China → Vietnam · Flat rack · Open top · Breakbulk · Import customs

Shipping China to Vietnam: Project and OOG Cargo

Shipping China to Vietnam for plant equipment, steel structures and oversized machinery: we take over at Cat Lai, Cai Mep or Hai Phong, clear import customs and truck the cargo to site.

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For Chinese forwarders, EPC contractors and equipment suppliers delivering to projects in Vietnam. · Import document checklist

Import 40′ flat rack leaving Cat Lai on our own lowbed, bound for Phu My (March 2026).

580+shipments handled, March to September 2026

7,600+ocean rate lines from China to Vietnam in our agent rate desk

62 tpayload of our own 6-axle lowbed, 14.5 m deck

2 hoursVietnam-side quote within working hours once we have dimensions

WCA incl. WCA Projects · ID 135393 OPCA Gold · ID 75121659 Licensed customs agent · Decision 247/QĐ-TCHQ Est. 2017 · Ho Chi Minh City

China is the largest source of plant equipment arriving in Vietnam. Transformers, boiler parts, crushers, steel frames and production lines come from Chinese factories and Chinese EPC contractors every week.

The sea leg from China to Vietnam is short. Most of the risk sits on the Vietnam side: the import declaration, the road permit for a 3.5 m wide unit and the crane at a site with no hardstand.

This page covers the Vietnam side of shipping China to Vietnam for project and OOG cargo. Below you will find real transit times from our rate desk, the three mistakes that keep oversized imports at the port longest, and the documents customs will ask for.

Shipping China to Vietnam: which mode fits your cargo?

In shipping China to Vietnam, choose the mode from the largest single piece, not the total volume. One crate that is 3.2 m wide moves the whole lot from dry boxes to flat racks, and changes the truck and the permit in Vietnam.

Cargo from China	Usual equipment	What decides it
Spare parts, panels, cable, small machines	20′ / 40′ / 40′ HC dry FCL, or LCL	Fits inside the box; volume and weight per container
Tall machines, frames, coils	20′ / 40′ open top	Too tall for a high-cube box; loaded by crane from above
Wide or heavy units	20′ / 40′ flat rack	Width over the box, side loading, or weight on a small footprint
Transformers, vessels, long steel	Breakbulk on a multipurpose vessel	Piece too big or too heavy for any rack; crane reach at port
Excavators, cranes, trucks	Ro-Ro or flat rack	Self-propelled or towable; Ro-Ro sailings are less frequent
Urgent cargo to northern Vietnam	Truck through a land border gate	Origin in southern China, site near Hanoi or the north

For rack sizes and payloads see flat rack container dimensions and the open top container guide. Pieces that fit no rack are covered in what breakbulk cargo means.

Which ports handle shipping China to Vietnam, and how long does it take?

Almost every main Chinese port has weekly sailings to Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong. The table shows the transit days that agents quoted to our rate desk, port to port, as the median per lane.

Port of loading (LOCODE)	To Ho Chi Minh City	To Hai Phong (VNHPH)
Shekou / Shenzhen (CNSHK, CNSZX)	about 3 days	2 to 3 days
Nansha, Guangzhou (CNNSA)	about 3 days	about 3 days
Xiamen (CNXMN)	about 4 days	about 4 days
Shanghai (CNSHA)	about 6 days	about 6 days
Ningbo (CNNGB)	about 6 days	about 5 days
Qingdao (CNTAO)	about 8 days	about 7 days
Tianjin Xingang (CNTXG)	about 12 days	about 12 days

Source: 7,600+ ocean rate lines for shipping China to Vietnam, received from agents by our pricing desk; median quoted transit per lane. Direct and transshipment services are mixed, so a single sailing can be faster or slower.

On the Vietnam side, the port you choose matters more than the sailing time:

Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City). The busiest container terminal for factories around Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai. Flat racks and open tops are common here. See our Cat Lai port guide.
Cai Mep–Thi Vai. Deep-water terminals and general cargo berths for breakbulk and heavy lifts in the south. See the Cai Mep port guide.
Hai Phong and Lach Huyen. The gateway for northern industrial zones, from Bac Ninh to Quang Ninh.
Da Nang and Quy Nhon. Closer to central Vietnam projects, with fewer sailings from China.

Our Vietnam ports overview compares all main gateways for OOG cargo.

Road freight: when shipping China to Vietnam by truck beats the sea

Trucks cross between southern China and northern Vietnam every day. The main gates are Huu Nghi (Lang Son) opposite Youyiguan near Pingxiang, Lao Cai opposite Hekou, and Mong Cai opposite Dongxing.

Road makes sense when the factory is in Guangxi, Guangdong or Yunnan and the site is in the north. It skips the port, the vessel cut-off and the terminal queue.

