Looking for the destination side of this lane — duty, importer of record and certification? Open the Thailand destination guide.
How long does shipping from China take?
| Mode | Typical time | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight FCL | 3–11 days | Port to port on direct services (OOCL VCST: Nansha–Laem Chabang 3 days, Ningbo 7; the Shanghai express string also runs 7; ONE TVH/CVT: Nansha and Shekou 4, Ningbo 5, Shanghai 11) |
| Ocean freight LCL | 23–38 days | Door-to-door on current forwarder tables — 23–35 days from South China, 25–38 from Shanghai and Ningbo |
| Air freight | 1–2 days | Airport to airport to Suvarnabhumi; consolidated door-to-door air runs 4–7 days |
| Express courier | 2–4 days | Indicative forwarder range door-to-door to Bangkok; carrier-published transit is confirmed with the booking |
Typical ranges measured from supplier pickup to signed delivery. They are not a commitment; the binding range is issued with your quotation.
Lane facts
| Loading from | Nansha, Ningbo and Shanghai on direct strings; Yantian via feeder or direct intra-Asia calls |
| Destination ports | Laem Chabang (the main deep-sea gateway), Bangkok Port at Khlong Toei, Map Ta Phut |
| Direct sailings | Direct weekly intra-Asia rotations including OOCL VCST and KTX2; Maersk TP6 calls Laem Chabang directly since March 2026 |
| Container options | 20GP, 40GP and 40HQ; LCL accepted from 1 CBM |
| Duty and tax | MFN duty of 5–30% on most goods (up to 80% by line) plus 7% VAT on CIF plus duty; anti-dumping duties of 2.76–69.35% apply to listed Chinese goods |
| De minimis | Abolished from 1 January 2026 — every import is taxed from the first baht, with e-commerce brackets up to 30% |
| FTA preference | An original ACFTA Form E can bring normal-track goods to 0% duty; a missing or defective Form E falls back to the MFN rate |
| Importer of record | A Thai-registered entity with a customs registration number — a foreign seller cannot clear directly |
| Certification | TISI mark for electrical goods and toys, NBTC type approval for radio equipment, Thai FDA registration for food and cosmetics, DIW for hazardous substances |
| Quote turnaround | A formal quotation is issued within one hour once the cargo details are complete |
What does this cover?
Thailand is a short, reliable intra-Asia lane: direct services call Laem Chabang and Bangkok, and the air option into Suvarnabhumi moves urgent cargo in days. The compliance question is usually TISI licensing and the ACFTA certificate of origin, not the transit.
Who is this for?
- Commercial imports for wholesale, retail and distribution
- Factory-to-buyer shipments arranged on a delivered or port-to-port basis
- Consolidated cargo from several Chinese suppliers
- Buyers who need a duty-paid door price rather than a port-to-port rate
What is included in the service?
- China pickup, consolidation and warehouse handling where the scope includes it
- The transport combination quoted — ocean, rail, road, air or express
- Export declaration and shipping document guidance
- Destination clearance under the confirmed arrangement where a door scope is quoted
- Delivery to the agreed address within the quoted delivery area
What do you need from us to quote?
- Product name, material, use and photographs
- Declared value with currency and whether the goods carry a brand
- Piece count, gross weight, volume and package dimensions
- China origin city or the supplier address
- Destination city, full address and postcode
- Address type: commercial, residential, warehouse or free zone
- Whether the consignee can act as importer of record if the destination requires it
- Any battery, liquid, powder, magnet or regulated attribute
- Cargo-ready date and any required delivery window
Who is responsible for what?
| Scope | Company | Customer | Responsibility transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door to door |
|
| Responsibility passes on delivery and signature at the agreed destination address. |
What does the quotation cover?
The quotation states the total for the scope described in it. It is built from the cargo data, the origin and destination, the transport mode and the delivery scope agreed at that time.
What is included?
- China pickup and consolidation as quoted
- Export declaration and main transport on the quoted routing
- Destination import clearance under the confirmed arrangement
- Duty and tax for the declared goods where the scope is DDP
- Delivery to the agreed address within the quoted delivery area
What is not included?
- Customs revaluation where the declared value is not accepted
- Certification, registration or testing required by the destination authority
- Storage, demurrage and inspection costs arising at either customs point
- Remote-area delivery outside the quoted area
- Unloading equipment or labour at the destination address
What might cost extra?
- Remote or difficult-access delivery beyond the standard service area
- Customs inspection, holds or revaluation at either end
- Storage where cargo cannot be dispatched inside the agreed free period
- Detention and demurrage when a container or vehicle is held beyond free time
- Oversized, overweight or special loading equipment
- Cargo that arrives without the documents required for the confirmed route
- Special cargo approved after review but requiring extra handling or documentation
- Address change, re-delivery or a failed delivery appointment after dispatch
- Peak-season or fuel surcharges applied by the carrier
- Duty or tax reassessment where customs does not accept the declared value
Freight rates and space change with the market, so each quotation carries its own validity period. Once it expires, or if the rate or space changes before booking, the price is reconfirmed before dispatch.
Cargo is weighed and measured after it reaches the warehouse. If the piece count, weight, volume, packing, cargo attributes or delivery address differ from the original inquiry, the charge is recalculated and sent to you for confirmation before payment and dispatch.
How long does each stage take?
Transit is counted from the stated start point to the stated end point for each stage. Carrier schedules, port and customs conditions, and the destination delivery arrangement all affect the outcome.
- Pickup and warehouse intake: Typically 1–3 days from supplier release (calculated from Pickup arranged from the supplier address to Cargo received, counted, weighed and measured at the warehouse)
- Consolidation and waiting: Typically 2–5 days, longer if later suppliers are still producing (calculated from Cargo accepted at the warehouse to Container loaded and sealed, or cargo handed to the carrier)
- Export and ocean transit: Typically 3–11 days port to port to Laem Chabang on direct services, by origin (calculated from Container loaded on board to Vessel arriving at the destination port)
- Import clearance and duty handling: e-Customs lodgement is mandatory pre-arrival; air clearance at Suvarnabhumi runs 1–3 working days and ocean clearance is confirmed with the terminal (calculated from Vessel arrival at the destination port to Customs released and duty or tax settled where the scope includes it)
- Final delivery: Typically 1–3 days around Bangkok and the Eastern Economic Corridor (calculated from Customs released to Delivered to the agreed address and signed for)
Estimated total: An estimated total is issued with the quotation, expressed as a range with the calculation start and end points stated. It is an estimate, not a guaranteed arrival date.
Last verified 2026-09-15.
How is the shipment handled?
Illustrations generated for this page, showing the handling stages your cargo moves through. They are not photographs of a specific shipment.


What must be confirmed before booking?
- DDP is only quoted where a Thai-registered importer of record with a customs registration number is confirmed before shipment
- Thailand taxes every import from the first baht since 1 January 2026 — there is no low-value exemption to plan around
- Anti-dumping duties on listed Chinese goods run from 2.76% to 69.35% and are levied before VAT; the HS code is checked before quoting
- TISI, NBTC, Thai FDA and DIW registrations are product-specific and confirmed from the product details
- Songkran (13–15 April) halts customs and ports and typically adds 3–5 days
What mistakes should we avoid?
- Planning around the old 1,500-baht exemption — Thailand abolished it on 1 January 2026
- Assuming ACFTA 0% duty without the original Form E — a defective form falls back to the MFN rate
- Leaving TISI or NBTC approval until the cargo arrives in Laem Chabang
- Forgetting anti-dumping duty on listed Chinese goods when comparing landed costs