Quick Answer: A full expat move from the USA to Latin America costs $6,500-$28,000 all-in for a family, depending on volume, destination and visa. Household goods shipping alone runs $1,900-$4,200 for LCL and $3,400-$7,800 for a 20' container, port to port, in 18-32 days.
- Freight is only 30-45% of a real expat budget — visas, housing deposits, pets, vehicles and 4-8 weeks of interim living eat the rest.
- LCL beats FCL under about 10 CBM; above that a 20' container is usually cheaper per cubic meter on USA-Latin America lanes.
- Most Latin American countries grant duty relief on used personal effects under transfer-of-residence rules, but only with the right visa and a stamped inventory filed on time.
- Destination charges — DTHC, storage, demurrage, customs broker fees — are excluded from most quotes and add $450-$1,400 per shipment.
The number that ruins expat budgets is rarely the ocean freight. It is the $1,100 pet flight, the three-month rent deposit in Mexico City, and the six weeks you spend sleeping on a rented mattress while your container clears DIAN.
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Go to the calculator →How much does it cost to move abroad as an expat?
Quick Answer: A single person moving from the USA to Latin America spends $4,200-$9,000 total. A couple spends $8,000-$16,000. A family of four with a vehicle and pets spends $15,000-$32,000. Household goods freight is $1,900-$7,800 of that; visas, deposits and interim living cover the rest.
Split your move into six buckets. Every reliable expat move budget calculator works this way, because the costs behave differently and arrive at different times.
- Freight — ocean or air transport of your household goods, plus origin handling.
- Customs and duties — broker fees, inspection, and duty on anything that fails transfer-of-residence relief.
- Insurance — all-risk marine cover at 2-4% of declared value.
- Immigration — visa fees, apostilles, translations, legal help, medical exams.
- Arrival costs — housing deposits, agency fees, utility connections, furniture gaps.
- Interim living — 4-8 weeks of short-term rental and rental furniture before your goods land.
Three sample budgets that reflect real moves
These ranges come from moves we handle across the USA–Latin America corridor. They assume a residence visa already approved and a mid-range destination city.
| Profile | Volume | Freight | Non-freight | All-in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single professional | 8-12 CBM (LCL) | USD $1,400–$2,600 | USD $2,800–$6,400 | USD $4,200–$9,000 |
| Couple, no pets | 18-22 CBM (20' FCL) | USD $3,400–$6,200 | USD $4,600–$9,800 | USD $8,000–$16,000 |
| Family of four + car + 1 pet | 30-38 CBM (40'HC) | USD $6,200–$12,700 | USD $8,800–$19,300 | USD $15,000–$32,000 |
Why the same 25 CBM costs different money from different states
Your origin decides your gateway, and your gateway decides your rate. A 25 CBM shipment from Miami to Cartagena is a short, high-frequency run with weekly sailings. The same 25 CBM from Denver has to move by road or rail to Houston first.
Inland trucking to the port adds $700-$2,400 depending on distance. Midwest shippers routing by rail through Chicago add 4-7 days of calendar time. That is why the calculator asks for your origin ZIP rather than a state.
Across the moves we price, ocean freight and origin handling take 30-45% of the total. Housing deposits take 20-30%, interim living 10-20%, and immigration 8-15%. Insurance and duties fill the remainder. Treat freight as the anchor number, then build the rest around it.
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Go to the calculator →What is an expat move budget calculator and how does this one work?
Quick Answer: An expat move budget calculator estimates the total cost of relocating abroad by combining freight volume, destination charges, duties, insurance and arrival expenses into one figure. The tool on this page prices household goods shipping from any US origin to Latin America instantly, then you layer the non-freight buckets on top.
Three inputs drive about 80% of your freight number: volume in cubic meters, origin ZIP code, and destination port. Everything else — packing materials, insurance rate, documentation — moves the figure by single-digit percentages.
How to estimate your CBM in five minutes
Cubic meters, not pounds, price an international move. Household goods are light and bulky, so volume wins almost every time.
- Studio or small 1-bedroom apartment: 8-12 CBM
- 2-bedroom apartment: 15-20 CBM
- 3-bedroom house: 28-35 CBM
- 4-bedroom house with garage contents: 38-50 CBM
A useful cross-check: a standard 20' container holds 28-30 CBM of packed household goods. A 40' high cube holds 60-65 CBM. If your inventory fills a 3-bedroom house, you are a 20' FCL candidate.
