Qingdao to Los Angeles shipping route.

The shipping route from Qingdao, China to Los Angeles, United States covers 5,761 nautical miles port to port, on a direct course. On a globe the two ports sit 10,153 km apart, so the ship sails 1.05 times the straight line distance. No canals or major straits on this leg, the ship stays close to the direct line.

Pure steaming time is 17.2 days at 14 knots. A carrier that slow steams at 12 knots to save fuel needs 20.0 days, and a fast 18 knot string about 13.3. Liner schedules on the lane quote 15 to 30 days port to port, because the services call at other ports and some transship. Over the last 30 days we counted 103 sailings by 11 carriers (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, HMM and Hapag-Lloyd).

683 nm of the route, 12% of it, lies inside North American ECA. In an emission control area ships must burn fuel with no more than 0.1% sulphur or clean the exhaust with scrubbers. That fuel costs more, and carriers add it to the ocean freight bill as a low sulphur or ECA surcharge.

Recent freight rates for CNTAO to USLAX start at $4,611 for a 20GP and $6,548 for a 40GP. These are spot market prices from carriers that sail the lane; your quote will also include terminal handling, documentation and any bunker surcharge. At Los Angeles (USLAX) carriers give about 4 free days before demurrage and detention charges start, so plan the truck or rail pickup before the box lands.

Of the 64 port to port routes from Qingdao in this directory, Los Angeles is the 28th shortest. Closer destinations include Auckland (5,541 nm), Karachi (5,471 nm) and Melbourne (5,456 nm).