Shipping Terms for China to Japan: CBM, Sai, DDP and More
Freight quotes from China to Japan are full of units and abbreviations: CBM, sai, volumetric weight, chargeable weight, FOB, DDP. This glossary explains each in a line or two, with the numbers Shenma Fastship uses when billing.
To work the numbers out for your own cartons, enter them in our CBM calculator: it gives CBM, sai, volumetric and chargeable weight in one go.
Volume and Weight
- CBM (cubic metre): the volume of a shipment; 1 CBM = 1 m³. A carton's CBM is L × W × H in cm ÷ 1,000,000
- Sai (才): the volume unit used for freight in Japan, 1 cubic shaku ≈ 0.0278 m³. Sai = L × W × H (cm) ÷ 27,826, and 1 m³ ≈ 35.94 sai
- Volumetric weight: the weight a carton is billed at for its size. On our air and sea DDP lanes it is L × W × H (cm) ÷ 6000, so 1 m³ counts as 166.7 kg; couriers divide by 5000
- Chargeable weight: the greater of actual and volumetric weight, which the per-kg price is applied to
Ways to Ship
- LCL (less than container load): your cartons share a container with other shippers' cargo, and you pay for your own volume or weight. Our sea LCL to Tokyo and Osaka starts at 1 m³
- FCL (full container load): a whole container for your goods. A 20GP is about 33 m³ inside and loads about 25–28 m³; a 40HQ is about 76 m³ and loads about 65–68 m³
- Consolidation: goods from several suppliers received at one warehouse and shipped together, which usually costs less than separate shipments
Incoterms 2020
- EXW (Ex Works): the buyer collects the goods at the seller's premises
- FOB (Free On Board): the seller loads the goods on board at the port of shipment
- CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight): the seller pays freight and insurance to the destination port
- DAP (Delivered At Place): the seller delivers to the named place; the buyer pays import duties and taxes
- DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): the seller delivers with import duties and taxes paid. Our DDP lanes deliver to the door with Japanese duty and consumption tax included
Customs Terms
- HS code: the international product classification number; in Japan it sets the customs duty rate
- Customs clearance: declaring the goods to customs, paying duty and tax, and getting them released
- Importer of record: the party named as importer on the customs declaration, responsible for duty and tax; on our DDP lanes we handle it
- Import consumption tax: (CIF customs value + duty) × 10%, or 8% for food
Frequently Asked Questions
CBM is a cubic metre, the unit for shipment volume. Multiply a carton's length, width and height in centimetres and divide by 1,000,000; then multiply by the number of cartons.
1 m³ ≈ 35.94 sai. For a single carton, sai = L × W × H (cm) ÷ 27,826.
The greater of actual and volumetric weight. A 50 × 40 × 30 cm carton weighing 8 kg has a volumetric weight of 60,000 ÷ 6000 = 10 kg, so 10 kg is billed.
Delivered Duty Paid: the seller delivers the goods with import duties and taxes paid. On our DDP lanes to Japan, customs duty and import consumption tax are included in the freight and the consignee pays nothing on delivery.
Under EXW the buyer collects the goods at the seller's premises; under FOB the seller also loads them on board at the port of shipment. Either way, we can take the goods from there to Japan.
Chargeable weight × the lane's per-kg price. DDP sea for general cargo is from CN¥18/kg (min. 101 kg) and DDP air from CN¥27/kg (min. 51 kg). These are reference prices; the quote for your goods is binding.
Warehouses
Dongguan
Building 3, No. 4 Chenwu East Road, Houjie Town, Dongguan, Guangdong, ChinaShenzhen
Unit 101, No. 6 Ruikang Road, Hangcheng Subdistrict, Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, ChinaYiwu
No. 755 Xuefeng West Road, Beiyuan Subdistrict, Yiwu, Zhejiang, ChinaXiamen
Unit 7-106A, Phase II, Jiasheng Logistics Park, Pulin Road, Guankou Town, Jimei District, Xiamen, Fujian, ChinaFuzhou
No. 41 Dutou, Menkou Village, Xiangqian Town, Minhou County, Fuzhou, Fujian, ChinaNingbo
West No. 2, Terminal 2, Ningbo Lishe International Airport, Haishu District, Ningbo, Zhejiang, ChinaShanghai
Building B7, Lane 3199 Jiasong Middle Road, Huaxin Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai, ChinaQingdao
Unit 101, Building 4, China Eastern Logistics Park, Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport, Jiaozhou, Qingdao, Shandong, China
We run our own pickup points across China, so we can collect from your door quickly wherever you are. Ningbo, Shanghai and Qingdao handle our highest volumes, so dropping off there is fast too.
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