Why the calculator wants your origin
AB Group ships from anywhere in the USA and Canada, but cargo has to reach a gateway. Here is the usual routing logic:
- Florida and the Southeast tip → PortMiami
- Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and the central states → Port Houston
- California, Arizona, Nevada → Los Angeles/Long Beach
- New York, New England, the mid-Atlantic → Port of New York and New Jersey
- Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee → Savannah
- Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and the Midwest → rail through Chicago to a coastal gateway
- Washington, Oregon, Idaho → Seattle
Worked example: 18 CBM from Atlanta to Cartagena
A couple leaves Atlanta with a 2-bedroom apartment, roughly 18 CBM packed. Savannah is the natural gateway, about 250 miles by road.
- Choose the mode: 18 CBM sits above the LCL break-even, so a 20' FCL wins on cost per cubic meter.
- Add drayage Atlanta → Savannah: $600-$950 for a live-load container.
- Price ocean freight Savannah → Cartagena: roughly $3,600-$5,400 depending on season.
- Budget destination charges: DTHC, broker, and delivery at $700-$1,300.
- Insure at 2.5% of a $22,000 declared value: about $550.
Freight bucket total: roughly $5,450-$8,200. That is the number the calculator returns. The other five buckets are yours to estimate.
Pro Tip
Measure volume after packing, not before. Professional export packing adds 12-20% to loose-furniture volume because of crating, corner protection and double-walled cartons. Quotes built on "before" numbers always come back revised. Give the calculator your packed estimate and add 10% headroom.
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Go to the calculator →FCL vs LCL vs air freight: what should you ship your household goods in?
Quick Answer: LCL is cheaper below about 10 CBM, at $135-$210 per cubic meter. A 20' container holds 28-30 CBM and costs $3,400-$7,800 port to port, which beats LCL above 10-12 CBM. Air freight runs $5.50-$9.00 per kilo and only makes sense for 100-250 kg of essentials.
| Mode | Usable volume | Typical cost | Transit (port to port) | Best use case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20' FCL | 28-30 CBM | USD $3,400–$7,800 | 7-32 days | 2-3 bedroom home, 15-28 CBM |
| 40'HC FCL | 60-65 CBM | USD $4,600–$9,900 | 7-32 days | 4+ bedrooms, or home plus vehicle |
| LCL (shared) | 1-14 CBM | USD $135–$210 per CBM | 12-40 days | Apartments, partial moves, under 10 CBM |
| Air freight | 100-250 kg typical | USD $5.50–$9.00 per kg | 3-6 days | Essentials kit, documents, laptops, medication |
Where the 10 CBM break-even really sits
At $175 per CBM, 12 CBM of LCL costs $2,100 plus destination handling. A 20' FCL on the same lane might land at $3,800 — but it carries 28 CBM. Per cubic meter, FCL wins the moment you pass 10-12 CBM.
The break-even shifts with the lane. On short, high-volume runs like Miami → Cartagena, FCL rates are low and the crossover comes closer to 9 CBM. On long West Coast runs to Valparaíso, the crossover pushes toward 14 CBM.
Choose LCL when…
You have under 10 CBM, flexible timing, and no oversized items. Your cargo gets consolidated at a CFS warehouse, stuffed with other shippers' goods, then deconsolidated at destination. Expect 5-9 extra days of handling on each end. Bonded CFS facilities allow customs hold without storage penalties; non-bonded ones do not, and that distinction decides who pays when an exam runs long.
Choose FCL when…
You have 12+ CBM, fragile furniture, or a vehicle traveling with the household goods. Nobody else touches your cargo between origin stuffing and destination stripping. That single factor cuts damage claims sharply. You also control the loading sequence, which matters when a customs officer wants access to specific cartons without unloading everything.
Air freight as a deliberate gap kit
Do not air-ship a household. Air-ship a survival kit. From Miami, Houston or New York, air freight reaches Bogotá, Lima or Panama City in 3-6 days.
A 150 kg kit at $7.00 per kilo costs about $1,050 plus AWB and handling. Pack clothes, laptops, school supplies, prescription medication, and one set of kitchen basics. That kit shortens your interim living period by weeks.