For oversized cargo the picture changes. An OOG load needs a permit on each side, and it often changes trucks at the border yard. For heavy units bound for southern Vietnam, a short sailing to Cat Lai or Cai Mep is usually simpler. Send us the cargo size and both addresses and we will tell you which route we would choose, and why.

Send L×W×H + weight, the port of loading and the site address in Vietnam. Get a Vietnam-side plan and net rate within 2 working hours.

For flat rack, open top and breakbulk imports we include the truck type, the road permit and what the terminal needs at discharge.

WhatsApp Tony (CEO) Email the overseas desk

Flat rack and open top from China: what to settle before the cargo sails

A flat rack from Qingdao or Shanghai is routine for the carrier. The delays start at discharge, when the cargo meets the Vietnamese terminal and the road.

Packed dimensions, not catalogue sizes. Skids and crates add 50 to 150 mm per side. The truck and the permit in Vietnam are based on the packed size.
Lifting points and the centre of gravity. Mark them on the cargo and on the drawing. The terminal and our crew lift from the marks.
Lashing that survives the trip. We check the lashing on arrival and photograph it before the cargo leaves the terminal.
One drawing per piece. The port, the permit office and the crane plan all use the same drawing. Send it with the booking.

At Cat Lai, every flat rack and open top passes a customs supervision step at the terminal, even when the cargo is within gauge. It adds a fixed charge per container, so we include it in the quote from the start.

Our prime mover with an import flat rack inside Cat Lai port (March 2026).

Flat rack discharged at Cai Mep, loaded on our lowbed for Long An (March 2026).

Oversized trucking in Vietnam: permits, limits and our fleet

Once the cargo is off the vessel, the Vietnamese road rules apply. Under Circular 12/2025/TT-BXD, as amended by Circular 19/2026/TT-BXD, a load needs a road permit when the loaded vehicle exceeds any of these limits.

Limit	Oversize / overweight when
Length	Over 20.0 m
Width	Over 2.5 m
Height	Over 4.2 m (over 4.35 m for container vehicles)
Gross weight	Vehicle and cargo over 48 t

Read the official text of Circular 12/2025/TT-BXD for the full rules. Two points matter most for imports from China:

Ports allow no tolerance. Terminals will not release cargo that is taller than the permit by even 1 cm, or heavier by even 1 kg. Measure after packing.
Our permits are ready faster. Our trucks hold a standing permit for loads up to 4.5 m wide. A new permit takes about 2 working days once the documents are complete.

Equipment	Capacity	Typical use
Own 6-axle lowbed	62 t, 14.5 m deck	Transformers, presses, long frames
Own 4-axle lowbeds (2 units)	44 t each	Machines, tanks, wide flat rack cargo
Hydraulic modular trailers	Up to 270 t per 6-axle trailer	Heavy units beyond lowbed capacity
Mobile cranes and SPMT	Cranes 25–500 t	Lifting at port, transloading and site installation

Our heaviest single piece so far is 135 t. More detail on routes, escorts and surveys is on our heavy haulage in Vietnam page.

Import customs for equipment shipped from China to Vietnam

We clear imports under our own customs agent licence, recognised by the General Department of Vietnam Customs (Decision 247/QĐ-TCHQ, 26 February 2025). Clearance runs on the VNACCS system, and each declaration lands in the green, yellow or red channel.

When shipping China to Vietnam project cargo, these are the documents we ask for before the vessel arrives:

Document	Why customs needs it
Commercial invoice	Customs value; must match the contract and the payment
Packing list	Pieces, weights and sizes; checked against the B/L and at inspection
Bill of lading	Consignee and cargo details; must match the declaration
C/O Form E	Preferential duty under the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area
Catalogue or technical sheet	Supports the HS code for machines and parts
Sales contract	Needed when the importer claims an exemption or the price is questioned

Get the C/O Form E right. A wrong HS code, a missing invoice number or a date mismatch can cost the preferential rate. We check the draft against the invoice before the cargo sails.
Project duty exemption. Machinery that forms fixed assets of an investment project with incentives can be exempt from import duty. The investor registers the list of exempted goods with customs before the first shipment.
Used machinery. Vietnam limits imports of used equipment by age and condition, and some items need an inspection certificate. Check the year of manufacture before you buy.
Contractor equipment. Cranes and tools that a Chinese contractor brings in for the job and takes home later can enter under temporary import for re-export.

The same documents logic applies in the other direction; our export from Vietnam guide covers HS codes and C/O forms for outbound cargo. The Vietnam Customs portal publishes the current tariff and procedures.

Project cargo from China to Vietnam for EPC contractors

Many Vietnamese power, cement and steel projects use Chinese EPC contractors or Chinese equipment packages. The cargo then arrives in many lots, from several factories, over months.

