Shipping lithium batteries from China by sea is a Class 9 booking with a UN number, not a general-cargo CBM hunt. Xinhan Logistics treats sea battery cargo as an IMDG file: classification, documents, packing, labels, then a mode decision. LCL is allowed on some lots. FCL is required on others. This is the 2026 sea process from factory floor to CFS.
Bands below are planning ranges, not a live quote. Send packed CBM, gross weight, UN number, battery type, origin city, and delivery city for a written plan you can book.
1. Restate the sea booking in operational English
A sea battery booking is a named UN entry, a packing instruction, a document set, and a carrier that has said yes. It is not “a few cartons of batteries to Los Angeles.” Port CY, CFS, and a warehouse door are different places. Mixing those words is how arguments start after the box is already on the water.
Write the UN number, the battery type, and the named place on the same email as the CBM. Xinhan Logistics will not invent a UN from a product photo.
2. Classify the cells before anyone talks CBM
CBM decides space. Classification decides whether space is even legal. Lithium-ion and lithium-metal are not the same file. Cells, packs, batteries packed with equipment, and batteries contained in equipment are not the same file. Watt-hour rating and lithium-metal content sit next to those names.
- Standalone batteries and cells are usually the stricter sea conversation.
- Equipment with batteries installed is a different packing and marking conversation.
- Spare packs in the same carton as the host device are packed-with, not contained-in.
- Damaged, defective, or recalled batteries are a refusal, not a discount.
If the factory cannot state which of those you have, you do not have a booking. You have a rumor with a tape measure.
3. UN3480, UN3481, UN3090, and UN3091 are four different files
UN3480 is lithium-ion batteries shipped on their own. UN3481 is lithium-ion packed with or contained in equipment. UN3090 is lithium-metal batteries on their own. UN3091 is lithium-metal packed with or contained in equipment. Treating them as one “battery UN” is how a consolidator rejects the cargo at the shed door. Do not copy an air packing instruction onto a sea booking. One invoice can list more than one UN. One LCL cage often cannot.
4. Class 9 means IMDG, not a warehouse rumor
Class 9 is the IMDG class for miscellaneous dangerous goods, including lithium batteries that meet the criteria. IMDG is the sea rulebook. It is not a PDF you attach after cutoff “for the file.” Packing instruction, marks, labels, and segregation sit inside that book. Carrier tariffs sit beside it. A line that “does not take batteries this week” is a commercial no, even when the regulation would have allowed a yes.
Xinhan Logistics books against both layers. Regulation yes plus carrier no is still no.
5. UN38.3 is a pass/fail gate
UN38.3 is the transport test summary for lithium cells and batteries. Sea consolidators and carriers ask for it because the test is how you prove the design type is eligible to travel. A factory chat sticker that says “we did the test” is not the test. The summary should match the model on the invoice and the model on the carton.
If the model changed and the test did not, you have a new design type. New design types do not inherit last year’s PDF.
6. SDS/MSDS and the rest of the paper stack
SDS or MSDS describes the product as a hazardous material for handlers. It does not replace UN38.3, the dangerous-goods declaration, or a packing list that matches the tape. Treat it as one sheet in a stack, not as a magic waiver.
- Commercial invoice with a real battery description and UN number.
- Packing list with packed L x W x H, carton count, and gross weight.
- UN38.3 test summary for the design type.
- SDS/MSDS in a language the origin handler can use.
- Dangerous-goods declaration as the booking requires.
- Packing certificates when the packing instruction demands them.
Export customs documents ride on top. Missing one sheet at CFS receiving is cargo that sits, not a “we will email it tonight” product.
7. Packing instructions that survive stuffing
Sea packing for lithium batteries is about preventing short circuit, movement, and crush. Inner packaging that stops terminal contact. Cushioning that survives a CFS restow. Outer packaging that is the specification the instruction named, not the cheapest export carton in the factory yard. Equipment with installed batteries still needs protection against accidental activation. Pack once for the instruction and for the shed.
8. Marks and labels that match the booking
Class 9 labels, lithium-battery marks, UN number, proper shipping name, and shipper/consignee marks must match the declaration. A pretty sticker on one side of a carton is not a mark. Marks belong where a handler can see them without rotating a buried carton.