Packing decides how much of your LCL cargo survives shared handling. Our 2026 packing guide for electronics and fragile items shipping from the USA to Central America covers crating standards that hold up in a consolidated container. For cost control across the whole move, read Affordable International Moving 2026: 12 Ways to Save Money on Your Household Goods Shipment.
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Go to the calculator →What does shipping a 20ft container of household goods overseas cost in 2026?
Quick Answer: A 20' container of household goods costs $3,400-$7,800 port to port from the USA to Latin America in 2026. A 40'HC runs $4,600-$9,900. Door-to-door service adds $1,200-$2,800 for pickup, packing, drayage and destination delivery. Rates vary most by gateway and destination port.
| Lane | 20' FCL | 40'HC FCL | LCL per CBM | Transit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami → Cartagena | USD $3,400–$4,600 | USD $4,600–$6,200 | USD $135–$165 | 7-10 days |
| Houston → Puerto Cortés | USD $3,500–$4,800 | USD $4,700–$6,400 | USD $140–$175 | 6-9 days |
| Los Angeles → Acajutla | USD $4,200–$5,900 | USD $5,600–$7,600 | USD $160–$195 | 12-16 days |
| New York → Caucedo | USD $3,700–$5,100 | USD $4,900–$6,700 | USD $145–$180 | 8-12 days |
| Savannah → Kingston | USD $3,600–$4,900 | USD $4,800–$6,500 | USD $140–$175 | 7-11 days |
| Houston → Veracruz | USD $3,300–$4,500 | USD $4,500–$6,000 | USD $135–$170 | 5-8 days |
What sits inside an "all-in" number
An honest quote itemizes. When a forwarder gives you one number, ask for the breakdown behind it:
- Ocean freight — the base carrier rate, the most volatile line.
- Origin THC — terminal handling at the US port, $250-$480 per container.
- BAF / CAF — bunker and currency adjustment factors, adjusted quarterly.
- ISPS — security fee, $12-$35 per container.
- Documentation / B/L fee — $65-$150.
- DTHC — destination terminal handling, often billed locally and often excluded.
Peak season and the calendar trap
Latin American lanes tighten from August through October and again before Christmas. Expect 8-18% rate increases plus peak season surcharges in those windows. Moving in February or May saves real money.
Port cut-off is not vessel ETD
Cargo cut-off usually falls 48-96 hours before the vessel sails. Documentation cut-off can be earlier still. Expats book flights against the ETD, miss the cut-off by a day, and roll to the next sailing — which on a weekly service costs seven days and on a biweekly service costs fourteen. Confirm both dates in writing before you book anything non-refundable.
Miami(USMIA)
Cartagena(COCTG)
Houston(USHOU)
Veracruz(MXVER)
New York(USNYC)
Caucedo(DOCAU)
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Go to the calculator →Do you pay import duty on personal effects when moving to Latin America?
Quick Answer: No, in most cases — Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and Panama grant duty relief on used household goods under transfer-of-residence rules. You need a qualifying residence visa, a valued inventory, and filing within a set window, usually 30-120 days after arrival. New items and vehicles are taxed separately.
| Country / scheme | Authority | Eligibility | Ownership period | Filing window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia — menaje de casa | DIAN | Residence visa + RUT/NIT | Used goods, 6+ months | Within 120 days of arrival |
| Peru — menaje de casa | SUNAT | Resident/returning national | Used goods, 6+ months | Up to 2 months before / 4 after |
| Mexico — menaje de casa | SAT | Temporary or permanent resident card | Used goods, no fixed term | Within 6 months of card issue |
| Chile | Servicio Nacional de Aduanas | Residence visa | Used goods, 6+ months | Within 120 days of arrival |
| Costa Rica | Dirección General de Aduanas | Residency approval | Used goods | Within 3 months of residency |
| Panama | Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas (ANAM) | Residence/pensionado visa | Used goods | Within 3-6 months |
| Dominican Republic | DGA | Residence visa | Used goods | Within 3 months |
| USA — Form 3299 | CBP | Returning resident / new immigrant | Owned and used 1 year | Filed at entry |
| Canada — BSF186 | CBSA | Settler or returning resident | Owned and used 6 months | Filed at first entry |
Per DIAN guidance, the menaje de casa declaration must match the inventory line by line. Mexican SAT rules follow the same logic through the resident card. According to CBP regulations, US returning residents declare personal effects on Form 3299, supported by a packing list.
