Shipping to and from the United States

The Transpacific eastbound route is the most heavily utilized trade lane going in or out of the United States. This route consists of import shipments from Asia Pacific into the US. The primary trade lane on this route is represented by imports from China but equally important are cargo coming from Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The transit times to the US can vary considerably depending on the route and the number of transhipment moves (shipment legs). For instance, a direct service from China’s main base ports to los Angeles is about 2 weeks. That however can extend out to 3 weeks if the cargo origin is from a much smaller port location where feeder vessels carry containers to the larger ports to be transhipped onto a larger mother vessel for final sailing into the US.

While there are many events that drive container volumes, the biggest event remains the holiday shopping season for US retailers. From Black Friday through to Christmas and Hanukah, the lead up to this period provides for the biggest volume surge. With that, this also causes typically higher container rates and space constraints across the network. On a smaller scale, there is usually a rush leading into Easter and following that, the back to school sales event.

The customs clearance process can differ from country-to-country and from port-to-port. At Twill we realise the importance of getting your goods cleared with customs in a compliant manner.

That is why we have built one of the best in class Customs House Brokerage departments in the US. The first important step to know when importing goods to the US is that you will have to complete and provide your customs broker with a Power of Attorney. In this way, your customer broker can act on your behalf with US customs in clearing your goods minimum 72 hours prior to shipment departure. The second important step is to own a customs bond with a bond surety company. That will provide the US customs with a guarantee that they will be paid for all additional import duties and taxes should they arise.

But be assured, Twill customers that utilize our Customs House Brokerage service will be guided through these steps through the entire process.