Current Freight Rates
Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.
Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Saudi Arabia is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
- Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
- Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
- Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
EXW Ex Works
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
FCA Free Carrier
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
FAS Free Alongside Ship
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
FOB Free On Board
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
CFR Cost and Freight
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
CPT Carriage Paid To
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
DAP Delivered At Place
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
DDP Delivered Duty Paid
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Service Details
Ningbo → Dammam Container Shipping
Ningbo to Dammam container shipping, priced per box rather than per CBM. This is the lane to book when the cargo fills a container or when it should not share one: machinery, stone, steel, building materials and project pieces all move better as FCL because nothing else is loaded around them. Plan on 18–26 days port to port port to port.
Port-to-port means exactly that: the rate ends at the Dammam terminal gate. Typical dwell at destination runs 4–8 days before the box is available for collection, and that window sits outside the transit figure above. Origin haulage, export declaration, destination clearance, duty and delivery beyond the terminal are all quoted separately, so ask for a door figure if that is what you are comparing against.
Rate by Container Type
- 20GP — quoted on request for the current sailing
- 40HQ — quoted on request for the current sailing
Every consignment on this service is measured as well as weighed. Volumetric weight is L×W×H in centimetres divided by 6000 — one cubic meter counted as roughly 166.7 kg — and whichever figure is higher is the one charged. Dense cargo pays on its weight; light bulky cargo pays on its volume, and repacking to raise density is often the cheapest saving available on a Saudi Arabia shipment.
Typical cargo on this route: home decor (HS 94), where clearance turns on timber due diligence (EUTR / EUDR) and UK upholstery fire regulations, pallet (HS 44 / 48) and bearings (HS 73 / 82 / 83). If yours is on that list the commodity page is worth two minutes — it covers how the goods should leave the factory, how they should sit in the container, and the failure mode we see most often on this kind of freight.
To see this tariff against a real consignment rather than a rate card, the 100 KG, 300 KG and 500 KG pages run it at a fixed weight and show the landed total, including the point where stepping up a bracket lowers your cost per kilo. They are the fastest way to check whether consolidating two orders into one is worth the wait.
We move sea freight cargo for Saudi Arabia through Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz (Dammam) and Jubail. The quoted rate covers the ocean leg to whichever of those the vessel calls at; the difference between them shows up in the trucking cost beyond the quay, which is why it pays to name the delivery city when you ask for a quote rather than just the country.
The table above prices the lane, but most buyers arrive with a consignment already in mind. If yours has a known weight, the 100 KG, 300 KG and 500 KG breakdowns run this tariff against a fixed shipment so you see a landed number rather than a rate per kilo, and the China to Saudi Arabia Sea Freight Cost page sets every channel we run on this lane side by side. For the wider picture including documentation and duty, start from shipping from China to Saudi Arabia.
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Additional Information
Scope, Exclusions and What to Check Before Booking
This is a port-to-port FCL rate for Ningbo to Dammam. It covers ocean freight for one container and stops at the Dammam terminal gate. Everything either side of that — trucking to Ningbo, customs at both ends, duty and tax for Saudi Arabia, inland delivery — is quoted on request rather than bundled, which keeps the freight number comparable between carriers.
- Priced per box in USD for 20GP and 40HQ, not per KG or per CBM — utilization is yours to optimize
- Transit 18–26 days port to port port to port on Ningbo to Dammam, subject to the sailing booked
- Heavy and out-of-gauge cargo is core traffic here: machinery, steel, stone, building materials, project pieces
- Cut-off and free time attach to the specific sailing; demurrage begins the day free time expires
- Reefer, dangerous goods and out-of-gauge are priced case by case rather than from the card
- Clearance at destination is handled by Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA); the consignee must be registered to import
- Destination conformity for Saudi Arabia: SABER/SASO conformity certificate
The most expensive mistake on a Ningbo to Dammam booking is not the freight rate, it is free time. Demurrage and detention start counting at the Dammam terminal whether or not your consignee is ready, and on a bad week they can exceed the ocean freight itself. Confirm how many free days the booking carries before you fix a collection date.
Before you book, confirm two things with your consignee: that they are registered to import into Saudi Arabia, and that whoever is named as importer of record accepts the duty liability. Those are dull questions and they are also the two that most often surface only after the cargo has already sailed.
