
Shipping to and from the United States
Do you want to know more about prices for shipments to the United States? Are you aware of specific shipment documents you might need to get your freight moving? Here you’ll find all the answers related to your questions around shipments to the United States.
Get startedRelevant shipping information
- What are the most common trade lanes to and from the US?
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.
- What is the estimated transit time for shipping a container to the US?
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.
- Which events or holidays are special in the US and have an impact on shipments?
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.
- Want to know more about Customs Clearance?
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.
Ports and offices in United States
Baltimore
MPA World Trade Center
401 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
United States
Get directions
Charleston (north)
176 Concord Street
Charleston, SC 29401
United States
Get directions
Charleston (south)
Charleston
South Carolina
United States
Get directions
Charlotte Office
Maersk Charlotte
Customer Resource Center,
9300 Arrowpoint Blvd
NC USA 28273
Get directions
Dutch Harbor
PO Box 610
Unalaska
AK 99685
United States
Florham Park Office
180 Park Avenue,
Building 105
PO Box 950, 07932
Florham Park, NJ, USA
Get directions
Houston
111 East Loop North (77029)
P.O. Box 2562 (77252-2562)
Houston, TX 77252-2562
United States
Get directions
Houston Office
Maersk, Customer Resource Center, 8686 New Trails Drive
Woodlands, TX, Houston
USA, 77381-1190
Get directions
Jacksonville
2831 Talleyrand Avenue
Jacksonville
FL 32206
United States
Get directions
Long Beach
925 Harbor Plaza
P.O. Box 570
Long Beach, CA 90801-0570
United States
Get directions
Los Angeles
425 S. Palos Verdes St.
San Pedro
CA 90731
United States
Get directions
Miami
1015 N. America Way
2nd Floor
Miami, FL 33132
United States
Get directions
Mobile
P.O. Box 1588 Mobile,
AL 36633
United States
New Orleans
1350 Port of New Orleans
Place New Orleans
LA 70130
United States
Get directions
New York
1225 Park Avenue South
New York
NY 10003
United States
Get directions
Newark
Newark, NJ
United States
Get directions
Norfolk
7737 Hampton Blvd.
Norfolk
VA 23505
United States
Get directions
Oakland
530 Water Street
Oakland
CA 94607
United States
Get directions
Philadelphia
3460 N. Delaware Avenue
Philadelphia
PA 19134
United States
Get directions
Port Everglades
Port Everglades Business Office,
1850 Eller Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
United States
Get directions
Savannah
P.O. Box 2406
Savannah
GA 31402
United States
Seattle
2711 Alaskan Way
Seattle
WA 98121
United States
Get directions
Tampa
1101 Channelside Drive
Tampa
FL 33602-2192
United States
Get directions
Wilmington
1 Hausel Road
Wilmington
DE 19801-5852
United States
Get directions