Trade lane
Shipping from China to South Africa
Ocean freight from China to South Africa is an actively tracked container trade lane on bexy, with 6,318 shipments on record. Median estimated transit is 39 days, measured from the loaded-on-board date to the carrier's ETA at the final place of delivery, or the last planned arrival when the carrier gives none; half of shipments were estimated at between 27 and 60 days and 90% at 70 days or less, across 616 shipments with a usable on-board date and estimated arrival.
- Shipments tracked
- 6,318
- Median est. transit
- 39 days
- Loading ports
- 11
- Discharge ports
- 2
Estimated transit · China → South Africa
39days median
- Middle half
- 27–60 days
- 90% within
- 70 days
- Shipments
- 616
Estimated from the loaded-on-board date to the carrier's ETA at the final place of delivery, or the last planned arrival when the carrier gives none, which can include an inland leg; spans over 120 days are left out. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
Actual transit (from carrier discharge events)
32days median
Middle half 24–58 days · 90% within 68 days · n = 96 shipments with a recorded discharge
Loaded on board → container discharged at the port of discharge, from the carrier's container events: actual dates, not estimates. It has no inland leg, so it is not directly comparable with the estimate, and it rests on fewer shipments because most Bills of Lading are read after the container has been returned empty.
The estimate runs to the final place of delivery and can include an inland leg; the actual stops at the port of discharge.
Schedule slip vs plan
+2days median · after the planned arrival
Middle half +1 to +5 days · n = 26 shipments with both a planned arrival and a recorded discharge on this lane, across 8 sailings
Per shipment, the day a container was discharged at the port of discharge minus the carrier's first planned arrival there — whole days, exact to within a day either way; negative means ahead of plan. Each shipment is measured against its own plan, so it is a plain count, not weighted by volume. A sailing is one vessel voyage: every container on a late vessel is late together, so the slip is shown only when its shipments came on at least 5 sailings.
China to South Africa ocean freight
Measured from the carrier's container events instead of its estimates, the actual transit from China to South Africa — loaded on board to a container discharged at the port of discharge, with no inland leg — has a median of 32 days (middle half 24–58 days, 90% within 68 days) across 96 shipments with a recorded discharge at the port of discharge. The estimate runs to the final place of delivery and can include an inland leg; the actual stops at the port of discharge.
Cargo on this lane loads mainly at China ports including Shanghai, Qingdao, Xingang and Xiamen and is discharged mainly at Durban and Cape Town on the South Africa side.
Every China-to-South Africa shipment here travels on an Evergreen (EGLV) Bill of Lading and is read from the carrier's own tracking record: vessel, voyage, port milestones and per-container status, re-checked after the estimated arrival (the ETA, or the last planned arrival when there is none) until a status reports the shipment at its final destination, for up to 30 days — free, and without an account.
| Port of loading | Port of discharge | Shipments | Share | Planned port-to-port | Route page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai | Durban | 3,296 | 52% | 21 days median (20–23) · n = 102 | Shanghai → Durban |
| Qingdao | Durban | 1,693 | 27% | 37 days median (30–60) · n = 179 | Qingdao → Durban |
| Xingang | Durban | 311 | 5% | — | — |
| Xiamen | Durban | 300 | 5% | — | — |
| Shanghai | Cape Town | 292 | 5% | — | — |
| Qingdao | Cape Town | 223 | 4% | 55 days median (51–73) · n = 39 | Qingdao → Cape Town |
| Xingang | Cape Town | 70 | 1% | — | — |
| Xiamen | Cape Town | 57 | <1% | — | — |
Share is of this lane's shipments that record both ports. Planned port-to-port is the median (and middle half) from the loaded-on-board date to the first planned arrival at the port of discharge in the carrier's routing — no inland leg, unlike the transit time above — shown when at least 20 shipments have both dates; n is how many of the pair's shipments it rests on.
Planned routing: 6% of 343 shipments with a planned routing to the port of discharge are planned via a transshipment port, most often Ningbo (16), Shekou (2), Singapore (1); the rest are planned direct from the port of loading to the port of discharge. This is the carrier's planned routing when bexy read each Bill of Lading, and it can change after booking.
Recent shipments · China → South Africa
- EMCU1638300 · Qingdao → Durban2×
- EITU0489003 · Qingdao → Durban
- EGSU3536668 · Qingdao → Durban
- EITU3042343 · Qingdao → Cape Town2×
- EITU0528434 · Qingdao → Durban3×
- EGHU3520879 · Qingdao → Durban7×
- EGSU3178327 · Qingdao → Durban2×
- EGHU9413190 · Qingdao → Durban2×
- EGHU3295593 · Qingdao → Durban
- TLLU8510692 · Qingdao → Durban → Johannesburg
- EITU0287300 · Qingdao → Cape Town3×
- GCXU6496117 · Ningbo → Durban
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to ship from China to South Africa?
- The median estimated transit from China to South Africa is 39 days, measured from the loaded-on-board date to the carrier's ETA at the final place of delivery, or the last planned arrival when the carrier gives none; half of shipments were estimated at between 27 and 60 days and 90% at 70 days or less, across 616 shipments with a usable on-board date and estimated arrival. The exact time depends on the service, any transshipment and any inland leg to the final destination.
- How long does shipping from China to South Africa actually take?
- The median actual transit from China to South Africa is 32 days, measured from the loaded-on-board date to the day a container was discharged at the port of discharge, as reported in the carrier's container events; half of these shipments took between 24 and 58 days and 90% took 68 days or less, across 96 shipments with a recorded discharge at the port of discharge. Unlike the estimated transit it ends at the port of discharge, with no inland leg, and it rests on fewer shipments: for most Bills of Lading bexy first reads the record after the container has been returned empty, when the discharge is no longer shown.
- Which ports handle China to South Africa shipments?
- Cargo most often loads at Shanghai, Qingdao, Xingang and Xiamen. On arrival it is most often discharged at Durban and Cape Town.
- Is cargo from China to South Africa shipped direct or transshipped?
- In the carrier's planned routing at the time bexy read each Bill of Lading, 6% of the 343 China-to-South Africa shipments with a planned routing to the port of discharge were planned via at least one transshipment port, most often Ningbo, Shekou and Singapore; the rest were planned direct from the port of loading to the port of discharge. A transshipment port here is a planned stop between those two ports that is not the place of receipt or delivery, and routings can change after booking.
- How many shipments are tracked on the China to South Africa route?
- bexy has 6,318 shipments on record for the China to South Africa lane, the most recent departing Oct 7, 2026.
- How do I track a China to South Africa shipment?
- Enter the Evergreen (EGLV) Bill of Lading or container number on bexy to see the vessel and voyage, port milestones and estimated arrival — free, with no login required.
Browse all 6,318 shipments
China → South Africa · filterable by port, date & weight
Aggregated from 6,318 tracked Bills of Lading · median estimated transit from the loaded-on-board date to the carrier's ETA at the final place of delivery, or the last planned arrival when the carrier gives none, over 616 shipments · actual transit to discharge over 96 shipments with a recorded discharge · schedule slip vs plan over 26 shipments with both dates, across 8 sailings · data refreshed Oct 10, 2026 · how these figures are built.
Cite this page
bexy, "China to South Africa Shipping — Transit Time", data as of 2026-10-10, n = 6,318 tracked shipments. https://bexy.io/shipping/china-to-south-africaDefinitions, thresholds and limitations are on the methodology page.