Quick Answer: With AB Group Shipping, a 10 kg box from the USA costs from $103 to Ireland, $125 to Jamaica, $134 to Mexico and $226 to Colombia (September 2026 quotes), port to port. The calculator on this page prices your exact box by weight, dimensions and destination in under 30 seconds.
- A 10 kg box priced in September 2026 ran from $103 (Ireland) to $251 (Chile, Venezuela) port to port — your box is priced by chargeable weight, not by the number on the bathroom scale.
- Carriers charge the greater of actual weight or volumetric weight: length × width × height in cm ÷ 5000 for air, ÷ 6000 for consolidated cargo. A light, bulky box pays for air it is carrying.
- Your gateway depends on your state: Florida ships through Miami, Texas through Houston, California through Los Angeles/Long Beach, the Northeast through New York/New Jersey, the Midwest by rail via Chicago.
- Freight is only part of the landed cost — destination duties, VAT/IVA and handling are charged by DIAN, SUNAT, SAT or your local authority, not by the forwarder.
Prices move every month with fuel, capacity and peak-season surcharges, so every figure here carries its month. The calculator prices your exact origin ZIP, so a box leaving Houston and a box leaving Newark do not return the same number.
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Go to the calculator →Reference prices: shipping a box from Miami
| Destination | Courier box | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | $235 | 1 days |
| Honduras | $235 | 1 days |
| Guatemala | $226 | 10 days |
| Dominican Republic | $126 | 1 days |
| Colombia | $226 | 10 days |
| Panama | $235 | 1 days |
| Peru | $235 | 1 days |
| Ecuador | $226 | 10 days |
Port-to-port rates in USD from Miami, calculated with our quoting system (current since September 28, 2026). Courier box: 10 kg (22 lb), door to door. They include freight and US export charges; they do not include import taxes or local charges at destination. The calculator on this page gives your exact price, with pickup and delivery.
How much does it cost to ship a box from the USA?
Quick Answer: A 10 kg box from the USA cost from $103 to Ireland, $125 to Jamaica, Haiti, Aruba and Trinidad, $134 to Mexico, $226 to Colombia, Guatemala and Ecuador, and $251 to Chile and Venezuela in September 2026, port to port. Weight, box size and destination set the final number.
The table below shows the lowest quoted price for one 10 kg box in September 2026. Use it as a floor, not as a final invoice. Heavier or bulkier boxes price higher, and rates refresh monthly.
Cost of one 10 kg box from the USA, port to port
See the data
| Destination | From (10 kg box) |
|---|---|
| Ireland | $103 |
| Canada | $105 |
| Germany | $109 |
| Jamaica / Haiti / Aruba / Curaçao / Barbados / Trinidad and Tobago | $125 |
| Dominican Republic | $126 |
| Mexico | $134 |
| Brazil | $169 |
| Colombia / Argentina / Ecuador / Guatemala / Nicaragua | $226 |
| Peru / Panama / Costa Rica / Honduras / El Salvador / Bolivia / Uruguay | $235 |
| Chile / Venezuela | $251 |
Source: AB Group Shipping quoting system, lowest price per destination, port to port · September 2026
What is the price per pound to send a box?
Families search by the pound, so here is the math. A 10 kg box weighs 22 lb. At $226 to Colombia, that is about $10.27 per pound (September 2026). At $125 to Jamaica, it is about $5.68 per pound.
That rate per pound falls as the box gets heavier. Every shipment carries fixed costs: documentation, handling at the warehouse, manifest filing, and a minimum charge. Those costs do not double when the weight doubles. Spread over 25 kg instead of 10 kg, the price per pound drops as weight rises.
The published 10 kg rate is the entry point on each lane. Doubling the weight to 20 kg does not double the price, because the fixed handling and documentation costs stay the same.
What is included in the quoted price?
The figures above are port to port, not door to door. They cover the international freight leg and standard origin handling.
- Included: international freight, origin warehouse receipt, export manifest filing
- Not included: destination customs clearance fees, import duty and VAT/IVA, local delivery from the destination terminal
- Charged locally: DIAN, SUNAT, SAT and other authorities bill the consignee directly — a forwarder cannot absorb or waive those
Which US gateway will my box leave from?
Your state decides your gateway, and your gateway affects both price and transit. Florida ships through PortMiami. Texas and the central states route through Port Houston. California and the Southwest move via Los Angeles/Long Beach. The Northeast uses the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The Southeast feeds Savannah. The Midwest moves by rail to Chicago, then onward. The Pacific Northwest uses Seattle. In Canada, Ontario routes through Toronto, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces through Montreal, and the west through Vancouver. The calculator prices your exact ZIP, so you never have to guess which lane applies.
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Go to the calculator →How does the box shipping calculator work?
Quick Answer: The calculator on this page asks for four things: your US ZIP code, the destination country, the box dimensions and the real weight. It then returns a live 2026 rate in under 30 seconds. No email, no signup, no sales call afterward.
