Data
Freight data and reference tables
Numbers we can stand behind, dated, with the method written next to them. The figures come straight from the rate card that prices our own quotes, so they are what a real quote looks like, not a market estimate. Quote any of it with a link back.
China to USA Shipping Price Index ›
Real door-to-door prices at 12 weights from 0.5 kg to 1,000 kg, generated from our live rate card rather than typed. 20 kg was $305.16 with duty included on October 5, 2026.
Chargeable weight reference ›
How volumetric weight is worked out, 15 real carton shapes with what each one bills, and the same cartons at three divisors. Ours is 6,000 cm³ per kg.
US import rules timeline ›
Every step from the end of the $800 de minimis exemption to the entry rules in force now, each with its Federal Register or Supreme Court citation. Sources last checked September 15, 2026.
China holiday shipping calendar ›
Golden Week 2026 through National Day 2027: 9 holidays with official dates from the State Council notice, what closes, and a book-by line for each, including the Chinese New Year 2027 deadlines. Sources last checked September 26, 2026.
How these pages are made
Four working rules keep them worth citing, and they are the reason we publish the method next to every table rather than only the result.
Prices are generated, never typed
A script reads our live rate card and writes the whole index in one pass, 30 dollar figures across 12 weights, so a number on the page and the number a customer is quoted come from the same place. Every run also appends a dated snapshot to an append-only history file that is never edited by hand, which is what turns a price page into a series: it holds 2 snapshots so far, starting September 15, 2026, and each later run adds one more date rather than overwriting the last.
The arithmetic is published, the guesses are not
The chargeable-weight reference works 15 real carton shapes, the same ones we price on the product pages, and shows what each bills at 3 divisors (4000, 5000, 6000 cm³ per kg). It deliberately does not state what any named carrier divides by. Their rate pages block automated reading, so we cannot verify that number from a source we control, and an unverifiable figure on a reference page defeats the purpose of the page. Ours is 6,000 and is stated as ours.
Every rule has a document behind it
The import-rules timeline has 10 entries carrying 14 citations, each one to the Federal Register or the Supreme Court, all fetched and read on September 15, 2026. A change gets a row once we have read the instrument, not when it is first reported, so the timeline runs slightly behind the news and well ahead of the summaries.
Official dates only, and expected dates say so
The holiday calendar copies its dates and make-up workdays from the State Council General Office notice. Where the next year's notice is not out yet, the row shows only the statutory days on the lunar or fixed date, marked expected, and leaves the make-up workdays empty rather than guessing them. Shutdown windows and lead times are attributed to the logistics source that published them.
Citing, and corrections
Take the figure, name the page and link to it. Each page carries a suggested sentence you can paste, and where the number moves it carries the date it was true, because a freight price without a date is not a fact about anything. The CSV and JSON endpoints keep their URLs, so a table you script against today keeps working. If a number looks wrong, write to us: we will check it against the source and either correct the page or show you why it stands.
What is not here
These are our own prices for door-to-door movements from China to the USA with US customs clearance included. Import duty is included on door-to-door air up to about 35kg and on sea, and marked "plus duty at import" on heavier air rows. That is one forwarder's book, not an industry benchmark, and we do not dress it up as a market index or blend in third-party spot rates. There are no other lanes and no rate forecasts: the holiday calendar states official dates and cited lead times, not a prediction of what freight will cost. If you need a figure these do not cover, for a specific product, carton size or lane, ask and we will price it and publish it: info@plainfreight.com