Freight Forwarding Services From USA to Australia

Shipping costs vary highly depending on your cargo type, the carrier, the weight and size of your cargo, whether it is a door to door or port to port service and any other specifics (such as dangerous goods or sensitive cargo).

Freight rates for a standard 20’ container can start as low as $3,000. However, the true cost will be calculated after adding import duty, transportation fees, insurance, carrier surcharges, GST, and any other applicable charges. This is without accounting for any external events that affect costs, such as port congestion, labour strikes or capacity crunches, which are not uncommon in the industry.

Some online services offer instant freight rates, but only a freight forwarder will be able to provide an accurate quote considering all your specific requirements (time, budget, cargo type, insurance), instead of automatically charging a considerably higher markup to cover any potential costs.

Airfreight is priced based on chargeable weight (or volumetric ratios), which are used to ensure the weight or size of your cargo are considered in equal measure when shipping.

For example, you are shipping something light like toilet rolls. The toilet rolls only weigh 100kgs, however, they take up a lot of space: over 5 cubic meters. The airline will now charge you a volumetric weight to cover the space taken up on the aircraft.

We have a volumetric rate calculator to help you. Once you’ve got the chargeable weight, your forwarder will be able to provide you with a quote.

As a rule of thumb, standard air freight is the cheapest option for shipments between 150 kilos and 500 kg.  Once a shipment weighs more than 500 kg, ocean freight should be considered if your cargo is not urgent.

Sea freight from the US to Australia can take anything from 22 to 70 days, depending on the port of origin and destination. Typically, Full Container Load (FCL) offers quicker transit times than Less Container Load (LCL), as the container isn’t shared with other shipments. Air freight from US to Australia takes about 3-10 days, door to door.

Italy-Australia Freight Transit Times
	Door to Door
Sea Freight (FCL)	26-67 days
Sea Freight (LCL)*	30-75 days
Air Freight	3-10 days
Express Courier	2-6 days

Unfortunately, we don’t have control on vessel unloading and accessing containers in a specified order. When your container will be uplifted depends on the cargo stack. Heavy cargo will automatically sit on the bottom of the vessel, for safety and weight distribution purposes.

It can take up to 5 days (typically 2 days) for a container to be offloaded from a vessel, depending on how far back and accessible the container is.

Once available at the wharf, we usually have three days to collect before demurrage charges apply.

To start:

• Ensure your imported goods are not prohibited by checking the ABF’s full list of prohibited goods
• Have the following essential documents on hand: Commercial Invoice, Packing List, Packing Declaration
• Ask your supplier to provide the HS code for each item/product on your commercial invoice and ask your customs broker to review prior to import. This will ensure we can correctly declare your goods to the Australian Customs authorities.

In terms of costs:

For goods valued above AUD 1,000 you will typically have to pay:

• Import Duty: 5% value of the goods
• GST: 10% goods and services tax (Value of goods + freight + insurance + duty * 10%)
• Customs Import Declaration Processing Fee
  • Seafreight shipments with a value of $10,000 or less attract an import processing charge of A$113.00 per shipment
  • Seafreight shipments with a value of $10,000 or more attract an import processing charge of A$215.00 per shipment
  • Airfreight shipments with a value of $10,000 or less attract an import processing charge of A$93.00 per shipment
  • Airfreight shipments with a value of $10,000 or more attract an import processing charge of $195.00 per shipment
• In addition, your forwarder will charge a customs clearance fee to manage this process with customs.

To ship from the United States to Australia, you will need the following documents, at minimum:

•  Commercial Invoice – this should include the agreed shipping terms;
• Packing List – this document outlines all the details of your freight such as how your goods have been packed. This allows for reduced inspection times in the event some cargo needs to be looked at as it can be easily located within your consignment
• Packing Declaration (for sea freight only) – These are mandatory for shipping into Australia, and declare what kind of material has been used to pack goods. If the material contains wood, straw or bark, the goods will require a fumigation/treatment certificate;
• Certificate of Origin, which declares details of the country in which your goods are manufactured. You will need this declaration to benefit from the Australia-United States FTA, allowing you to pay zero or lower import duty on US-manufactured goods.
• Letter of Credit (optional). A letter of credit is a formal agreement that legally binds both parties in an international trade transaction. It spells out the financial and other responsibilities between both parties.
• An Airway Bill (for Air Freight) or a Bill of Lading (for Ocean Freight). As your freight forwarder, ICE will be directly responsible for providing this document.