What always triggers duty
- New-in-box items — a sealed TV bought the week before shipping is an import, not a personal effect.
- Commercial quantities — twelve identical blenders reads as a shipment for resale.
- Alcohol and tobacco — excise applies almost everywhere, with tiny personal allowances.
- Firearms — usually prohibited or subject to separate permits.
- Vehicles — taxed separately in nearly every LatAm country, even under transfer of residence.
Documents to prepare before the container sails
- Valued, itemized inventory — in Spanish where required, carton by carton
- Passport with entry stamp and the residence visa page
- RUT or NIT (Colombia), CURP/resident card (Mexico), RUC or DNI (Peru)
- Bill of Lading showing the consignee exactly as the visa name reads
- Factura Comercial or declaration of value for any new item
- Certificado de Origen where a trade agreement applies
A blanket inventory kills your duty relief
"Box 14 — kitchen items, $300" fails. Customs uses the inventory to test whether goods are genuinely used and personal. Vague lines invite a physical exam, and an exam means storage days you pay for. List the contents of each carton with a realistic used value. Photograph anything worth over $1,000. AB Group Shipping is a freight forwarder, not legal counsel — engage a licensed customs broker in the destination country to file the relief application.
What hidden costs should you budget for when relocating abroad?
Quick Answer: Destination charges add $450-$1,400 per shipment and appear in almost no online quote. The usual culprits are DTHC, customs broker fees, port storage after free time, demurrage, detention, quarantine inspection and last-mile delivery. Budget a 12-15% contingency on the freight line alone.
Origin THC and DTHC sit on opposite sides of the quote
Terminal handling charges cover moving your container between yard and vessel. Origin THC is usually inside your US quote. DTHC is usually not, because it is billed in local currency by the destination agent.
On LatAm lanes, DTHC runs $180-$420 per container. Ask one question: "Is DTHC included, yes or no, in writing?"
Free time, demurrage and detention
Most Latin American ports grant 5-7 days of free time. After that, demurrage runs $85-$180 per container per day. Detention — keeping the container after it leaves the port — adds a separate per-diem.
A two-week customs delay on a 20' container can cost $1,200 in demurrage alone. That is why filing the inventory correctly is a budget decision, not paperwork.
LCL-specific fees nobody mentions
- Deconsolidation fee at destination CFS: $45-$90 per CBM
- CFS handling and documentation: $70-$180 flat
- Storage after 3-5 free days: $8-$18 per CBM per day
- Re-measurement if your declared CBM is under actual
Inspection, quarantine and wood packaging
Wooden crates and pallets need ISPM-15 heat treatment with a visible stamp. Untreated wood gets rejected, fumigated or destroyed at your cost. A physical customs exam costs $150-$400 plus the storage days it burns.
Inland deliveries add more. Drayage from Cartagena to Medellín, Callao to Arequipa, or Manzanillo to Guadalajara runs $400-$1,100, and chassis split fees appear where equipment is scarce.
The 12-15% contingency is not optional
Across thousands of shipments in the USA–Latin America corridor, the moves that go over budget are almost always the ones with no contingency line. Add 12-15% to the freight bucket. If nothing goes wrong, you keep it. If customs pulls your container for exam, you sleep fine.
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Go to the calculator →Door-to-door or port-to-port: how do you compare relocation quotes?
Quick Answer: Port-to-port covers ocean freight only; you handle pickup, export packing, customs clearance and final delivery. Door-to-door covers the whole chain and costs $1,200-$2,800 more. Relocation quotes use Incoterms: DAP stops before duties, DDP includes them, EXW puts everything on you.
| Cost element | Port-to-port | Door-to-door (DAP) | Door-to-door (DDP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export packing | You pay | Included | Included |
| Origin pickup / drayage | You pay | Included | Included |
| Origin THC + documentation | Included | Included | Included |
| Ocean freight | Included | Included | Included |
| DTHC | You pay | Included | Included |
| Customs clearance / broker | You pay | Included | Included |
| Import duties and taxes | You pay | You pay | Included |
| Last-mile delivery | You pay | Included | Included |
DAP for personal moves
DAP — Delivered at Place — stops short of duties and import taxes. For an expat claiming transfer-of-residence relief, that is usually the right structure. Your duty exposure should be near zero anyway, and you keep control of the relief application. If customs assesses something, you see the invoice directly instead of a marked-up pass-through.
