Current Freight Rates
Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.
Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to El Salvador is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
- Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
- Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
- Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
EXW Ex Works
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
FCA Free Carrier
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
FAS Free Alongside Ship
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
FOB Free On Board
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
CFR Cost and Freight
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
CPT Carriage Paid To
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
DAP Delivered At Place
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
DDP Delivered Duty Paid
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Service Details
China to El Salvador Air Freight — how the lane runs
We move door-to-door air freight from South China into El Salvador. Cargo enters through SAL (San Salvador) and clears with Dirección General de Aduanas de El Salvador, which takes 3–8 days on average.
El Salvador uses the US dollar, which simplifies pricing, and Acajutla on the Pacific gives a shorter routing from China than the Atlantic Central American ports. Many consignees also clear through Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala and truck across, so it is worth comparing both when quoting.
Route facts
| Destination country | El Salvador |
|---|---|
| Region | Americas |
| Mode | Air Freight |
| Gateways used | SAL (San Salvador) |
| Transit, China to gateway | 4–7 business days |
| Clearance / dwell | 3–8 days |
| Peak season | Sep–Nov |
Delivery cities on this lane
Each city below has its own guide covering the gateway that serves it, the inland leg after clearance and the local delivery requirements.
- China to San Salvador — capital and the dominant national market. Via SAL air / Acajutla sea; inland leg +1 day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Santa Ana — western commercial and agricultural centre. Via SAL air / Acajutla sea; inland leg +1 day. Air Freight guide →
- China to San Miguel — eastern regional trading city. Via SAL air / Acajutla sea; inland leg +1 day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Soyapango — industrial district of the capital. Via SAL air / Acajutla sea; inland leg +1 day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Acajutla — the country's main Pacific port. Via SAL air / Acajutla sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
Rates on this lane are per kilogram of chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual gross weight and L×W×H ÷ 6000. One cubic metre of cargo is treated as about 166.7 kg, so anything lighter than that per cubic metre is billed on the space it occupies rather than on the scale reading. Knowing which side of that line your cargo falls on changes the quote more than any negotiation will.
The consignments that move regularly on this service into El Salvador are dominated by electronics manufacturing equipment (HS 84), where clearance turns on cE machinery file, plus food-contact or GMP evidence where the line touches product, automation equipment (HS 84) and e-commerce fulfilment (HS mixed). We publish a handling brief for each, because the difference between a clean clearance and a two-week hold is almost always documentation prepared before the cargo leaves the factory rather than anything that happens in transit.
We fly this lane into SAL (San Salvador). Clearance happens at the arrival airport rather than at the delivery address, which matters if your consignee is inland: the customs step and the trucking step are separate, and only the first sits inside the transit time quoted above.
Delivery does not stop at the gateway. We run inland to Santa Ana, Acajutla, Soyapango, San Salvador and San Miguel among others, and each of those has its own destination guide covering the port or airport it clears through, the realistic inland transit to add on top of the figures above, and the local clearance quirks worth knowing before you ship: see all El Salvador destinations we cover.
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Additional Information
What Dirección General de Aduanas de El Salvador will ask for
IVA 13%; Central American common tariff 0–15%. The de-minimis position is USD 200 for courier consignments.
Conformity: Health registration for food and cosmetics; conformity for regulated goods.
Known friction points: Acajutla has limited direct Asian calls — most cargo transships. Compare the Guatemala routing, which is sometimes faster overall.
Documents we file under DDP
- Commercial invoice showing HS codes and the true transaction value
- Packing list with carton count, gross and net weight, and dimensions
- Air waybill
- Certificate of origin where it reduces the duty rate
- Product certification or conformity documents where the commodity requires them
Packing notes
- Chargeable weight is the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000)
- Use ISPM-15 treated wood for any pallet or crate — untreated timber is a common hold
- Mark every carton with the consignee name, city and carton number of total
- Declare lithium batteries, magnets, liquids and powders before booking, not after
Other modes into El Salvador
Duty rates, thresholds and conformity rules change by ministerial decision. The figures here are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your HS code with Dirección General de Aduanas de El Salvador or your broker before shipping.
Where these numbers come from
Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Dirección General de Aduanas de El Salvador against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.