- Enter your origin ZIP code so the system picks the right gateway.
- Select the destination country and city.
- Measure the box length, width and height — outside dimensions.
- Weigh the sealed box and enter the actual kilos or pounds.
- Choose air courier or ocean consolidation and read the rate.
What is chargeable weight?
Carriers bill the greater of actual weight or volumetric weight. Volumetric weight converts space into kilos, because a container or an aircraft runs out of room before it runs out of lift capacity.
- Air courier (cm): length × width × height ÷ 5000
- Consolidated ocean (cm): length × width × height ÷ 6000
- Air courier (inches): length × width × height ÷ 139
- The higher of the two numbers is your chargeable weight
Worked example. A 60 × 40 × 40 cm box of clothing weighs 9 kg on the scale. Its volume calculation: 60 × 40 × 40 = 96,000, divided by 5000 = 19.2 kg. The carrier bills 19.2 kg, not 9 kg. Measuring matters more than weighing.
Pro Tip
Measure the outside of the sealed box, including tape and any bulge in the sides. Round up one centimeter on each dimension. Warehouses re-measure every carton on a dimensioner at the CFS and re-rate any discrepancy — a quote based on under-reported dimensions will not survive the warehouse scan.
How do I price multiple boxes?
You can enter each box separately or enter the combined shipment. Running both comparisons takes a minute and often changes the answer. Four small cartons trigger four minimum charges. One 20 kg carton triggers one.
If your shipment is heading to Peru, price the paperwork side too — our Free Courier Documents Calculator: USA to Peru 2026 covers the consignee ID and invoice fields SUNAT expects.
Air courier or ocean consolidation: which is cheaper for your box?
Quick Answer: Air courier wins for boxes under about 30 kg that need to arrive in 3-7 days. Ocean consolidation wins on anything heavy, bulky or non-urgent, with 12-25 day transits depending on the lane. The crossover usually sits between 30 and 50 kg per shipment.
| Factor | Air courier | Ocean LCL consolidation |
|---|---|---|
| Transit time | 3-7 days | 7-18 days port to port |
| Cost behavior by weight | Rises steeply above 30 kg | Flattens as weight and volume rise |
| Volumetric divisor | 5000 (cm) | 6000 (cm) or by CBM |
| Minimum charge | Applies per carton | Applies per shipment / CBM floor |
| Best cargo type | Documents, electronics, medicine, gifts | Household goods, furniture, bulk food, tools |
| Customs handling | Courier clearance, fast release | Deconsolidation at destination CFS first |
Air courier
Priced on the 5000 divisor and built for speed. Most USA–Latin America lanes clear in 3-7 days. It is the right call for anything under roughly 30 kg, anything urgent, and anything high-value. Bulky and light always loses on air, because the divisor punishes empty space inside the carton.
Ocean consolidation
Your box travels inside a shared container loaded at a CFS warehouse. Miami → Cartagena runs about 7-10 days port to port. Houston → Puerto Cortés about 8-12 days. New York → Caucedo about 7-9 days. Los Angeles → Callao about 14-18 days. Cost per kilo falls sharply once you pass 30 kg.
Miami(USMIR)
Cartagena(COCTG)
Houston(USHOU)
Puerto Cortés(HNPCR)
New York(USNYC)
Caucedo(DOCAU)
Los Angeles(USLAX)
Callao(PECLL)
One step most families never hear about: deconsolidation. An LCL box is stripped out of the shared container at a destination CFS before release. That adds 2-5 working days and local handling charges billed by the destination warehouse.
Insider note from the operations floor: a 45 kg pallet of household items shipped as LCL often costs less than two 22 kg air boxes on the same lane. The crossover is usually 30-50 kg. The calculator shows both modes side by side, so you compare before you commit.
When does it pay to wait for the ocean sailing?
Consolidated sailings leave weekly from Miami to Caribbean and Latin American ports. That means a typical 3-5 day wait for the next cut-off. If your box is not urgent, that wait buys a materially lower rate.
Port cut-off is not vessel ETD. Cargo must reach the CFS 2-3 days before the ship sails. Plan backward from the cut-off date, never from the sailing date. Missing cut-off by two hours means waiting a full week.
Seasonality is real. November and December consolidations fill early, and peak-season surcharges apply. Book the box in October if it must land before the holidays.
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Go to the calculator →What documents and customs rules apply to boxes sent abroad?
Quick Answer: Every box leaving the USA needs a commercial or pro forma invoice listing each item, its value and its HS code, plus the consignee's tax ID. Latin American authorities such as DIAN, SUNAT and SAT clear the box against that invoice, so an incomplete list is the number one cause of delays.
Which documents does a family box need?
