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North America · sea freight from Xiamen

Shipping from Xiamen to Houston

Xiamen to Houston

Taiwan Strait · East China Sea · North Pacific · Eastern Pacific · Panama Canal · Caribbean Sea · Yucatán Channel · Gulf of Mexico

Sea corridor illustration: Xiamen to Houston, United States Simplified map with a curved corridor from Xiamen via Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, North Pacific, Eastern Pacific, Panama Canal, Caribbean Sea, Yucatán Channel, Gulf of Mexico to Houston. Illustration only; not a vessel track or schedule. CHINANORTH AMERICAPACIFIC OCEAN North PacificPanama Canal XiamenCHINA ORIGIN HoustonUNITED STATES XiamenTAIWAN STRAITFUJIANTAIWANDEPARTURE AREA
  1. XiamenChina origin
  2. Taiwan Strait
  3. East China Sea
  4. North Pacific
  5. Eastern Pacific
  6. Panama Canal
  7. Caribbean Sea
  8. Yucatán Channel
  9. Gulf of Mexico
  10. HoustonUnited 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 Xiamen to Houston, cargo moves out of Xiamen's Haicang and Songyu terminals on the Taiwan Strait, crosses a Pacific crossing and a Panama Canal transit, and is discharged at the port of Houston.

Houston 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
  • Supply-chain tracing file
  • HTS code 8507.60
  • ISF filer
Ask about this route United States ports from Xiamen

Route profile

The Xiamen → Houston route in brief

Origin port

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.

Sea corridor

Asia – Americas via the Panama Canal

A Pacific crossing, a Panama Canal transit that depends on lake levels, and a Caribbean passage in hurricane season.

Container cranes at port facilities in Haicang, Xiamen, seen across the water on a hazy day
A loaded container ship on the horizon

Where this route gets difficult

Where Xiamen → Houston shipments get held up: 5 points

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

  1. Origin port

    Pre-loading meeting and a ship plan at Xiamen

    For large battery consignments Xiamen MSA offers pre-review of key DG documents, a pre-loading meeting where ship, cargo owner, terminal and agent agree deck stowage and emergency measures, and a 'one ship, one plan' checklist from gate-in to departure. In June 2026 it reported 104 energy-storage containers of 36 tonnes each loaded on a multipurpose ship for Houston.

    What Anxin does: We send the key documents for pre-review before the formal filing and bring the stowage and emergency details the meeting will ask for.

  2. Sea corridor

    The Pacific leg before Panama in winter

    The first half of the voyage crosses the North Pacific, where NOAA has recorded hurricane-force mid-latitude storms from October to April, most often in December.

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

  3. Import country

    The ISF deadline falls before the box is loaded

    CBP must have the Importer Security Filing 24 hours before the container is laden in Xiamen, and its liquidated damages guidelines provide for a claim for each late, inaccurate or incomplete filing. The stuffing location and consolidator can only be filled in once the container is packed, which leaves a short window.

    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 Xiamen, ahead of the vessel's loading window.

  4. Import country

    Port Houston will not take DG papers at the gate

    Bayport and Barbours Cut use a paperless hazardous pre-advise system. The shipping line submits the DG documents, the trucker's ExpressPass carries a Haz_No_Ingate hold until the hazardous team approves the unit, and papers handed over at the gate are refused.

    What Anxin does: We make sure the carrier has the final DG documents for Houston well before arrival and tell the trucker to check that the hold is released in Lynx before sending a driver.

  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 Houston.

    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 Houston, United StatesHouston
Locator map in the same projection as the corridor map; the dot marks the listed port position (29.75°N, 95.28°W).
Container ship being unloaded under red gantry cranes in Vancouver

Documents & compliance

Checklist for Xiamen → Houston

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 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

For the carrier and the voyage

  • Canal routing and any canal-related surcharge confirmed for the booked vessel
  • 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

  • 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)
  • Supply-chain tracing file for cells and lithium inputs, in case of a UFLPA request
Two power-tool battery packs side by side
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 Xiamen 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

What could go wrong from Xiamen to Houston, and who acts

RiskWhereMitigationWho acts
Late or inaccurate ISFBefore loading abroadStuffing and consolidator data sent to the ISF filer immediately after packingAnxin with the ISF filer

Questions

Xiamen → Houston: 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.

1 June to 30 November, peaking around 10 September, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

For products that pass automatic pre-review, Xiamen Customs issues it through the single window; the case reported in August 2026 took about 10 minutes, against about half a day for the old on-site inspection. Products that do not pass pre-review still need inspection.

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. Section 301 Modifications Determination (Federal Register notice, Sept 2024) (Office of the U.S. Trade Representative)
  4. 49 CFR 171.25 – Additional requirements for the use of the IMDG Code (eCFR / PHMSA)
  5. Update: Certificates of Compliance and eFiling (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
  6. DHS designates steel, copper, lithium, caustic soda and red dates as UFLPA high-priority sectors (19 Aug 2025) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
  7. Advisory to Shipping A-33-2026: Postponement of maximum authorized draft adjustment in the Neopanamax locks (Panama Canal Authority)
  8. Tropical Cyclone Climatology (NOAA National Hurricane Center)
  9. Hurricane force extratropical cyclones observed using QuikSCAT (Mariners Weather Log 49-1) (NOAA Ocean Prediction Center)
  10. Xiamen Customs smart supervision of lithium battery dangerous-goods packaging (Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and IT (from Fujian Daily))
  11. Xiamen port energy-storage battery transport safety guide 2.0 (Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce)
  12. Xiamen MSA measures for energy-storage battery exports (Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce)

Next step

From enquiry to import

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

Ask about Xiamen → Houston

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 Xiamen → Houston before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All destinations from Xiamen · United States ports

A forklift loading goods into an open shipping container

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