- UN number on the package must be the UN number on the booking.
- Overpack marks if you built an overpack, not if you only wished you had.
- Old labels from a previous air attempt must come off. Two stories on one carton is a reject.
Xinhan Logistics will send cargo back for relabeling faster than we will argue with a CFS clerk who is correct.
9. When LCL is allowed
LCL is a shared master box. Lithium batteries enter that box only when the consolidator’s DG program, the carrier’s acceptance, and IMDG segregation all say yes. Intact, tested, packed, labelled lots can be LCL candidates. “Small” is not a legal category. Acceptance is. LCL adds CFS handling and a roommate problem. Some consolidators will not mix UN families in the same cage. If there is no DG closing for your UN this week, you have waiting or you have FCL.
10. When you need FCL instead
FCL is the adult answer when volume fills a box, when isolation requires a box, or when LCL programs refuse the UN. A 28 CBM replenishment of packs does not belong on a lifestyle LCL because the first sample was two CBM. FCL does not waive IMDG. It waives mixed-shed roommates. You still need the document stack, packing, labels, carrier acceptance, and a CY cutoff. Ask for both modes around the volume where a box starts to make sense.
11. Factory to CFS: the actual booking sequence
Cargo-ready means packed and marked, not “production finished.” Pickup on a rumor date is how you pay for a failed receiving.
- Classify: UN number, battery type, watt-hour or lithium content, packed-with versus contained-in versus standalone.
- Collect UN38.3, SDS/MSDS, invoice draft, packing list with packed measures.
- Ask Xinhan Logistics for mode: LCL DG, FCL DG, or a refusal with a reason.
- Carrier or consolidator acceptance. Yes, no, or later. Later is not yes.
- Book the closing. Inland truck to the named CFS or CY, not a general shed that cannot touch Class 9.
- CFS receiving: remeasure, label check, packing check, document check.
- Stuffing with isolation as accepted. Export customs. VGM. Cutoff. Sail.
Skip a step and the cargo sits. Sitting is not transit. Sitting is storage with a UN number.
12. Isolation and segregation at origin
Isolation means your batteries are not treated as ordinary cartons in a mixed stack. Segregation means IMDG incompatibility is not a suggestion. A DG-capable CFS has a layout and a stuffing plan. A general cargo shed with a hopeful forklift does not.
Tell the factory the CFS address after the booking exists. Sending first and booking later is how Class 9 arrives at a gate that will not open. Return trucking on DG is a day, a cost, and a new chance to scuff a label.
13. Planning clocks without fake live rates
Sea LCL for accepted lithium batteries often sits in a 3–7 week packed-to-port band depending on lane and closing. FCL water days can look similar; the calendar is often shorter because you skip mixed destuff. Air DG, when accepted, often sits in a 5–15 day band. DG adds document time and surcharge time.
| Question | Planning range | What you still must quote from a file |
|---|---|---|
| Sea LCL packed-to-port | Often 3–7 weeks depending on lane | Packed CBM, UN number, origin city, delivery city |
| Sea FCL packed-to-port | Similar water days, fewer CFS queues | Box size, UN, packing, CY cutoff |
| Air DG when accepted | Often 5–15 days | Chargeable kg, UN, battery type, SoC if required |
| DG versus ordinary LCL | Adds document days and handling | SDS, UN38.3, labels, isolation slot |
| DDP packed-to-door | Port clock plus destuff, entry, truck | Named place, tax treatment, receiving SOP |
Xinhan Logistics will fill a real quotation from a real file. This table is a reading method, not a tariff.
14. Cost factors: CBM plus DG, not a magic number
LCL lives on CBM or revenue ton plus minimums. DG handling, declaration, isolation, and inspection sit beside that cube. FCL lives on a box plus DG surcharges. Air lives on chargeable kilos when accepted. Origin city changes the truck. Delivery city changes destuff and duty treatment if you bought DDP.
Do not compare a friend’s 2024 general-cargo CBM to a 2026 UN3480 file. Validity dates exist because markets and carrier DG policies move. Inner-box cubes are a cost error you will not detect until CFS remeasure.
