How to work out shipping from China: rail or sea for a wholesale lot

Not “which is better” but what suits a specific lot

The question “is rail or sea cheaper from China” usually comes with an expectation of one universal answer, but in practice the choice depends on what is moving and how urgent it is. Electronics, clothing and other fast-turnover goods usually go by rail: the extra tariff pays for itself because the money tied up in the goods turns over faster. Machinery, furniture and building materials — heavy, not date-sensitive — usually go by sea, where the rate per cubic metre is markedly lower.

See the [China page](/napravlenie/kitaj) and the [guide to shipping from China](/gid/dostavka-iz-kitaya) for the direction overall, and the [China shipping calculator](/kalkulyator-dostavki-iz-kitaya) to work out the chargeable weight and volume of a lot and request a rate.

Before comparing tariffs, three questions

How time-sensitive is the lot — is there a pre-order or a seasonal sales window? What is the weight-to-volume ratio — light and bulky, or heavy and dense? And how much safety stock is there to cover the transit time? These three answers usually settle the choice faster than comparing bare tariff numbers.

Sanctions screening comes first

We only handle goods that are not subject to EU, UK, Swiss or US sanctions. Before we quote, we check the HS code of every item and screen all parties to the deal; if a product or a party is restricted, we decline the order, whatever the route or the price.

Transit time: 16–35 days by rail against 23–55 days by sea

By our own figures, a container train runs from China to Moscow in 16–35 days from the origin terminal, on a schedule more predictable than sailings. Sea transit takes noticeably longer and depends heavily on the discharge port — more on that below. The full comparison by price, timing and cargo type is on the [rail or sea from China page](/sravnenie/zhd-ili-more-iz-kitaya).

These figures broadly match independent market estimates: logistics providers generally quote 14–25 days for a container train from China depending on the route and border crossing, and 30–50 days for sea freight door-to-door including consolidation and port discharge. Our sea range is somewhat wider — 23–55 days — because it reflects the actual Russian discharge port rather than only the ocean crossing.

Discharge port changes both timing and price: Vladivostok or Novorossiysk

By sea, transit time depends directly on where the vessel discharges: sea routes from China take 23–55 days, and the discharge port decides where in that range a lot ends up. Via Vladivostok a buyer in Siberia or the Far East receives the goods closer to the lower end — a sound choice for those regions. Via Novorossiysk or St Petersburg it is closer to the upper end — longer, but logical for buyers in European Russia, who would otherwise need a long domestic leg on from Vladivostok.

Far Eastern terminals see queues in peak months, typically towards year-end, adding up to a week; factor this in if the buyer specifically needs the eastern port. The ports themselves are compared separately on the [Vladivostok or Novorossiysk page](/sravnenie/vladivostok-ili-novorossijsk). Choosing a port is also a question of onward Russian logistics: goods discharged at Vladivostok reach a Far Eastern or Siberian buyer faster than the headline transit figure suggests, while goods for a buyer in European Russia carry an extra domestic leg across the country on top of the sea transit.

Cost: rates on request, sea cheaper on volume

There are no fixed rates from China: a full 40-foot high-cube container by rail and groupage (LCL) per place or pallet are both quoted on request for the specific shipment. Sea freight is usually cheaper on volume: 20–40% cheaper than rail for groupage, and up to twice as cheap for a full container of heavy goods.

The minimum lot is the same for both — 50 kg for groupage — and this is a wholesale threshold: we take orders only from companies and sole traders, and the minimum service fee is €200. Personal parcels and retail consignments from China are not part of what we do, the same as from Europe.

Both rates include Russian-side customs clearance — declaration, duties and VAT, certification or a conformity declaration where required — arranged end to end by us. Cargo insurance, from 0.3% of declared value, is worth adding on the longer sea route, where the lot passes several transhipment points rather than one predictable rail leg.

Seasonality: Chinese New Year and the peak port quarter

Before Chinese New Year, factories and ports take extended holidays and rates rise on both modes in advance — but rail slots run out earlier, since the schedule is fixed and space on a given train is genuinely limited. Book several weeks ahead of this period, not a few days.

Sea freight has its own seasonal risk in the fourth quarter: on top of pre-holiday demand, storm delays and busier ports add to queues at terminals, particularly in the Far East, more than in other months. Both risks are worth building into the planned dispatch date from China rather than assuming an average transit time by default.

Example: the same lot, two ways

Hypothetical lot: electronics and components, about 3 m³ and 800 kg, to Moscow, with a pre-order to fill. A common compromise is a split shipment: the part needed immediately goes by rail, the rest of the same order by sea for the volume saving. The same logic applies to the choice between air and rail — see the [air or rail from China page](/sravnenie/avia-ili-zhd-iz-kitaya).

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