Most landed-cost surprises trace back to classification rather than freight. the WCO Harmonized System defines the heading structure every customs administration builds on, and ITC Market Access Map will show you the duty a given heading attracts in this destination.
On the air side, anything with a cell or a battery in it, plus liquids, powders, magnets and aerosols, is governed by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Those articles are not refused outright, but they need to be declared at booking so the shipment is built correctly — declaring them late is the single most common cause of an air consignment being offloaded.
If this is your first shipment into El Salvador, the El Salvador Country Commercial Guide covers the practical import environment in more depth than a rate page reasonably can, and it is written by a party with no stake in your booking.
China to El Salvador — Shipping Reference Data
| Main air gateways | SAL (San Salvador) |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Dirección General de Aduanas de El Salvador |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | USD 200 for courier consignments |
| Import tax & duty regime | IVA 13%; Central American common tariff 0–15% |
| Local currency | USD |
| Typical clearance / dwell time | 3–8 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | Health registration for food and cosmetics; conformity for regulated goods |
Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Free 3D Loading Tools for This Air Route
This page covers a Air freight service from China to El Salvador. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.
3D Carton Packing Calculator
Before tendering this Air DDP Door-to-Door shipment, check how many units really fit per carton — the 3D packing tool computes layers, rotation, and protective gaps for your exact product dimensions.
Open Packing Tool →El Salvador Air Freight Checklist
- Shrink-wrap and corner-protect cartons — air cargo is transloaded multiple times.
- Lithium batteries and liquids need pre-approval on most air routes — declare them upfront.
- Compare volumetric weight (L×W×H÷6000) with actual weight — the higher one is billed.
- Confirm whether the El Salvador rate includes fuel and security surcharges or lists them separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Air DDP Door-to-Door from China to El Salvador take?
Air freight on this route runs about 5–10 business days door-to-door, plus roughly 3–8 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.
What duties and taxes apply when importing into El Salvador?
Clearance is handled by Dirección General de Aduanas de El Salvador. The regime is: IVA 13%; Central American common tariff 0–15%, with a de-minimis position of USD 200 for courier consignments. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.
What does DDP shipping to El Salvador include on this route?
DDP means we quote the freight, the customs entry with Dirección General de Aduanas de El Salvador and last-mile delivery in El Salvador together, so you settle once. The duty and tax portion depends on your product's HS code, declared value and the exchange rate at entry, so it is confirmed against your actual goods — the figures on this page are indicative and can move either way.
In what currency is this route priced and paid?
Freight is quoted and invoiced in USD; the destination-side currency is USD. Payment is typically due before departure, and DDP means you settle the full landed cost once.
How is the shipping cost on this route calculated?
We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000, so one cubic metre counts as about 166.7 kg) and charge whichever is greater, rounded up to the next kilogram, then apply the per-KG rate shown in the table above. A 300 kg consignment measuring out to only 200 kg volumetric is still charged on the 300 kg.
Which ports or airports does this route use into El Salvador?
Sea cargo to El Salvador clears through Acajutla; air freight clears via SAL (San Salvador). We route through whichever gateway gives the fastest onward delivery to your address and build it into the DDP price.
Inland Delivery Coverage — El Salvador
We deliver beyond the arrival gateway. Each city below has its own destination guide covering the gateway it clears through, typical inland transit time and the local customs picture.
Note — these are reference guides, not quotes. The city pages describe routing, gateways and clearance for each destination. They do not carry rate tables. For pricing to any city listed here, use the rate table on this page or ask us for a quote.
- San Salvador SAL air / Acajutla sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Santa Ana SAL air / Acajutla sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- San Miguel SAL air / Acajutla sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Soyapango SAL air / Acajutla sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Acajutla SAL air / Acajutla sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
Shipping El Salvador cargo by industry
This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.
- Baby Products Consumer Goods & Gifts
- Bathroom Accessories Consumer Goods & Gifts
- E-commerce Fulfilment E-commerce & Retail Channels
- Bearings Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Automation Equipment General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
- Electronics Manufacturing Equipment Specialised Production Machinery
- Generators New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Automotive Parts Automotive & Vehicles
- Prefabricated Building Building Materials & Construction Products
- Plumbing Products Building Materials & Construction Products
- Injection Molded Parts Plastics, Rubber & Packaging
- Art Ceramics Glass & Ceramic Products