Amazon FBA from China: what freight costs per unit, worked from our own prices
Amazon FBA · Updated
Shipping from China to the USA? With Plain Freight, 5 kg by air is $111.89 door to door with US duty included, in 6 to 12 working days. Your own price shows on screen in seconds.
Get my priceFreight is a per-kg price, but an Amazon seller thinks in units. A 250 g unit sent in a 20 kg air shipment, door to door from China to the USA with US duty included, carries $5.28 of freight, because the whole shipment costs $422.69 for 80 units. The same unit in a 200 kg sea shipment of 0.4 kg units carries $2.24. These figures come from our own pricing engine, priced 2026-10-30, for general goods.
This guide turns the rate card into freight per unit for four unit weights, shows how the shipment weight you choose changes it, and says plainly what the number does not include. How to run an FBA shipment end to end is in the FBA freight process guide, and what we offer Amazon sellers is on the Amazon FBA forwarder page. Get your own number in the quote form further down: pay nothing until the cartons are weighed.
Key takeaways
- Air door to door with duty included is $22.38 per kg at 5 kg and $21.13 per kg at 20 kg, so a 500 g unit carries about $10.57 of freight in a 20 kg shipment.
- Sea door to door is quoted from 10 kg of chargeable weight, at $5.89 per kg there, so the same 500 g unit carries about $2.95.
- Freight per unit is the shipment price divided by units, so a bigger shipment lowers it; a bulky unit raises it because you pay on chargeable weight.
- The freight price is not your landed cost: the product, the supplier's courier to our China warehouse and Amazon's own fees are separate.
- Nothing is payable until your cartons are weighed at our China warehouse.
How much freight does each unit carry on an air shipment?
Take a unit's packed weight (the product in its retail box, plus its share of the outer carton) and multiply by the per-kg price at your shipment weight. The table does that for four unit weights at the three air door-to-door weights where our price includes US duty. Air up to 20 kg is door to door with duty included. Priced 2026-10-30, general goods.
| Packed weight | 5 kg shipment ($22.38/kg) | 10 kg shipment ($21.55/kg) | 20 kg shipment ($21.13/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 g per unit | $4.48 | $4.31 | $4.23 |
| 500 g per unit | $11.19 | $10.78 | $10.57 |
| 1000 g per unit | $22.38 | $21.55 | $21.13 |
| 2000 g per unit | $44.76 | $43.10 | $42.26 |
Two things to read off it. A light unit is cheap to ship: a 200 g unit carries the smallest number in the table, and the cost scales straight up with packed weight. And the shipment weight matters less in the air lane than people expect, because the per-kg price only moves from $22.38 to $21.13 between 5 and 20 kg. The big step down comes when you move to sea or to consolidation, covered below. Transit for air door to door is 6 to 12 working days.
What does sea freight cost per unit?
Sea door to door is quoted from 10 kg of chargeable weight and includes US duty. It is the lane that makes a heavy or bulky unit affordable, at the price of waiting 28 to 32 days instead of 6 to 12 working days. Same four unit weights, three sea shipment sizes.
| Packed weight | 100 kg shipment ($5.89/kg) | 200 kg shipment ($5.59/kg) | 500 kg shipment ($5.24/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 g per unit | $1.18 | $1.12 | $1.05 |
| 500 g per unit | $2.95 | $2.80 | $2.62 |
| 1000 g per unit | $5.89 | $5.59 | $5.24 |
| 2000 g per unit | $11.78 | $11.18 | $10.48 |
Sea prices are reference prices until the cartons are weighed, so treat the table as the planning number and confirm it on your own quote. The full ladder, every weight we price, is in the shipping cost by weight guide, and the air vs sea calculator puts both lanes side by side for your weight.
What does a real restock work out to?
Example one, a small first order: 80 units of 250 g packed, 20 kg in total. By air door to door with duty included that is $422.69, or $5.28 per unit, arriving in 6 to 12 working days. If the unit sells for $25.00 (an assumed price for the arithmetic, not a market claim), freight is about 21% of the selling price.
Example two, a standing restock: 500 units of 400 g packed, 200 kg in total. By sea door to door, duty included, that is $1,117.94, or $2.24 per unit, in 28 to 32 days. Air consolidation for the same 200 kg is $986.31, or $1.97 per unit, but US duty is paid at import on that service, so add it before comparing with the sea figure. Against the same assumed $25.00 price, sea freight is about 9% and the consolidation freight about 8% before duty.