Depending on the type of goods, you may also require permits, certificates, or licenses. Whenever this applies, our team will notify you ahead of time so you’re better prepared to make the necessary arrangements.

Incoterms are the terms of trade that buyer and supplier agree on before shipping so each party knows who is responsible for what in the shipping process (like who should arrange insurance, who should arrange transport and customs clearance).

The best incoterms for importing from Italy are EXW and FOB, as they give the importer the most control over each aspect of the shipment and full visibility of what’s being charged.

EXW indicates that you have full responsibility (and control) for bringing the goods from origin to destination. You must find someone to pick up cargo at the supplier’s warehouses and deliver to the port of export. The product price stated in EXW terms is only the product cost, and the supplier does not provide any shipping or exporting services. Under EX Works incoterms, you are responsible for everything in the shipping process.

FOB stands for Free On Board. The supplier bears the entire expense of delivering products to an American port or airport, as well as the cost of exporting. You only need to arrange an Australian freight forwarder, such as ICE, to book the freight, customs clear the goods, handle cargo pick up at the port in Australia and transport it to the final destination.

Here are some of the prohibited import goods that require an import permit in Australia:

• • Biosecurity risk items: plants, seeds, animal products, soil, woolpacks, certain breeds of pets, fresh foodstuffs like un-canned meat, eggs, fish, fruits and dairy, and any products that could pose a threat to Australia’s environment or agriculture. Some products such as straw objects, potpourri, and pine cones, used agricultural machinery and anything with soil or biological residue need to be treated for hygiene before entry, presenting a cleanliness certificate.

• • Medicines and pharmaceuticals: steroids, animal growth hormones, medicines and drugs require permits to ensure they meet safety standards.

• • Hazardous goods: pesticides, explosives, mercury, radioactive substances.

• • Firearms: including accessories, firearm parts, firearm magazines, ammunition, imitation firearms, paintball markers and airsoft firearms.

• • Weapons: daggers, blades, spikes, karambits, throwing knives/blades/axes, push knives, non-metallic, ceramic knives, pepper sprays, extendable or telescopic batons.

• • Other items: tobacco, lighters, vaping goods, glazed ceramic ware, certain incandescent lamps, body armour, laser pointers, pornography and objectionable materials, tablet presses and encapsulator machines.

Air cargo is even more restrictive than sea cargo, including gases (e.g. lamp bulbs), all things flammable (e.g. perfume, some mobile phones), toxic or corrosive items (e.g. batteries), magnetic substances (e.g. speakers), oxidizers and biochemical products (e.g. chemical medicines), and public health risks (e.g. untanned hides).

Find the complete list of prohibited imported goods in Australia here.

You can import from the US all year round, however, be aware of the shipping peak season from late July to October. During this time, many retailers are placing new stock orders in preparation for the Christmas holidays.

Capacity on cargo vessels is usually tight as demand peaks – and so do freight rates. Container rollovers are not uncommon; that is whenever the container cannot be loaded onto the ship that you booked, being rolled over to the next available service.

We recommend you place your orders as early as possible to avoid any possible delays.

The international maritime convention, SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea), has issued a set of strict regulations that must be followed by shippers. Failure to comply can result in fines.

• 20’ containers can have a maximum load of 24,947Kg to 28,122Kg.
• 40’ containers can have a maximum load of 26,852Kg to 27,669Kg.
• 40’ HC (High Cube) containers can have a maximum load of 28,122Kg.
• 45’ HC container have a limit of 27,864Kg.

• Ship off-peak. During shipping peak season (such as on the lead up to Christmas, around July-October), there is more shipping demand than vessel capacity available as retailers globally are stocking up. Both shipping prices and transit times increase. Ship during off-peak seasons whenever you can.
• Get your documentation in order. Ensure you have all documentation in place ahead of time for a smooth customs clearance. Missing information, incorrect documentation, and even a typo can result in costly delays.
• Know your HS Codes. A lot of shippers are surprised by how much customs fees can affect business costs. Arrange a customs broker to find the right HS Code for each one of your products, or ask for a customs audit if you are unsure your goods have been classified correctly. You may even be eligible for a tariff concession or a customs refund if not.
• Lean on your forwarder. Give as much detail about your requirements as possible and let us demonstrate our expertise by finding the best shipping solution available for your cargo.