What usually helps on these jobs:

One master packing list. Package numbers, sizes and weights for every lot in one file, in English. It keeps customs, the port and the site on the same numbers.
Heavy pieces flagged early. We plan the lowbed or modular trailer, the permit and the crane for each heavy piece before it leaves China.
Site readiness check. Access road, turning space, ground bearing and crane position, checked before the first heavy lot arrives.
Delivery windows. Many sites receive only on set days. We hold cargo at the port or at a yard until the site is ready.

Our project cargo logistics in Vietnam page shows the full door-to-site scope, and the power transformer transport page covers one of the most common heavy imports from China.

Unloading a 4 m diameter tank from our lowbed with a mobile crane at the factory (March 2026).

What drives the cost of shipping China to Vietnam?

Ocean rates on the main lanes change every week, so we quote them per enquiry rather than publish them. For project and OOG cargo, the ocean rate is often the smaller part of the cost of shipping China to Vietnam.

Cost element	What moves the price
Ocean freight	Equipment type, lost slots for OOG, carrier, season
Destination local charges	THC, D/O, CIC, cleaning; set by each carrier. See our Vietnam local charges tables
Port handling for OOG	Lifting, customs supervision, storage after free time
Import customs	Declaration, inspection channel, C/O and exemption paperwork
Trucking	Distance, width and weight, truck type, night-only windows
Permit and escort	Size of the load, route, police escort when required
Crane at site	Capacity, radius, ground conditions, waiting time
Duty and VAT	HS code, C/O Form E, project exemption

The fastest way to a firm number is a drawing with the packed size and weight of every piece, plus the site address.

Three mistakes that keep OOG imports from China at the port

Booking the truck after the vessel arrives. An oversized load needs a permit before it can leave the terminal. Storage and DEM/DET run while the permit is prepared.
Documents that do not match. When the invoice, packing list and B/L show different weights or piece counts, the declaration stops. Fixing a B/L after arrival costs days.
No plan for the site. The cargo reaches the factory gate and the crane cannot reach the unloading point. Check the site before the vessel sails.

Import flat rack from Cat Lai delivered to an industrial park north of Ho Chi Minh City (March 2026).

How we work with Chinese forwarders and contractors

China-based forwarders are the largest group in our agent network. Most of them own the shipper and the ocean leg of shipping China to Vietnam; we act as their Vietnam desk for import, customs and delivery.

1. Details inYou send L×W×H, weight, port of loading, ETA and the site address in Vietnam.

2. Plan and rateTruck type, permit, crane need and a Vietnam-side rate within 2 working hours.

3. Before arrivalDocuments checked, customs declaration prepared, permit applied for, D/O arranged.

4. Discharge to siteClearance, pick-up, delivery and unloading, with photos to you at each step.

We never contact your customer. Updates, photos and documents go to you unless you ask otherwise.
Net rates for network members. We are in WCA (including WCA Projects) and OPCA; members get net rates on the Vietnam side.
One desk in Vietnam. Customs, trucking, permits and lifting sit with one team, so nothing falls between sub-contractors.

Partners can read our short page at projectshipping.vn/agents or download the company profile (PDF).

FAQ: shipping China to Vietnam

How long does shipping China to Vietnam take by sea?

From southern China (Shekou, Nansha, Xiamen) about 2 to 4 days port to port. From Shanghai and Ningbo about 5 to 6 days, from Qingdao about 7 to 8 days, and from Tianjin about 12 days. Add customs and delivery in Vietnam.

Which Vietnam port should project cargo from China go to?

Cat Lai for flat racks and open tops to factories around Ho Chi Minh City. Cai Mep–Thi Vai for breakbulk and heavy lifts in the south. Hai Phong for northern Vietnam. We pick the port from the site location and the largest piece.

Can oversized cargo come from China to Vietnam by truck?

Yes, through border gates such as Huu Nghi in Lang Son or Lao Cai. An oversized load needs a permit on both sides and often changes trucks at the border. For sites in southern Vietnam, a short sailing is usually simpler.

Does cargo from China pay less import duty in Vietnam?

Many goods get a lower rate with a valid C/O Form E under the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area. The rate depends on the HS code. Machinery for an investment project with incentives can also be exempt.

How long does a road permit take for an oversized import?

About 2 working days once the documents are complete. Our trucks already hold a standing permit for loads up to 4.5 m wide, which removes that wait for many flat rack imports.

Can you take over cargo shipped by another forwarder in China?

Yes. Name us as notify party or delivery agent, or send us the arrival notice. We handle customs, the D/O, trucking and unloading in Vietnam.

Will you contact our customer or the Chinese supplier directly?

We contact the consignee only for customs and delivery, as you instruct. We never contact your customer for sales. Updates and photos go to you.