Shanghai, China → New York, USA
The Shanghai, China to New York, USA container service is one of the workhorse port-pairs of the Asia-USEC trade. The full sea-leg distance measures roughly 13,700 nautical miles, and a typical container vessel covers it in 36 calendar days port-to-port — a sustained average of approximately 9,133 nautical miles per 24-hour period including pilotage, terminal calls and trans-shipment dwell. Sailings depart on weekly via suez schedules, which gives shippers strong flexibility on cut-off dates and a meaningful choice of operating carrier.
This corridor is operated by 5 ocean carriers under various joint services and alliance arrangements. The mix of mega-vessels, regional feeders and trans-shipment routings means that the visible "transit time" you book against is rarely a single vessel rotation — most cargo on this lane discharges and reloads at one or more hub ports. The figures we publish below reflect the standard expedited routing as advertised by the listed carriers.
Carriers serving Shanghai, China → New York, USA
The following ocean carriers actively call both Shanghai, China and New York, USA in their published service rotations. Service strings, vessel sizes and partner-vessel arrangements change quarterly — confirm the active sailing schedule directly with the carrier before booking.
- Maersk Line (SCAC MAEU) — Copenhagen, Denmark; alliance member of Gemini Cooperation.
- MSC (SCAC MSCU) — Geneva, Switzerland; alliance member of MSC Standalone Network.
- CMA CGM (SCAC CMDU) — Marseille, France; alliance member of Ocean Alliance.
- Ocean Network Express (SCAC ONEY) — Singapore; alliance member of Premier Alliance.
- Evergreen Marine (SCAC EGLV) — Taoyuan, Taiwan; alliance member of Ocean Alliance.
Booking Shanghai, China → New York, USA container shipments
Most freight forwarders book this corridor 7 to 14 days before the cargo cut-off (CY cut-off) at Shanghai, China. Spot rates for this lane are quoted per container — most commonly per 40' high-cube — and quoted as "ocean freight all-in" or as a base ocean rate plus surcharges (BAF, CAF, terminal handling charge at both ends, and any temporary peak season surcharge). On the Asia-USEC trade, capacity tightens around the Lunar New Year window each January–February and the autumn pre-holiday rush in August–October, so booking earlier is prudent in those periods.
Container equipment availability at Shanghai, China is generally strong year-round for standard 20' GP and 40' HC boxes. Reefer (refrigerated) equipment is more limited and should be booked at least three weeks in advance. Out-of-gauge cargo on flat racks or open tops typically requires a separate quote and a one-week longer booking lead time. Once your container is loaded onto the vessel, you can track its progress against any of the carrier's tracking portals — every operating carrier on this corridor exposes a public tracking endpoint that accepts the bill of lading number or the container number.
Alternative Asia-USEC corridors
If schedule integrity at Shanghai, China or New York, USA is a concern, similar lane economics are available on these adjacent port-pairs:
- Ningbo, China → Savannah, USA — 38-day transit, Weekly.
- Shanghai, China → Norfolk, USA — 37-day transit, Weekly.