The pattern is the useful part. Per-unit freight is driven mostly by shipment size, and the lane changes what is included: compare sea only with duty-inclusive air, and add duty to consolidation before you compare. The question is rarely "what does shipping cost" and more often "which shipment size and speed does this unit's margin allow". Our air vs sea guide covers the speed trade.
Why does a bulky unit cost more than its weight suggests?
Air is billed on chargeable weight: the larger of the scale weight and the volumetric weight, which our engine takes as carton volume in cubic centimetres divided by 6,000. A 50 x 40 x 30 cm carton is 60,000 cubic centimetres, so 10 kg of volumetric weight. If it holds 8 kg of goods you pay for 10 kg, and every unit in it carries that bigger share.
For per-unit freight this means the unit weight in the tables should be the chargeable share, not the product spec. A foam mat that weighs 300 g and fills a quarter of a carton has a chargeable weight set by the carton, not the scale. Measure the outer carton, not the product, then use the CBM and chargeable weight calculator to get both numbers before you compare quotes.
Packing is the cheapest lever you have. Vacuum-compress soft goods, drop rigid retail boxes if your listing allows it, and size cartons to the goods. The same units in a tighter carton have a lower chargeable weight with no change to the product.
How does the Black Friday peak season change the air numbers?
A carrier peak surcharge has been in force since 2026-10-16: Black Friday peak season. Our air door-to-door prices up to 22 kg sit about 13% to 26% above the base price, more as the weight approaches that band's top. The air tables above are priced 2026-10-30 and already include it, so do not add it again.
When the peak ends the same shipment costs less. If your restock date is flexible, shipping before or after a peak is one of the few ways to cut freight on identical units, which is why the price date at the top of this page matters.
What is not in the freight-per-unit number?
- Duty on consolidation: from 100 kg our air lane is consolidation at $7.07 per kg, and US duty is paid at import on that service. Air door to door up to 20 kg and sea door to door already include duty.
- The supplier's own courier from the factory to our China warehouse. That leg is arranged on the China side and is not part of our price.
- The product cost, Amazon's referral and fulfilment fees, and any prep or labelling you choose to buy. Freight per unit is one line of your unit economics, not the whole of it.
- Any difference between the weight you quote on and the weight we measure. Sea prices are reference prices until the cartons are weighed; air within 5% of the quoted chargeable weight stands, and above that you see the weigh ticket and the new price before anything moves.
To turn freight per unit into a landed cost per unit, add duty (if not included), the product price and the supplier courier, and divide by units. The landed cost guide walks that sum through step by step.
How do I get the freight per unit for my own product?
The tables are our rate card, not your quote, because your goods and carton sizes set the final number. Enter the product, the total weight and the carton size in the form on this page and you see your price in seconds, air and sea side by side. Divide it by your unit count and you have your freight per unit.
- Get your price and pick an option. Press Book under the price, or reply to the quote email.
- We send you the China warehouse address and a carton mark for your supplier to ship to.
- We weigh and measure the cartons and send you the weigh ticket. If the chargeable weight is more than 5% above what you quoted on, you see the new price before anything moves.
- You pay by bank transfer in US dollars once the weight is final, and you get a tracking link.
Nothing is payable until the cartons are weighed at our China warehouse, so checking the number costs you nothing.
FAQ
How much does it cost to ship one unit from China to Amazon FBA?
It depends on the unit's packed weight and the shipment size. By air door to door with duty included, a 500 g unit carries about $10.57 of freight in a 20 kg shipment, priced 2026-10-30. By sea from 10 kg it is about $2.95. Your own quote sets the exact figure.
How do I calculate freight cost per unit?
Divide the shipment price by the number of units, or multiply the per-kg price at your shipment weight by one unit's packed weight. Use chargeable weight, the larger of scale weight and volumetric weight, because that is what air is billed on.
Is sea or air cheaper per unit?
Sea door to door is cheaper per unit from 10 kg: $5.89 per kg against $21.55 per kg by air at the same weight, priced 2026-10-30. Sea takes 28 to 32 days, air door to door 6 to 12 working days. Our air consolidation can show a lower per-kg number at higher weights, but US duty is paid separately on it.
Does the freight price include US duty?
Air door to door up to 20 kg and sea door to door include US duty. Air consolidation does not: duty is paid at import on that service. Compare like with like before choosing a lane.
What is not included in freight per unit?
The supplier's courier to our China warehouse, the product, Amazon's own fees and any prep or labelling you buy. Freight per unit is one line in your unit economics.
Do I pay before my goods are weighed?
No. Nothing is payable until your cartons are weighed at our China warehouse. Sea prices are reference prices until the cartons are weighed; if the chargeable weight is more than 5% above what we quoted on, you see the weigh ticket and the new price first.