Xiamen (Haicang / Songyu)
Fujian's battery gateway, handling more than 90% of the province's lithium battery exports, with 10-minute online packaging appraisal for compliant products and the Taiwan Strait's winter monsoon on the doorstep.
North America · sea freight from Xiamen
Shipping from Xiamen to Chicago
Xiamen to Chicago
Taiwan Strait · Eastern Pacific · Panama Canal · Caribbean Sea · Windward Passage · Cabot Strait · Gulf of St. Lawrence · St. Lawrence Seaway
- XiamenChina origin
- Taiwan Strait
- Eastern Pacific
- Panama Canal
- Caribbean Sea
- Windward Passage
- Cabot Strait
- Gulf of St. Lawrence
- St. Lawrence Seaway
- ChicagoUnited States
From Xiamen to Chicago, cargo moves through Xiamen, the port for more than 90% of Fujian's lithium battery exports, crosses a corridor into Atlantic Canada's waters, and is discharged at the port of Chicago.
Chicago means US customs filings that are due while the container is still in Xiamen, and a supply chain CBP may ask to see. Below are 5 route-specific points to plan for, what we do about each, and the documents to have ready before booking.
What we need to start
- Xiamen export
- Online packaging appraisal
- HTS code 8507.60
- ISF filer
- Supply-chain tracing file
Route profile
The Xiamen → Chicago route in brief
United States
Two filings before loading, a Section 301 line set by classification, UFLPA supply-chain questions and a 15-day General Order clock after discharge.
Where this route gets difficult
Where Xiamen → Chicago shipments get held up: 5 points
They run from the Xiamen terminal through the voyage to Chicago and the United States import file.
- Origin port
Xiamen ESS on multipurpose vessels and class 9 berths
Xiamen's energy-storage transport guide 2.0 (August 2026) notes that some ESS containers sail on multipurpose ships and calls for a pre-voyage meeting with the terminal and lashing contractors. It names the terminals qualified for class 9: Xiamen Hyundai terminal, Yuanhai Tongda, and Haixiang berths 7–8.
What Anxin does: For ESS units we confirm early whether the carrier offers container-ship or multipurpose carriage, which qualified terminal is used, and who attends the pre-voyage meeting.
- Sea corridor
Ice in the Gulf of St Lawrence, December to May
The Canadian Coast Guard's icebreaking season on the Gulf of St Lawrence and the St Lawrence River typically runs from December to May, and ships must clear with ECAREG CANADA 24 hours before entering, declaring their ice class. Winter sailings to Chicago depend on the vessel's ice capability and on icebreaker routing.
What Anxin does: For December–May arrivals we ask the carrier whether the vessel or feeder serving Chicago is ice-classed and build slack into delivery.
- 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.
- Import country
A monitored US emergency number for the truck leg
The IMDG waiver in 49 CFR 171.25(d)(2) spares the emergency telephone number only when cargo stays on the ship or moves between vessels without using a public highway. Once the container is trucked out of Chicago, the shipping paper needs a numeric emergency response number that is monitored at all times and answered by someone who knows the material; an answering service that calls back does not count. Goods shipped as 'Battery powered equipment' are exempt.
What Anxin does: Before sailing we confirm who provides the 24-hour number for the US leg, usually the importer's emergency response provider, and put it with the contract reference on the DG documents we send to the trucker.
- Import country
The FMC's 30-day rules on demurrage and detention bills
If a battery container waits at Chicago, the demurrage or detention invoice has to arrive within 30 days and carry accurate and sufficient information, or the charge is not owed (46 CFR part 541). The billed party then has at least 30 days to dispute it; in 2025 the D.C. Circuit struck down only the rule on who may be invoiced.
What Anxin does: We keep the dates of discharge, availability and any DG hold for each container, so the importer can check invoices against them and dispute charges inside the FMC time limits.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Xiamen → Chicago
These documents come from the shipper, the manufacturer and the importer. Anxin checks them against each other; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.
Before loading in Xiamen
- For ESS: carriage type (container ship or multipurpose), class 9 terminal and pre-voyage meeting confirmed
- 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
Carrier and voyage
- In winter: ice capability of the vessel or feeder serving the port confirmed
- Condition statement: new, used, damaged/defective (SP376) or for recycling (SP377)
- SP188 cartons: US 'forbidden aboard passenger aircraft' marking or CAO label
At the United States end
- HTSUS classification from the broker (8507.60.0010 vs .0020 decides the Section 301 line)
- Importer of record and the licensed customs broker who will file the entry
- ISF filer named; stuffing location and consolidator sent right after packing
Before you book
Match the details first
We line up UN numbers, model names and package counts across the Xiamen 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 Chicago.
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 Xiamen to Chicago, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESS unit arrives at a terminal without class 9 qualification | Xiamen port | Qualified terminal confirmed at booking | Anxin with the carrier |
| Ice delays arrival or limits which vessels can call | Gulf of St Lawrence, Dec–May | Ice-classed vessel confirmed; slack in delivery | Carrier |
| Truck stopped without a monitored emergency number | Road leg from the port | Emergency response provider confirmed before sailing | Importer, checked by Anxin |
Questions
Xiamen → 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.
Yes. Xiamen MSA reported 104 ESS containers of 36 tonnes each loaded for Houston in June 2026. Xiamen's ESS guide 2.0 requires a pre-voyage meeting and use of a class 9 qualified terminal.
References
Where these points come from
- 19 CFR 134.11: Country of origin marking required (Legal Information Institute (e-CFR text))
- 19 CFR 149.2 – Importer security filing: requirement and time of transmission (eCFR / CBP)
- Section 301 Modifications Determination (Federal Register notice, Sept 2024) (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative)
- 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
- 49 CFR 172.604: Emergency response telephone number (eCFR / PHMSA)
- Ice Navigation in Canadian Waters, Chapter 1: Icebreaking and shipping support services (Canadian Coast Guard)
- 2026 Seaway Notice #1: opening and closing dates of the 2026 navigation season and maximum allowable drafts (Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System)
- Xiamen port energy-storage battery transport safety guide 2.0 (Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce)
- Xiamen MSA measures for energy-storage battery exports (Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce)
Next step
From enquiry to import
- 1EnquiryCargo, origin, destination
- 2Documents checkUN 38.3, SDS, packing
- 3BookingAfter carrier acceptance
- 4HandoverAt Xiamen
- 5ImportClearance at Chicago
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After you send it
We check carrier acceptance for Xiamen → Chicago before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
All destinations from Xiamen · United States ports
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