Lithium battery freight focus Air · Sea · Land assessment Document-first planning
Shipment Status & Support

North America · sea freight from Dalian

Shipping from Dalian to Cleveland

Dalian to Cleveland

Yellow Sea · Korea Strait · Tsugaru Strait · Panama Canal · Windward Passage · Cabot Strait · Gulf of St. Lawrence · St. Lawrence Seaway

Sea corridor illustration: Dalian to Cleveland, United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Dalian via Yellow Sea, Korea Strait, Tsugaru Strait, Panama Canal, Windward Passage, Cabot Strait, Gulf of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence Seaway to Cleveland. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINASIBERIANORTH AMERICASOUTH AMERICANORTH PACIFICPACIFIC OCEAN Tsugaru StraitPanama CanalCabot Strait DalianCHINA ORIGIN ClevelandUNITED STATES DalianBOHAI SEAYELLOW SEASHANDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. DalianChina origin
  2. Yellow Sea
  3. Korea Strait
  4. Tsugaru Strait
  5. Panama Canal
  6. Windward Passage
  7. Cabot Strait
  8. Gulf of St. Lawrence
  9. St. Lawrence Seaway
  10. ClevelandUnited States
Geographic corridor illustration only, not a vessel track, port-call list or sailing schedule. The loading terminal, carrier, transshipment and dates are confirmed per shipment.

From Dalian to Cleveland, cargo moves through Dayaowan, crosses a long voyage ending in the North Atlantic or the Gulf of St Lawrence, and is discharged at the port of Cleveland.

The United States applies Section 301 and UFLPA scrutiny to Chinese lithium batteries and wants its manifest data before loading. This page sets out 5 points specific to this route, how Anxin handles each one and which documents to prepare.

What we need to start

  • Dalian Dayaowan export
  • Winter ice & spring fog
  • Supply-chain tracing file
  • HTS code 8507.60
  • ISF filer

Route profile

How Dalian → Cleveland differs from other lanes

Sea corridor

Asia – Atlantic Canada, the St Lawrence and the North Atlantic

Atlantic Canada and St Lawrence waters: icebreaking in winter, hurricane-force storms from October to April.

Import country

United States

A duty line set by the exact 8507.60 code, lithium supply-chain questions under UFLPA, and ISF and AMS filings that are due before the box is loaded.

Blue harbour crane booms above a quay building in Dalian harbour
A loaded container ship on the horizon

Where this route gets difficult

5 pain points from Dalian to Cleveland

In the order the cargo meets them: at the loading port, at sea, at Cleveland and at customs in United States.

  1. Origin port

    Fewer battery sailings from Dalian under JT/T 1543

    Dalian's battery flow is modest: Dalian MSA recorded 885 TEU of lithium battery exports in the first four months of 2025, and Liaoning's first export under JT/T 1543 left Dayaowan on 4 May 2025. Carriers should refuse batteries that fail JT/T 1543, and a thin flow leaves fewer alternative sailings when a booking is turned down.

    What Anxin does: We check JT/T 1543 conformity evidence with the manufacturer before booking and confirm the carrier's acceptance of the UN numbers in writing.

  2. Sea corridor

    January is the peak of North Atlantic winter storms

    NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center has logged hurricane-force mid-latitude storms in the North Atlantic from October to April, most frequently in January, on the last leg of the voyage to Cleveland.

    What Anxin does: For winter sailings we check blocking and bracing on stuffing photos before sealing.

  3. Import country

    Section 301 at 25% on lithium-ion non-EV batteries from January 2026

    USTR's 2024 review moved lithium-ion batteries of HTSUS 8507.60.0020 (the 'other', non-passenger-EV line) from a 7.5% to a 25% additional duty for entries from 1 January 2026; EV traction batteries under 8507.60.0010 reached 25% in 2024. Other China-specific duties can stack on top and change with little notice, so the landed cost depends on the exact classification and entry date.

    What Anxin does: We do not give duty rulings. We make sure the invoice describes chemistry, configuration and application precisely enough for the importer's customs broker to classify it, and we flag the entry date when a vessel's arrival could straddle a duty change.

