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North America · sea freight from Shanghai

Shipping from Shanghai to Portland (Oregon)

Shanghai to Portland (Oregon)

East China Sea · Korea Strait · Sea of Japan · Tsugaru Strait · North Pacific

Sea corridor illustration: Shanghai to Portland (Oregon), United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Shanghai via East China Sea, Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, Tsugaru Strait, North Pacific to Portland (Oregon). Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINA Tsugaru StraitNorth Pacific ShanghaiCHINA ORIGIN Portland (Oregon)UNITED STATES ShanghaiEAST CHINA SEAJIANGSUZHEJIANGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. ShanghaiChina origin
  2. East China Sea
  3. Korea Strait
  4. Sea of Japan
  5. Tsugaru Strait
  6. North Pacific
  7. Portland (Oregon)United 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.

This route runs out of Shanghai, where MSA spot-checks battery containers during and after filing, then follows a North Pacific crossing with no chokepoint but real winter-storm exposure; at the far end is the port of Portland (Oregon).

US entry is decided as much by paperwork filed in China as by anything at the port. 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

  • Yangshan / Waigaoqiao export
  • Photo-verified packing certificate
  • Supply-chain tracing file
  • HTS code 8507.60
  • ISF filer
Ask about this route United States ports from Shanghai

Route profile

How Shanghai → Portland (Oregon) differs from other lanes

Origin port

Shanghai (Yangshan / Waigaoqiao)

Yangshan and Waigaoqiao exports under Shanghai MSA's photo-verified packing system, where a mismatch between photos and EDI data keeps a DG box off the ship.

Sea corridor

Transpacific (North Pacific)

A great-circle route across the North Pacific, exposed to hurricane-force winter storms from October to April.

Yangshan deep-water port near Shanghai seen from a hillside, with container stacks and gantry cranes
A cargo ship at anchor in calm water under a clear sky

Where this route gets difficult

Where Shanghai → Portland (Oregon) shipments get held up: 5 points

Listed from loading in Shanghai to import into United States, each with what we do about it.

  1. Origin port

    Not every Shanghai warehouse can stuff lithium DG

    Shanghai MSA's 2024 draft reporting guide says warehouses that stuff lithium battery dangerous goods must provide fire-department proof of their fire hazard classification and fire-resistance rating. The site's information must also be up to date on the Shanghai single window, which took over MSA account and site records in 2026.

    What Anxin does: We only propose stuffing sites that can show the fire-safety documents and are on Shanghai MSA's system; if you use your own warehouse, we check this before booking.

  2. Sea corridor

    Hurricane-force winter storms, October to April

    NOAA's Ocean Prediction Center has recorded hurricane-force winds (64 knots or more) in mid-latitude North Pacific storms in every month from October to April, most often in December, with 15 to 23 such storms a season in its 2001–2004 study. These are not tropical systems, so they arrive outside typhoon season.

    What Anxin does: For October–April sailings we check blocking and bracing on stuffing photos before sealing and confirm the full DG data are on the manifest.

  3. Import country

    Button and coin cells: Reese's Law

    Consumer products containing button or coin cells manufactured or imported after 19 March 2024 must meet the UL 4200A-2023 performance and warning-label rules adopted as 16 CFR part 1263, and battery packaging labels have been mandatory since 21 September 2024. The importer also needs a certificate citing the rule.

    What Anxin does: When a shipment for Portland (Oregon) includes products with button or coin cells, we ask for the certificate and photos of the battery compartment warnings before booking.

  4. Import country

    ISF closes 24 hours before loading in Shanghai

    The Importer Security Filing must reach CBP no later than 24 hours before the container is laden aboard the vessel abroad. CBP's liquidated damages guidelines provide for a claim per violation for late, inaccurate or incomplete filings. Two of the data elements, the container stuffing location and the consolidator, only exist once the box is packed.

    What Anxin does: We send the importer's ISF filer the stuffing location, consolidator and manufacturer details as soon as the container is packed in Shanghai, ahead of the vessel's loading window.

  5. Import country

    A US-only carton mark for SP188 shipments

    Packages of UN3480 or UN3090 moving under IMDG special provision 188 skip the DG declaration at sea, yet 49 CFR 171.25(b)(3) still wants the 'FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT' mark or a Cargo Aircraft Only label on each one, and on packages of batteries with or in equipment over 5 kg net.

    What Anxin does: When the shipper declares SP188 for a Portland (Oregon) booking, we check the carton photos for the US marking or CAO label before stuffing, not after discharge.

Locator map of Portland (Oregon), United StatesPortland (Oregon)
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (45.52°N, 122.67°W).
Container ship being unloaded under red gantry cranes in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

What to have ready: Shanghai to Portland (Oregon)

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.

In Shanghai, before the box is loaded

  • Stuffing site registered and geo-verified with Shanghai MSA; fire-safety proof for lithium DG warehouses
  • 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)

Carrier and voyage

  • Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
  • Lithium battery mark (SP188 cargo) or class 9 labels and placards
  • Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)

For the importer in United States

  • 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
  • CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
An electric bicycle with its battery mounted on the frame
Before you book

Send the file once, complete

Most delays on this route start with a document that exists but does not match: a UN number, a model name or a package count that differs between the Shanghai filings, the carrier booking and the United States import file. We check the three against each other before the booking is confirmed.

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

Risks on this route and who deals with them

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Heavy-weather damage in a winter stormNorth Pacific, Oct–AprCINS stuffing checksPacking site, checked by Anxin
Late or inaccurate ISFBefore loading abroadStuffing and consolidator data sent to the ISF filer immediately after packingAnxin with the ISF filer
SP188 cartons without the US markingDischarge and onward truckingMarking or CAO label checked on carton photos before stuffingShipper, checked by Anxin

Questions

Shanghai → Portland (Oregon): questions we are asked

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.

Weather is the main risk on this crossing: NOAA recorded hurricane-force North Pacific storms from October to April, most often in December. We tighten the packing checks for those sailings.

Shanghai MSA's Notice No. 4 of 2024 accepts either an inspector-signed packing certificate or a packing declaration issued by the stuffing company. Either way, the shipper remains responsible and must provide proof if MSA spot-checks.

References

Where these points come from

  1. 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
  2. 19 CFR 149.2 – Importer security filing: requirement and time of transmission (eCFR / CBP)
  3. 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
  4. Update: Certificates of Compliance and eFiling (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
  5. DHS designates steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda and red dates as UFLPA high-priority sectors (19 Aug 2025) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
  6. Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
  7. Notice on the trial of the remote smart management system for DG container packing (Chinese), 12 November 2021 (Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration)
  8. Shanghai MSA Notice No. 4 of 2024 on declaring lithium battery dangerous-goods containers (Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration)
  9. Export dangerous goods packaging inspection: service guide (Chinese) (General Administration of Customs of China (Lanzhou Customs service guide))

Next step

From enquiry to import

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

Ask about Shanghai → Portland (Oregon)

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 Shanghai → Portland (Oregon) before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Shanghai · United States ports

A truck hauling a teal shipping container on a motorway

Need Shanghai → Portland (Oregon) reviewed?

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

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