DDP and its hidden risk
DDP — Delivered Duty Paid — looks like certainty. It is not. Destination duties get assessed on arrival value, which customs may recalculate. Forwarders protect themselves with estimates and adjustment clauses. On a personal move, DDP quotes often carry a duty contingency you pay whether or not duty applies. Read the fine print before you prefer it.
Six questions to ask before you sign
- Confirm whether DTHC is included or billed locally.
- Ask how many free days you get at the destination port.
- Clarify who prepares and files the valued inventory for duty relief.
- Verify the insurance is all-risk on a valued inventory, not carrier liability.
- Pin down the CBM measurement method — loaded volume or chargeable volume.
- Establish who pays if customs orders a physical inspection.
Chargeable volume vs actual loaded CBM
Some LCL quotes price on "chargeable volume," which rounds up odd shapes to their bounding box. A bicycle measuring 0.4 CBM can bill at 0.9 CBM. Get the measurement method in writing before you commit, or your 12 CBM shipment invoices as 15 CBM.
Send visa paperwork, apostilled documents and originals ahead by courier rather than packing them in the container. Our Free Courier Documents Calculator: USA to Peru 2026 prices document shipments in seconds and explains what customs treats as a document versus a dutiable parcel.
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Go to the calculator →How much is marine insurance, and what about pets and vehicles?
Quick Answer: Marine transit insurance for household goods costs 2-4% of declared value on an all-risk, valued-inventory basis — about $400-$900 on a $20,000 shipment. Pet relocation runs $1,100-$3,200 per animal to Latin America. Shipping a car adds $1,150-$2,900 plus destination duties.
Carrier liability is not insurance
Ocean carrier liability caps at roughly $500 per package under COGSA-style terms. A 40-carton shipment that goes overboard pays out a fraction of its value. Buy all-risk cover.
All-risk covers damage, theft and loss during transit, including handling. Total-loss-only cover is cheaper but pays nothing unless the vessel sinks or the container disappears. For household goods, all-risk is the only sensible choice.
Valued inventory rules
- Declare item-level values, not a lump sum
- Use replacement value at destination, not what you paid in 2014
- Photograph anything above $1,000 before packing
- Keep receipts for jewelry, art and high-end electronics
- Professional packing is often a condition of full coverage
What pet relocation actually costs
| Cost item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| IATA-compliant travel crate | USD $120–$400 |
| Veterinary health certificate | USD $150–$350 |
| USDA APHIS endorsement | USD $38–$180 |
| Airline cargo / excess baggage fee | USD $500–$1,800 |
| Destination inspection or quarantine | USD $80–$450 |
| Pet transport agent (optional) | USD $400–$1,200 |
Vehicles: RoRo, container or consolidation
RoRo is cheapest for running vehicles on lanes that support it. Container shipping protects the car and lets you load personal effects around it, where local rules allow. Consolidation splits a 40' with another vehicle and cuts cost per unit.
Budget $1,150-$2,900 for the ocean leg from a US gateway to most LatAm ports. Then budget duty. Colombia, Peru and Mexico tax imported vehicles even for residents claiming transfer of residence, and the tax often exceeds the freight.
For auction purchases and salvage units, see our Copart Vehicle Shipping Calculator 2026: From $1,150. For collector and enclosed-transport vehicles, check the Classic Car Shipping Calculator: 2026 Rates from $1,850.
Pro Tip
Run the vehicle math before you ship. On a 10-year-old sedan worth $8,000, Colombian import taxes can exceed $3,500 on top of $1,800 freight. Selling in the USA and buying locally often wins. Ship the car only if it is rare, highly sentimental, or cheaper than the local equivalent after all taxes.
How long does sea freight take, and what should the interim living budget be?