  4. Import country

    Unentered battery containers go to General Order after 15 days

    A container landed at Cleveland without a release permit may stay at the terminal only until the 15th calendar day. The carrier must then notify CBP and a bonded general order warehouse, which moves and stores the goods at the consignee's risk and expense (19 CFR 4.37). Not every general order warehouse can take Class 9 battery cargo, and where specialized storage is missing the port director decides where it goes.

    What Anxin does: We check with the importer's broker that the entry can be filed before arrival at Cleveland, and chase any missing invoice or HTS detail while the ship is still at sea.

  5. Import country

    CPSC certificate data now filed at entry

    Since 8 July 2026, importers of consumer products that are subject to a CPSC certification requirement must electronically file the certificate data at entry; goods entered from a Foreign Trade Zone follow on 8 January 2027. Whether a battery-powered product is caught depends on the rules that apply to that product, not on the battery alone.

    What Anxin does: We ask whether the goods are consumer products that need a CPSC certificate and, if so, who files it, so that the question is settled before the goods arrive.

Locator map of Cleveland, United StatesCleveland
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (41.50°N, 81.72°W).
Containers on rail wagons next to a terminal in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

Documents to line up for Dalian → Cleveland

Test reports, safety data sheets and import certificates come from the shipper, factory and importer, not from Anxin; our part is to review them before booking.

Before loading in Dalian

  • JT/T 1543 conformity evidence from the manufacturer
  • Load plan showing even weight distribution (no more than 60% of the cargo weight in either half of the container length)
  • 'Made in China' marking on articles or containers checked on photos
  • Safety data sheet and dangerous goods safe-carriage declaration for the MSA cargo report
  • Customs packaging use-appraisal result for the dangerous goods packaging (with the maker's performance appraisal)

For the carrier and the voyage

  • In winter: ice capability of the vessel or feeder serving the port confirmed
  • Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards
  • Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)

For import into United States

  • HTSUS classification from the broker (8507.60.0010 vs .0020 decides the Section 301 line)
  • ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
  • Supply-chain tracing file for cells and lithium inputs, in case of a UFLPA request
An electric bicycle with its battery mounted on the frame
Before you book

Match the details first

We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Dalian filings, the booking with the carrier and the documents for United States before the booking is confirmed, so that a mismatch is fixed at origin rather than discovered at Cleveland.

Carriers we book with

Our booking panel; availability on this lane and acceptance of the declared UN numbers are confirmed for each booking. It does not mean that a listed carrier runs a direct service on this route. Carrier choice depends on the trade lane, cargo classification and each carrier's dangerous-goods acceptance at booking. The final carrier is confirmed on the booking.

Risk & mitigation

What could go wrong from Dalian to Cleveland, and who acts

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Stack damage in a winter stormNorth Atlantic, Oct–AprCINS stuffing checksPacking site, checked by Anxin

Questions

Common questions on the Dalian → Cleveland route

Yes. Under 49 CFR 171.25(b)(3), SP188 packages of UN3480 or UN3090 need the 'FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT' marking or a Cargo Aircraft Only label, and so do packages of batteries packed with or contained in equipment above 5 kg net. We check for it on carton photos before stuffing.

NOAA's storm study found hurricane-force winter storms from October to April, most often in January.

Dayaowan MSA reported in 2024 that omissions and misdeclarations of lithium battery cargo were frequent because the rules are complex, and it uses AI document comparison. Consistent data across the declaration, SDS and packing documents is the main defence.

Next step

From enquiry to import

  1. 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
  2. 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
  3. 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
  4. 4HandoverAt Dalian
  5. 5ImportClearance at Cleveland
Each step is confirmed in writing; an enquiry does not create a booking.

Ask about Dalian → Cleveland

Origin and destination are filled in; add the cargo facts you have.

Sending this form starts a review; it does not confirm carriage. Full enquiry form

After you send it

We check carrier acceptance for Dalian → Cleveland before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Dalian · United States ports

A truck hauling a teal shipping container on a motorway

Need Dalian → Cleveland reviewed?

Share the cargo facts; we review the route in writing.

Request a Quote
Request a Quote WhatsApp