15. DDP versus port delivery for batteries
Port delivery dumps the Class 9 problem on the buyer at CY or destination CFS. DDP keeps one operations owner through entry and truck to a named place, with duty cash inside the quotation rules. DDP does not waive IMDG. DDP does not make a destination warehouse accept lithium if that warehouse’s SOP says no.
Say the named place. Say whether the receiver can take DG. Residential doors and fulfilment-centre portals are different SKUs.
16. Export and import customs on battery cargo
Export from China wants a description that matches the UN and the invoice. Toy names create queries. Import wants HS that matches the product. Some destinations want extra battery paperwork or operator registrations. Those clocks start in China, not after berthing.
- One invoice for export and import.
- Model numbers that match UN38.3.
- Licences before cutoff, not after the vessel is full.
- ISF, ENS/ICS2, and local filings with DG data that is true.
Exams happen. Answer the same day. Storage on Class 9 is a timer with a worse personality than storage on T-shirts.
17. Air DG is a different clock; mention it and stop
Air is not faster sea. Air is a different regulation set, a different acceptance desk, and often a tighter state-of-charge rule. When a customer date is a stock-out, ask for air DG as a separate product with its own yes. When the lot is bulk standalone cells, many air doors are closed and sea is the product.
Do not hide a sea refusal by “trying air tonight” with the same incomplete PDF. Xinhan Logistics will quote air only when the file can fly.
18. Common mistakes that kill a sailing
Wrong UN on the carton. UN38.3 for a different model. SDS dated like folklore. Cargo sent to a general LCL shed. Labels on one side. Inner-box measures on the booking. Mixed damaged cells with new packs. Booking after the DG closing. Promising the left edge of a 3–7 week band to a retailer. Changing the delivery city after the security filing. Two factories on one pickup that was quoted as one UN family.
Each item is a process hole. The consolidator will plug it by leaving your cargo on the floor.
19. How to choose a China sea DG forwarder
Named DG competence, a CFS that can actually receive Class 9, written acceptance before trucking, document discipline, and an executable stack. Lowest headline CBM with empty DG cells loses. Ask where the cargo will sit, which carrier is being asked, and what happens if the answer is no. Xinhan Logistics expects that checklist. Give the winner a frozen SKU family long enough to learn.
20. What to send Xinhan Logistics for a real quotation
Product name and battery chemistry. UN number. Packed with, contained in, or standalone. Watt-hour or lithium content. Packed L x W x H, carton count, gross weight, CBM. Origin city in China. Delivery city and whether you want CFS, CY, or DDP to a named warehouse. Ready date that means packed. UN38.3 and SDS if you have them. Destination receiving rules if the door has them.
You should receive a mode recommendation, a planning window, and questions. You should not receive a fake precise live rate invented for this webpage.
21. Peak space, DG cutoffs, and rolled cargo
DG closings are earlier than ordinary LCL closings. Peak weeks make that gap louder. Chinese New Year is not a surprise. Treat it as a factory cutoff. If the carrier rolls the booking, the sea clock resets. Silence is the failure, not the roll itself.
Ask the communication standard in the same email as the transit band. You still have to pack on the date you claimed.
22. After destuff: still Class 9
Destination CFS destuff does not turn lithium batteries into general cargo. Isolation can continue. Appointments can require a DG-capable dock. A warehouse that cannot receive batteries will not become able because the bill of lading is pretty.
Count cartons on the POD. Photograph exceptions. Crushed fibreboard is a packing result, not a mystery. Claims are paperwork. IMDG is not a hug.
23. Freeze the SKU family after the first accepted sailing
The expensive lot is the first one, because classification, packing, and labels are still being invented. After a yes, freeze model, UN, carton spec, mark placement, and invoice language. The second lot should be boring. Boring is the premium product.
If the factory changes a cell inside the same plastic shell and keeps the old UN38.3, you are back to lot one. Catch that in production, not at CFS.
Contact Our China Freight Forwarding Team
If you are importing from China and need a shipping plan, transit-time estimate, or all-in quotation, contact Xinhan Logistics. Send the product name, packed dimensions, gross weight, origin city in China, and delivery city so we can recommend LCL, FCL, air freight, or DDP door-to-door service.
Email: gzxinhang@126.com
Website: https://www.wuliuaou.com/
We handle sea freight, air freight, customs support, and door-to-door delivery for importers, wholesalers, and e-commerce sellers.