Quick Answer: Sea freight from the USA to Latin America takes 7-32 days port to port, plus 5-12 days for customs clearance and delivery. Budget 4-8 weeks without your household goods. Temporary housing, furniture rental and an air-freighted essentials kit typically add $1,800-$5,500.
| Lane | Port to port | Clearance + delivery | Total door to door |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami → Cartagena | 7-10 days | 5-9 days | 3-4 weeks |
| Houston → Puerto Cortés | 6-9 days | 5-10 days | 3-4 weeks |
| New York → Caucedo | 8-12 days | 5-9 days | 3-4 weeks |
| Los Angeles → Callao | 16-21 days | 7-12 days | 5-6 weeks |
| Savannah → Santos | 22-28 days | 8-14 days | 6-7 weeks |
| Houston → Valparaíso | 24-32 days | 7-12 days | 6-8 weeks |
The calendar nobody shows you
Port-to-port transit is the visible part. Add the rest: 3-7 days for packing and drayage, 2-4 days waiting for the cut-off, and the sailing frequency gap. LCL adds 5-9 days for deconsolidation at destination.
Building the gap budget
- Short-term furnished rental, 4-8 weeks: $1,200-$3,600
- Furniture and appliance rental: $250-$700 for the period
- Kitchen and bedding basics bought locally: $200-$600
- SIM cards, internet install, local transport: $150-$400
- Air-freighted essentials kit, 100-250 kg: $600-$2,200
Housing deposits by country
Most Latin American landlords want 1-3 months rent upfront. Mexico, Colombia and Chile frequently ask for a guarantor, a bank letter, or a paid guarantee policy — a real barrier for a newcomer with no local credit history.
Budget the deposit as cash, not credit. Expat financial guides such as this 2026 breakdown of how much money you need to move abroad and the Greenback moving abroad checklist for US expats both flag arrival cash as the most underestimated line.
Your step-by-step budget worksheet
- List the six buckets: freight, customs, insurance, immigration, arrival, interim living.
- Price the freight bucket in the calculator on this page using your real origin ZIP.
- Add destination charges at $450-$1,400 if your quote is port-to-port.
- Calculate insurance at 2-4% of your declared inventory value.
- Research visa fees, apostilles and translations for your destination country.
- Reserve 1-3 months rent plus agency fee for the housing deposit.
- Budget 4-8 weeks of interim living based on the transit table above.
- Apply a 12-15% contingency across the total.
- Set aside 2-3% for currency exchange and international transfer fees.
Pro Tip
Country-specific guides sharpen the non-freight buckets fast. Compare a Costa Rica relocation cost guide against a Portugal financial guide and you will see visa and housing lines swing by thousands. The freight line barely moves. That is exactly why you price freight precisely and estimate the rest generously.
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Go to the calculator →Your expat move budget calculator only works if the freight number is real. Guessing at $3,000 for a container and discovering $5,800 at booking breaks the entire worksheet. Use the calculator embedded above to price your exact volume, origin ZIP and destination port — FCL, LCL, air and courier, side by side, in seconds. No email, no sales call, no waiting three days for a quote. Then build the other five buckets around a number you can trust.
A single person moving from the USA to Latin America spends $4,200-$9,000 all-in, while a family of four typically spends $15,000-$32,000. Household goods shipping accounts for $1,900-$7,800 of that, with visas, housing deposits, pets, vehicles and interim living covering the rest. Use the calculator on this page to price the freight portion exactly for your origin ZIP.
A 20' container of household goods costs $3,400-$7,800 port to port from the USA to Latin America in 2026, and a 40' high cube runs $4,600-$9,900. Door-to-door service adds $1,200-$2,800 for export packing, drayage, destination clearance and final delivery. Prices move with gateway, destination port and peak season surcharges.
No, usually not — Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and Panama all allow duty-free entry of used household goods under transfer-of-residence rules. You must hold a qualifying residence visa, submit a valued and itemized inventory, and file within the local deadline, typically 30 to 120 days after arrival. New items, alcohol and vehicles are taxed separately.
Sea freight from the USA to Latin America takes 7-32 days port to port, depending on the lane. Miami to Cartagena runs 7-10 days, while Houston to Valparaíso takes 24-32 days. Add 5-12 more days for customs clearance and last-mile delivery, so plan on 4-8 weeks without your household goods.
Destination charges are the most common surprise, adding $450-$1,400 per shipment. These include destination terminal handling, customs broker fees, port storage after free time, demurrage at $85-$180 per container per day, quarantine inspection and last-mile delivery. Add a 12-15% contingency to your freight line and confirm in writing whether destination charges are included.