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

North America · sea freight from Shenzhen

Shipping from Shenzhen to Long Beach

Shenzhen to Long Beach

South China Sea · Taiwan Strait · East China Sea · North Pacific

Sea corridor illustration: Shenzhen to Long Beach, United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Shenzhen via South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, North Pacific to Long Beach. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINANORTH AMERICAPACIFIC OCEAN East China SeaNorth Pacific ShenzhenCHINA ORIGIN Long BeachUNITED STATES ShenzhenSOUTH CHINA SEAGUANGDONGDEPARTURE AREA
  1. ShenzhenChina origin
  2. South China Sea
  3. Taiwan Strait
  4. East China Sea
  5. North Pacific
  6. Long BeachUnited 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 Shenzhen to Long Beach, cargo moves out of Shenzhen's Yantian and Shekou terminals, crosses a North Pacific crossing with no chokepoint but real winter-storm exposure, and is discharged at the port of Long Beach.

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

  • Typhoon season Jun–Oct
  • Yantian / Shekou export
  • HTS code 8507.60
  • ISF filer
  • Supply-chain tracing file

Route profile

The Shenzhen → Long Beach route in brief

Origin port

Shenzhen (Yantian / Shekou)

Pearl River Delta battery cargo, often stuffed at factories in Dongguan or Huizhou, exported through Yantian or Shekou, with a typhoon season from June to October.

Sea corridor

Transpacific (North Pacific)

A North Pacific crossing with no canal or chokepoint risk, but with a record of winter storms strong enough to collapse container stacks.

Yantian port area in Shenzhen seen from the hills, with container berths along the bay
A cargo ship at anchor in calm water under a clear sky

Where this route gets difficult

Where Shenzhen → Long Beach shipments get held up: 5 points

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

  1. Origin port

    Factory stuffing in Dongguan, loading at Yantian: avoid a second opening

    Much Shenzhen battery export is stuffed inland and trucked to the terminal. In May 2026 Yantian MSA and Dongguan MSA ran a cross-regional 'one-box' pilot: four battery containers were inspected jointly at the Dongguan factory and loaded at Yantian without being opened again. It shows that the inspection record made at the factory is what matters at the terminal.

    What Anxin does: We ask at booking whether your factory and the terminal's MSA office can use the one-box arrangement, and we have stuffing photos, the packing certificate and the DG declaration match exactly, so the container is not held for re-inspection.

  2. Sea corridor

    No chokepoint, but North Pacific storms

    The drawn corridor from Shenzhen crosses the North Pacific, with no canal and no Red Sea exposure. Weather is the risk instead. In November 2020 the ONE Apus, sailing from Yantian to Long Beach, suffered a stack collapse in a storm about 1,600 nautical miles north-west of Hawaii; its owners reported that more than 1,900 containers could be lost or damaged, including up to 40 hazmat boxes.

    What Anxin does: For winter sailings especially, we review blocking and bracing on stuffing photos against the CINS points before sealing, and make sure the DG declaration is complete, so a damaged box can be identified and handled correctly.

  3. 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 Long Beach booking, we check the carton photos for the US marking or CAO label before stuffing, not after discharge.

  4. Import country

    Brand and chemistry labels on built-in-battery products

    California has added battery-embedded products to its electronic-waste program: from 1 January 2026 buyers pay a recycling fee at purchase, and each covered product must show the manufacturer's name or brand and the battery chemistry (or put it on the maker's website), with an annual product notice to CalRecycle and retailers.

    What Anxin does: If the goods landing at Long Beach are devices with built-in batteries for sale in California, we ask the brand owner to confirm the chemistry labelling and the CalRecycle notice before shipping.

  5. 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 Long Beach.

    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 Long Beach, United StatesLong Beach
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (33.77°N, 118.18°W).
Containers on rail wagons next to a terminal in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

Documents to line up for Shenzhen → Long Beach

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 Shenzhen end

  • Confirmation from the carrier of the DG cut-off at Yantian or Shekou, rechecked in typhoon weeks
  • '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)
  • Container packing certificate signed by a certified packing inspector after supervised stuffing

For the carrier and the voyage

  • Stuffing photos before, during and after packing, checked for blocking and bracing
  • UN 38.3 test summary for every cell and battery type
  • Dangerous goods declaration with UN number (3480 / 3481 / 3090 / 3091), proper shipping name and packing instruction (P903, or P908/P911 for damaged)

For import into United States

  • CPSC certificate data and eFiling arrangement, if the product is subject to certification
  • ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
  • HTSUS classification from the broker (8507.60.0010 vs .0020 decides the Section 301 line)
Warehouse with red racking and pallets of boxes
Before you book

Match the details first

We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Shenzhen 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 Long Beach.

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 Shenzhen to Long Beach, and who acts

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Container reopened at the terminal because records do not matchFactory → YantianPhotos, packing certificate and DG declaration cross-checked before truckingAnxin
Stack collapse or cargo shift in a North Pacific stormMid-PacificBlocking and bracing checked before sealing; complete DG data for incident responsePacking site / carrier, checked by Anxin
SP188 cartons without the US markingDischarge and onward truckingMarking or CAO label checked on carton photos before stuffingShipper, checked by Anxin

Questions

Questions about shipping from Shenzhen to Long Beach

Yes, if the container moves on a public highway. The IMDG waiver in 49 CFR 171.25(d)(2) only covers cargo that stays on the ship or moves between vessels; otherwise 49 CFR 172.604 requires a monitored number answered by someone with the emergency information. Goods shipped as 'Battery powered equipment' are exempt.

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.

Yes, provided a certified packing inspector supervises the stuffing and signs the container packing certificate. Since May 2026 Yantian and Dongguan MSA have also piloted joint factory inspection so the container can be loaded at Yantian without reopening; we check whether your shipment can use it.

Next step

From enquiry to import

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

Ask about Shenzhen → Long Beach

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 Shenzhen → Long Beach before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Shenzhen · United States ports

Workers loading cartons from pallets by hand in a warehouse

Need Shenzhen → Long Beach reviewed?

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

Request a Quote
Request a Quote WhatsApp