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Sea Freight | Argentina Shipping

FCL & LCL, weekly sailings

Sea Freight

Full-container and consolidated cargo on weekly sailings from Ningbo, Shanghai and Shenzhen to the Port of Buenos Aires.

At a glance

What is included

Sea freight is the default mode for commercial imports from China to Argentina. Port to port it takes 30-48 days depending on the origin port, and 35-58 days door to door once customs clearance and inland delivery are added. Sailings leave the main Chinese ports weekly, so the schedule — not the vessel — is what you plan around.

The choice that actually moves your cost is FCL versus LCL. Below roughly 15 cubic metres you share a container; above that you are usually better off booking a whole box, because you stop paying per cubic metre and you stop waiting for other cargo to fill the box.

  • FCL for full 20ft and 40ft containers
  • LCL consolidation for smaller volumes
  • Weekly departures from major Chinese ports
  • Port-to-port or door delivery across Argentina

Best for: bulk cargo, consumer goods, machinery and raw materials where cost per cubic metre matters.

FCL — full container load

A full container means the box is yours from the Chinese warehouse to the Argentine terminal. You control the loading, the seal number and the stuffing date, which matters for fragile or high-value cargo and for anything that must not be co-loaded with other shippers’ goods. Standard equipment is 20GP, 40GP and 40HC; the high-cube is worth the small premium whenever you ship light, bulky goods because you pay for volume, not weight.

  • 20GP — about 28 CBM usable, suited to dense cargo such as machinery, tiles and chemicals
  • 40GP — about 58 CBM, the general-purpose workhorse for consumer goods
  • 40HC — about 68 CBM, best value for light, voluminous cargo
  • Seal, stuffing photos and a loading report issued before departure

LCL — less than container load

LCL consolidates your cargo with other shippers’ goods in a shared container. It is the right answer for trial orders, spare parts, samples and anything under roughly 15 CBM, because you pay for the space you occupy instead of the whole box. The trade-off is time: your cargo waits at the origin consolidation warehouse until the container is full, and it is devanned at destination behind everyone else’s cargo.

  • Charged per cubic metre or per tonne, whichever is greater
  • Consolidation cut-off is typically several days before the sailing
  • Destination devanning adds days that FCL does not have
  • Minimum charge applies, so very small shipments are rarely economic

Transit time by Chinese origin port

Transit depends far more on the origin port than on the destination. Southern ports sail direct with fewer transshipment hops; northern ports often route through an Asian hub first, which is where the extra week comes from. The table below is the range we actually quote for a Buenos Aires call.

What drives the cost

Container rates move weekly and are set by space and equipment availability, not by distance. On top of the ocean freight you pay origin charges (export clearance, THC, documentation), destination charges (terminal handling, devanning for LCL, delivery order) and the Argentine tax stack on the goods themselves. We quote the whole chain in one number so a low ocean rate cannot hide an expensive destination leg.

  • Ocean freight — the volatile part, quoted per container or per CBM
  • Origin charges — export declaration, terminal handling, bill of lading
  • Destination charges — Argentine terminal handling, delivery order, transport
  • Taxes on the goods — duty by NCM, IVA 21%, 3% statistical tax

Documents and clearance

Sea freight needs a bill of lading, and the bill of lading is the document that most often delays clearance in Argentina, usually because the consignee details or the NCM codes on it do not match the import declaration. We check the draft bill against the commercial invoice and packing list before the vessel sails, so discrepancies are fixed at origin rather than at the terminal.

  • Bill of lading (original, telex release or sea waybill)
  • Commercial invoice and packing list with correct NCM codes
  • Certificate of origin where a trade agreement applies
  • Import declaration filed by a licensed despachante de aduana

Indicative sea transit to Buenos Aires (port to port)

Origin portTransitSailing frequencyNotes
Shenzhen30-38 daysWeeklyFastest lane we operate
Shanghai32-40 daysWeeklyMost frequent space
Ningbo31-40 daysWeeklyStrong for consumer goods
Guangzhou33-42 daysWeeklySouthern China consolidation
Xiamen35-44 daysFortnightlyOften transships via hub
Qingdao42-48 daysFortnightly to RosarioSlowest lane we operate

Sea Freight: frequently asked questions

Should I book FCL or LCL from China to Argentina?

Below roughly 15 CBM, LCL is usually cheaper because you only pay for the space you use. Above that, FCL wins: the per-CBM cost stops mattering, your cargo stops waiting for co-loaders, and destination devanning time disappears. We compare both against your actual volume before quoting.

How long does sea freight from China to Argentina take?

Thirty to forty-eight days port to port depending on the origin port, and thirty-five to fifty-eight days door to door once Argentine customs clearance and inland delivery are included. Shenzhen to Buenos Aires is the fastest lane we run; Qingdao to Rosario is the slowest.

Can I ship to Rosario or Zárate instead of Buenos Aires?

Yes. Buenos Aires carries the highest sailing frequency, while Rosario (San Lorenzo) and Zárate are served by a smaller number of direct calls. Reaching Rosario or Zárate usually means fewer sailing options but a shorter inland leg, so it is often the better choice for cargo destined for the grain and industrial belt.

What container types are available?

Standard 20GP, 40GP and 40HC dry containers cover most commercial cargo. High-cube is the better value for light, bulky goods. Special equipment such as open-top or flat-rack for out-of-gauge machinery is available on request with longer lead times.

Do you handle the Argentine customs clearance too?

Yes. We work with licensed Argentine despachantes de aduana and prepare the documentation before the vessel arrives, so clearance runs in parallel with the sailing rather than starting after discharge.

Contact

Contact Us

DEDICATED
China–Argentina
Trade Lane

Phone

86 15356024385

Email

info@argentina-shipping.com

Address

17 Floor, Hualian Building, No.55 Dongdu Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China

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