Lianyungang
Jiangsu's Yellow Sea port, with a simplified document list for 'new three' cargo since 2024 and its own guide for energy-storage units on break-bulk ships.
North America · sea freight from Lianyungang
Shipping from Lianyungang to Chicago
Lianyungang to Chicago
Yellow Sea · Korea Strait · Tsugaru Strait · Panama Canal · Windward Passage · Cabot Strait · Gulf of St. Lawrence · St. Lawrence Seaway
- LianyungangChina origin
- Yellow Sea
- Korea Strait
- Tsugaru Strait
- Panama Canal
- Windward Passage
- Cabot Strait
- Gulf of St. Lawrence
- St. Lawrence Seaway
- ChicagoUnited States
This route runs through Lianyungang port, then follows a corridor into Atlantic Canada's waters; at the far end is the port of Chicago.
The US side starts with two filings due before loading and ends with a road leg that must carry a live emergency number. The 5 points below are particular to this lane; each comes with what we do and the paperwork it touches.
What we need to start
- Lianyungang export
- Break-bulk ESS guide
- HTS code 8507.60
- ISF filer
- Supply-chain tracing file
Route profile
What sets Lianyungang → Chicago apart
United States
US entry hinges on filings made in China (ISF and AMS), a traceable lithium supply chain and a road leg that is regulated as a hazmat move.
Where this route gets difficult
Where Lianyungang → Chicago shipments get held up: 5 points
Loading port first, then the sea leg, then Chicago and the United States market.
- Origin port
Fog season at Lianyungang
Between April and July sea fog is a major marine hazard in the Yellow and Bohai Seas, the China Meteorological Administration says. Lianyungang, like Qingdao, can see vessels held at anchor by fog, and moving a box to another vessel means amending its DG filings.
What Anxin does: In fog season we keep slack between stuffing and the DG cut-off and have the filing data ready to amend.
- Origin port
Lianyungang's break-bulk guide for ESS
For energy storage shipped on break-bulk vessels, Lianyungang MSA's June 2025 guide classes ESS cabinets as UN3480 and ESS containers as UN3536, recommends 20–50% remaining charge, and requires converters and monitoring switched off, series and parallel circuits disconnected, packages spread evenly with a low centre of gravity, and a safety meeting before the ship arrives.
What Anxin does: For ESS units we confirm the UN number the unit ships under, get the state of charge and isolation steps in writing from the manufacturer, and join the pre-arrival safety meeting with the stowage details.
- Sea corridor
North Atlantic winter storms peak in January
NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center has recorded hurricane-force mid-latitude storms in the North Atlantic from October to April, most often in January. The final leg to Chicago crosses those waters.
What Anxin does: For winter sailings we check blocking and bracing on stuffing photos before sealing.
- Import country
Illinois battery stewardship has applied since January 2026
Since 1 January 2026 producers selling covered batteries, or products containing them, in or into Illinois must take part in an approved battery stewardship plan through a stewardship organization, and no one may sell them in the state otherwise (Public Act 103-1033).
What Anxin does: For batteries arriving in Chicago for sale in Illinois, we ask the importer which stewardship organization the producer belongs to before the goods ship.
- Import country
CPSC eFiling for certified consumer products
Consumer products that need a CPSC certificate have had their certificate data filed electronically at entry since 8 July 2026 (goods from a Foreign Trade Zone from 8 January 2027). A battery-powered product falls under it through the product's own rules, which the importer should settle before the goods reach Chicago.
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.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Lianyungang → Chicago
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.
At the Lianyungang end
- For ESS: UN3480 or UN3536 confirmed, state of charge and circuit isolation stated in writing
- Transport-condition classification report where applicable
- 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
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)
At the United States end
- CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
- HTSUS classification from the broker (8507.60.0010 vs .0020 decides the Section 301 line)
- Supply-chain tracing file for cells and lithium inputs, in case of a UFLPA request
Before you book
One consistent file
A document that is present but inconsistent holds a booking as surely as a missing one: the UN number, model name or carton count reads differently in the Lianyungang export filings, the carrier booking and the United States import papers. We compare all three before confirming space.
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
Risk table for Lianyungang → Chicago
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESS unit not isolated or poorly distributed in a break-bulk hold | Lianyungang, break-bulk loading | Manufacturer's written isolation steps; safety meeting | Manufacturer / ship, coordinated by Anxin |
| Stack damage in a winter storm | North Atlantic, Oct–Apr | CINS stuffing checks | Packing site, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Lianyungang → Chicago: questions we are asked
For lithium-ion batteries classified in HTSUS 8507.60.0020 and entered from 1 January 2026, USTR set the Section 301 additional duty at 25%; EV traction batteries in 8507.60.0010 have been at 25% since 2024. Other duties can apply on top. The importer's customs broker confirms the classification and total duty; we make sure the invoice gives the broker enough detail to do so.
Rarely. The Seaway's maximum draft in the Montreal–Lake Ontario section is 8.00 m and it closes in winter (target 5 January 2027 for the 2026 season), so containers usually leave the ocean vessel at a coastal port and continue by smaller ship, rail or truck.
Its June 2025 break-bulk ESS guide recommends 20–50% remaining charge, with converters and monitoring off and circuits disconnected.
References
Official sources for this page
- 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
- Section 301 Modifications Determination (Federal Register notice, Sept 2024) (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative)
- Update: Certificates of Compliance and eFiling (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
- DHS designates steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda and red dates as UFLPA high-priority sectors (19 Aug 2025) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
- Ice Navigation in Canadian Waters, Chapter 1: Icebreaking and shipping support services (Canadian Coast Guard)
- Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
- 2026 Seaway Notice #1: opening and closing dates of the 2026 navigation season and maximum allowable drafts (Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System)
- Sea fog in the Yellow and Bohai Seas (fog season mainly April–July) (China Meteorological Administration (from Guangming Daily))
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Lianyungang
- 5ImportClearance at Chicago
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Lianyungang → Chicago before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Lianyungang · United States ports
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