Where these numbers come from
Treat the landed-cost numbers here as a planning baseline. ZATCA (Saudi Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority) sets the rate that actually gets charged, assessed against your HS classification at the moment of clearance, so their own guidance is worth reading before a large order.
If you want to sanity-check a duty figure yourself, start from the heading rather than the product name — the WCO Harmonized System is the underlying nomenclature, and the WTO Tariff & Trade Data portal holds the applied rates by country pair.
For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.
On the origin side, export declaration and any commodity inspection requirement fall under China Customs (GACC); we handle that filing as part of the service, but the requirement is theirs, not ours.
If this is your first shipment into Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabia Country Commercial Guide covers the practical import environment in more depth than a rate page reasonably can, and it is written by a party with no stake in your booking.
China to Saudi Arabia — Shipping Reference Data
| Main sea gateways | Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz (Dammam), Jubail |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | SAR 1,000 |
| Import tax & duty regime | VAT 15%; duty 5–15% (up to 25% on some goods) |
| Local currency | SAR |
| Typical clearance / dwell time | 4–8 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | SABER/SASO conformity certificate |
Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Free 3D Loading Tools for This Sea Route
This page covers a Sea freight service from China to Saudi Arabia. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.
3D Container Loading Planner
Wondering whether your cargo fills a 20GP or needs a 40HQ for this Saudi Arabia route? The 3D container planner simulates cartons, crates, pallets, and even mixed box sizes in one container.
Open Container Planner →Saudi Arabia Sea Freight Checklist
- Reserve loading space 5-7 days before the sailing cut-off for this route during peak season.
- Declare accurate gross weight — VGM misdeclaration delays vessels and triggers fines.
- Check pallet vs floor-loading: floor loading typically fits 8-12% more cartons per container.
- Confirm whether your Saudi Arabia rate is per CBM or per container before comparing quotes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Sea FCL Port-to-Port from China to Saudi Arabia take?
Sea freight on this route runs about 25–45 calendar days door-to-door, plus roughly 4–8 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.
What duties and taxes apply when importing into Saudi Arabia?
Clearance is handled by Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA). The regime is: VAT 15%; duty 5–15% (up to 25% on some goods), with a de-minimis position of SAR 1,000. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.
How is the shipping cost on this route calculated?
We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000, so one cubic meter counts as about 166.7 kg) and charge whichever is greater, rounded up to the next kilogram, then apply the per-KG rate shown in the table above. A 300 kg consignment measuring out to only 200 kg volumetric is still charged on the 300 kg.
In what currency is this route priced and paid?
Freight is quoted and invoiced in USD; the destination-side currency is SAR. Payment is typically due before departure, and DDP means you settle the full landed cost once.
What does DDP shipping to Saudi Arabia include on this route?
DDP means we quote the freight, the customs entry with Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) and last-mile delivery in Saudi Arabia together, so you settle once. The duty and tax portion depends on your product's HS code, declared value and the exchange rate at entry, so it is confirmed against your actual goods — the figures on this page are indicative and can move either way.
What certification is needed to import into Saudi Arabia?
For regulated goods, plan for: SABER/SASO conformity certificate. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common clearance hold with Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), so confirm requirements for your HS code before shipping.
Shipping Saudi Arabia cargo by industry
This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.
- Bolts Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Industrial Boilers General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
- Building Materials Building Materials & Construction Products
- Plumbing Products Building Materials & Construction Products
- Engineering Plastics Plastics, Rubber & Packaging
- Home Furniture Furniture & Home Products
- Garden Products Furniture & Home Products
- Illuminated Signs Retail, Display & Commercial Fixtures
- Metal Products Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Storage Tanks Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Transformers New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Sanitary Ware Building Materials & Construction Products
About China Ocean Freight
China Ocean Freight is a China-based freight forwarder for importers who buy from Chinese factories. We handle the whole move: pickup from your supplier, warehouse consolidation, export customs, the main sea, air or rail leg, import clearance and delivery to your door.
On this lane we consolidate at our China warehouse, load at Shenzhen, Guangzhou or Ningbo, and coordinate the destination port, customs entry and final delivery in Saudi Arabia.
- One coordinator owns your shipment from booking to delivery
- Prices taken from current carrier tariffs, not index averages
- Supplier pickup, inspection, repacking and labeling in China
- DDP or DAP terms, with every charge stated before you book