Europe is a varied, vibrant region with high demand for all kinds of goods produced in the U.S., making it a natural choice for companies looking to expand and become an exporter. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. goods exported to European Union (EU) countries alone totaled $368.6 billion in 2023, up 5% from $350.8 billion in 2022.
If you are seeking growth opportunities across Europe’s 44 countries, you need to become familiar with what’s involved in shipping containers to Europe.
What Does it Cost to Ship Containers from the USA to Europe?
Compared with import shipping to the U.S., shipping containers to Europe is a relative bargain. Rates for sending a 40’ container to most major European ports is about 60% cheaper versus import rates for the same lane. Even when the pandemic sent import container rates skyrocketing to near $10,000, exporting to Europe was less than one-third the cost.
Why?
Well, container rates are largely a function of supply and demand, as well as the needs of the carriers. There are simply more containers coming into the U.S. from Europe than are going out, so finding cargo space on a ship eastbound to Europe from the U.S. is rarely an issue. Rates will reflect this supply-demand reality.
Of course, the exact container rate will vary based on when you’re doing your research. There are several reliable freight indexes, like Drewry or Freightos, that will help you benchmark point-in-time rates for Trans-Atlantic freight.
If you have regular freight, it helps to work with an NVOCC, like I.C.E. Transport, that enjoys strong relationships with Trans-Atlantic carriers and can give you access to lower rates based on the company’s aggregate container freight volume.
In terms of efficiency, if you have the volume to warrant shipping in full container loads (FCL), you will save on shipping costs. FCL shipping reduces the transportation cost per unit and avoids the longer transit times of less than container load shipping (LCL), where shipments have to be consolidated at origin and de-consolidated from containers at the destination.
A general rule of thumb: If your cargo fills up less than half of a 20-foot container, it makes more sense to go with LCL to minimize transportation costs.
How Long Does It Take to Ship Containers from the U.S. to Europe?
There is a range of options and variables for shipping containers to Europe from the U.S. Direct lanes to major European ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Hamburg typically offer efficient transit times of around 15 days from U.S. East Coast ports.
From there, you have options on how to move the container to the final destination through continued service on a smaller ocean vessel, a barge, rail service, or a truck.
A 100% sea freight solution, port to port, will be your cheapest option – but also your slowest. Here’s an example. There is no direct ocean freight service into Poland, so your cargo will likely ship to a major European port like Hamburg, Bremerhaven or Rotterdam for the Trans-Atlantic leg. From there, the shipping line transloads the container to a smaller “feeder” vessel for the trip across the Baltic Sea to the Port of Gdansk or Gdynia. A shipment from New York or Norfolk to Gdynia, Poland via vessel transloading in Hamburg takes about 21 days.
Your next cheapest option is to transfer the container from the container ship to a rail carrier for delivery to a rail terminal nearest to your final destination for last-mile trucking.
Your fastest, but potentially most expensive, option is to transport the container by truck from the initial arrival port in Western or North Europe to your final destination. Obviously, the closer your final destination is to your port of arrival, the faster and cheaper the container shipping journey will be.
A freight forwarder that specializes in your specific shipping lane can help with this trucking option. I.C.E. Transport, for instance, manages a large volume of shipping between Poland and North America. Normally, the price to truck a container from, let’s say, Bremerhaven, Germany to Warsaw in Poland would be steep. But I.C.E. might already have a truck at the port for another customer, enabling a backhaul rate.
Your routing decision will depend on your transit time requirement with the customer, the drayage distance from the port, and your transportation budget.
Export Paperwork
There’s no export customs clearance on freight shipped from the U.S. except for motor vehicles. In that case, titles must be validated by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The only other export paperwork is filing the Electronic Export Information (EEI), filed through the Census Bureau's Automated Export System (ACE). Documents required include a commercial invoice, a packing list, and a certificate of origin.
Whether you are shipping containers to Europe or anywhere in the world, there are certain best practices that apply. For general tips on container shipping, read our eBook: The Small Business Survival Guide to Global Shipping – a guide to help smaller shippers survive, and even thrive, in a challenging international freight marketplace.
Shipping into European Union and Non-EU Countries
The European Union and the United States have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and enjoy the most integrated economic relationship in the world. Out of 44 European countries, 27 are EU members.
The EU aims to standardize regulations across member nations, including shipping and customs, to make trade easier. One key example: once goods have cleared Customs in one member nation, those goods can circulate freely within the Union.
Non-EU member countries like the U.K., Norway and Switzerland have individual customs and shipping protocols that you’ll need to understand if you are trading with partners in these countries.
As for shipping from the U.S. to the United Kingdom, since the UK's exit from the European Union in 2020, the customs and trade regulations have shifted and there are different documentation requirements and duty structures. I.C.E. Transport’s office in the UK can assist in navigating the details of USA-to-UK shipping.
The Port of Felixstowe on England’s East Coast, across from The Netherlands, is the UK’s busiest container port, handling 3.85 million TEUs yearly – 48% of the country’s container trade. In contrast, Europe’s busiest container port in Rotterdam, Netherlands handles 14 million TEUs yearly.
When shipping to the U.K., it helps to have a freight forwarder, like I.C.E. Transport, with a presence in both the U.S. and U.K. This gives you a single contact point for easy coordination – not only of Trans-Atlantic shipping but also landside services like customs clearance, container pick-up and final delivery.
Managing the Complexity of Shipping Containers to Europe
Shipping containers to Europe from the U.S. requires knowledge of carrier options and rates, paperwork requirements, Customs regulations, port operations, and final-mile delivery. Smaller exporters, in particular, simply don’t have the staff to manage these details.
A freight forwarder like I.C.E. Transport, with strong freight volumes and extensive experience in Trans-Atlantic shipping, delivers peace of mind on your European exports. They do this by managing route planning, carrier selection, documentation, customs clearance and all landside logistics needs at origin and destination.
Do you need help shipping containers to Europe from the U.S.? Contact the Trans-Atlantic shipping experts at I.C.E. Transport today and let’s start a conversation.
