed. Our agents in China confirm the exact dates.
Golden Week, 1 to 8 October. We plan loadings around China's National Day holiday with a wider margin and confirm the sailing date at booking.
Avoid buying trips in both periods, and plan production and shipping around the holidays.
Example: Christmas stock for shops in Skopje
Christmas decorations have to be on the shop shelves in early November. The times for production and shop setup are assumptions made for the example.
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| Step | Calculation | Approximate date |
|---|---|---|
| Goods on the shop shelves | target | early November |
| Unpacking, pricing and shop setup | minus 7 days | goods in the warehouse by late October |
| Transport once the goods are ready, upper estimate around Africa | minus 90 days | goods ready by late July |
| Production (assumption: 45 days) | minus 45 days | order confirmed by mid-June |
With 75 days via Suez, the goods have to be ready by mid-August and the order confirmed by late June. With production of 30 to 45 days, the cycle from order to warehouse takes 90 to 120 days via Suez or 100 to 135 days around Africa, and 97 to 127 or 107 to 142 days with the 7 days for the shops. Samples and the choice of supplier come before the order.
A seasonal gifts wholesaler we work with imports more than 15 containers a year. See Christmas decorations and gifts from China.
How we keep to the schedule
Delays usually begin in China: the supplier is late, the goods are not packed, the documents contain errors or the container misses the port cut-off. Our strongest operational presence is in Yiwu. In our own warehouses in Yiwu and Ningbo, we collect goods from several suppliers and check them before loading, so that the container does not wait for one supplier's goods. A full container at a factory in another city is checked by our agent at the factory, anywhere in China. When we handle the sourcing, the agent follows production and reports every delay.
We issue our own bills of lading, and at Thessaloniki, Durres and Bar we have a direct presence and annual shipping contracts. We know where the container is and when it is expected at the port, and we update you when the schedule changes.
Prices are explained in the guide how much a container from China costs, and the service on the pages container shipping from China and shipping from China to Macedonia.
Ask for the transit time of your shipment
Tell us where the supplier is, when the goods will be ready and where they have to arrive. We will tell you which sailing can be booked, which route the ship takes and when to expect the goods. Request a quote.
