Freight Shipping From China to Mexico by Sea, Air & Door-to-Door Service

A small trading company based in Mexico City, specialising in the retail of household goods, contacted us through GWT Latam. This was the client’s first time sourcing household storage boxes and plastic shelving units from China, so they were unfamiliar with Mexico’s import duties and documentation requirements.

GWT classified the products according to the HS codes provided by the client and calculated the duties in advance, including customs duties, VAT, and anti-dumping surcharges. Ultimately, we provided the client with a door-to-door quote that included all costs. The GWT Latam team assisted the client in preparing a Spanish-language invoice, noting the HS code and material specifications. Customs clearance documents were submitted for pre-declaration three days in advance. Given that Mexican customs frequently conducts anti-dumping reviews on plastic products, we advised the client to indicate the origin of raw materials and include a declaration of non-involvement on the commercial invoice.

Ultimately, this shipment took 32 days from pickup in Suzhou to delivery in Mexico City. Thanks to the pre-shipment preparations, the client avoided Mexican customs inspections and cargo delays, thereby mitigating the risk of customs-related delays.

Our long-term client ships two LCL shipments from Shenzhen to Veracruz, Mexico, every month, mainly consisting of plastic hangers and other retail display products.

In April 2026, the client was preparing to open a new swimwear store in Mexico City and needed a batch of hangers for the store setup before opening day.

The original plan was to ship the cargo by LCL sea freight together with the client’s regular shipment. However, the client was concerned that vessel schedule changes, port congestion, or transhipment delays could affect the opening timeline.

After reviewing the shipment, GWT suggested sending 20 urgent cartons by air freight directly to Mexico City, while storing the remaining cargo in our Shenzhen warehouse. Since the client had another shipment scheduled later that month, we provided free warehousing and shipped the remaining cargo together with the second LCL shipment.

This solution helped the client avoid the cost of airfreighting the entire shipment while still receiving the goods needed for the opening on time.

A Monterrey-based lighting wholesaler had been importing from the US for years and had a reliable customs broker in Mexico. But this was his first time buying from China, with limited familiarity with the EXW process — cargo pickup, export declaration, and vessel booking.

He initially left only his contact information on our website in June 2026. Instead of pushing for an immediate quote, we maintained communication through WhatsApp, phone, and email over the following two weeks. Our Spanish-language support covered the entire EXW process step by step: what documents the supplier needed, how we would handle pickup and trucking to Shenzhen, and what he needed to prepare on his side. We also offered to verify the supplier’s export history and product documentation.

On July 22, he confirmed a 1×20ft container shipment of LED panel lights from Shenzhen to Manzanillo, with final delivery to Monterrey. GWT handled the EXW pickup, export customs clearance, and ocean freight, while import clearance in Mexico remained with the customer.

With the China-side logistics and export procedures arranged in advance, the customer was able to proceed with his first purchase from China with a clear understanding of the process and responsibilities.