- Commercial or pro forma invoice (Factura Comercial) — every item, quantity, value and HS code
- Packing list — contents per carton, with weights and dimensions
- Consignee details — full legal name, street address and working phone number
- Consignee tax ID — NIT or cédula in Colombia, RUC or DNI in Peru, RFC or CURP in Mexico, cédula in the Dominican Republic
- Certificado de Origen — only when claiming a trade-agreement preference
For Peru specifically, check the consignee ID and invoice fields in the free courier documents calculator for USA to Peru before you tender the box. For Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, our USA to Central America international courier customs requirements guide covers each country's thresholds.
Never under-declare the value
Under-declaring to dodge duty is the fastest way to get a box held. Per DIAN and SUNAT guidance, customs can re-value the goods, apply the higher duty and add a fine. It also voids cargo insurance — an insurer pays the declared value, not the real one. Declare honestly and price the duty into your budget.
Do personal effects get relief from duty?
Sometimes. US Customs Form 3299 covers personal effects and used household goods entering the USA. Most Latin American countries run their own used-goods regimes, with age limits, quantity caps and residency conditions attached.
Duties and taxes are published percentages, not freight charges. Most Latin American countries apply an ad valorem duty plus VAT/IVA calculated on the CIF value.
Worked example (illustrative math only): goods valued at $400 plus $226 freight gives a CIF base of $626. At a 10% duty rate, duty is $62.60. If VAT is 19%, it applies to $626 + $62.60 = $688.60, so VAT is $130.83. Total import charges: $193.43. Swap in your own country's published rates — and confirm them with a licensed customs broker at destination before you ship.
What cannot go in a family box?
- Perishable food and fresh produce
- Aerosols, paint, nail polish and other flammables
- Loose lithium batteries packed outside a device
- Prescription medicine without a prescription and invoice
- Used electronics above personal quantities
- Firearms, ammunition and firearm parts
How can you lower the price per pound on your box?
Quick Answer: Pack tighter, ship heavier and ship less often. Because rates fall as weight rises, one 25 kg box almost always beats three 8 kg boxes on the same lane. Choosing ocean consolidation over air on non-urgent cargo cuts the cost per pound further.
- Consolidate. Combine several small cartons into one sturdy double-wall box. One 25 kg box beats three 8 kg boxes, because you pay one minimum charge instead of three.
- Kill the dead air. Vacuum bags for clothing and bedding cut volumetric weight hard. Volumetric weight is what you pay for on air courier.
- Pick the right box. A 60 × 40 × 40 cm carton is the sweet spot for family shipments. Anything over 70 cm on a side starts attracting oversize handling at the CFS.
- Use your nearest gateway. A Central America box tendered in Houston skips the long domestic leg a Miami routing would add.
- Choose DAP over DDP unless the receiver genuinely cannot clear the box. DDP looks simple, but it pushes import-side liability and local charges back onto the sender, usually with a markup.
- Insure the declared value on anything irreplaceable. Without insurance, a claim is limited to carrier liability by weight, which is pennies per kilo.
Pro Tip from the warehouse floor
Repack before you quote, not after. Squeezing three cartons into one 60 × 40 × 40 cm box changes both your weight bracket and your volumetric number. Run the calculator twice — once with the original cartons, once with the consolidated box — and keep the cheaper configuration.
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Go to the calculator →Price your box now
Quick Answer: Measure your sealed box in centimeters, weigh it, and enter your ZIP code and destination in the calculator on this page. You get a live 2026 port-to-port rate for air courier and ocean consolidation in under 30 seconds, with no email and no follow-up call.
With thousands of shipments processed across the USA–Latin America corridor, the pattern is consistent: families overpay because they guess at dimensions and ship too often. Measure once, consolidate, and compare both modes. Use the calculator on this page to price your exact box — no email required, no sales call. For breakbulk, oversized items or anything outside standard courier limits, the same form sends your request straight to a specialist.
The price depends on four things: the destination country, the chargeable weight of the box, its dimensions, and whether you choose air courier or ocean consolidation. Rates in the price table on this page are updated monthly and quoted port to port. Enter your box details in the calculator on this page for a live figure in under 30 seconds.
By whichever is greater. Carriers compare the actual scale weight against the volumetric weight — length × width × height in centimeters divided by 5000 for air and 6000 for consolidated ocean cargo — and bill the higher number. A light but bulky box of pillows is almost always billed on volume, not on the scale.
Usually yes, once the declared value passes the destination country's de minimis threshold. Most Latin American authorities apply an ad valorem duty plus VAT/IVA on the CIF value, and gifts are not automatically exempt. Confirm the exact percentage for your HS codes with a licensed customs broker in the destination country before you ship.
Air courier shipments typically clear in 3-7 days on USA–Latin America lanes, while ocean consolidation runs about 7-10 days port to port from Miami to Cartagena and 14-18 days from Los Angeles to Callao. Add 2-5 working days for deconsolidation and customs release at the destination CFS warehouse.
Yes, and it is the single easiest way to cut your cost per pound. Combining four small cartons into one heavier box avoids paying multiple minimum charges, and consolidated weight brackets price lower per kilo. The calculator on this page lets you compare the combined shipment against separate boxes before you book.