Shipping wooden toys from China is mostly a volume problem: toys are light, so a container fills up long before it reaches its weight limit. The decisions that matter are the Incoterm, the carton dimensions, the port, and the calendar — including the weeks around Chinese New Year when nothing moves. This guide covers EXW versus FOB, the container maths for cartons, the documents that must travel with the goods, and how to schedule an order so the production window and the vessel line up.
Decide the Incoterm first
| Term | Who books freight | Who clears export | Risk transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Buyer | Buyer, usually via a Chinese forwarder | At the factory door |
| FCA | Buyer | Seller | When goods are handed to the carrier |
| FOB | Buyer | Seller | When goods are on board at the named port |
| CIF | Seller | Seller | On board, but seller pays freight and insurance |
| DAP / DDP | Seller | Seller (DDP includes duty) | At destination |
For most first orders, FOB Ningbo or Shanghai is cleanest: the factory handles export clearance and trucking; the buyer controls freight and sees the real cost. EXW looks cheap, then adds export declaration, truck booking and port charges on your side — workable only with a forwarder who does that daily.
Ports and routing
Most Zhejiang wooden toy production ships through Ningbo; Shanghai is the alternative. From Yunhe, the truck to either port is a day's work: the container is loaded at the factory, sealed and driven to the terminal.
Routing choices to watch:
- US West Coast: direct services, shortest transit, most capacity.
- US East Coast: all-water via Panama or Suez depending on the service.
- Europe: direct to Rotterdam, Hamburg or Felixstowe, or via a Mediterranean hub.
- Transshipment: cheaper rates, more handling. For a first order of a few hundred cartons, direct is usually worth the difference.
Ask the forwarder for sailing dates before fixing the production end date. A production finish on the 20th is useless if the next vessel is on the 28th and the cut-off is the 25th.
CBM, cartons and containers
CBM (cubic metres) is the currency of ocean freight for toys. It is carton length × width × height in metres, times the carton count.
Worked example: a carton of 60 × 40 × 35 cm holds 24 puzzle boards at 15 kg gross.
- Carton volume: 0.6 × 0.4 × 0.35 = 0.084 CBM.
- A 20GP with about 28 CBM usable holds roughly 330 cartons, minus 10–15% for stacking loss — call it 290 cartons, about 7,000 pieces.
- A 40HQ with about 65 CBM usable holds about 700 cartons, roughly 17,000 pieces.
| Container | Internal volume | Practical loading | Usual load of toy cartons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20GP | ~33 CBM | 26–28 CBM | 7,000–9,000 pcs of a mid-size toy |
| 40GP | ~67 CBM | 55–58 CBM | 14,000–18,000 pcs |
| 40HQ | ~76 CBM | 63–68 CBM | 16,000–21,000 pcs |
Wooden toys rarely reach the weight limit: a 40HQ of toys might load 8–12 tonnes against a payload of around 26 tonnes. Carton dimensions are the lever: 5 cm off the carton height can add several hundred cartons to a container. If you are close to a full container, ask the factory for a carton optimisation before the packaging is printed.
Export documents
The document set for a toy shipment:
- Commercial invoice, with the FSC claim if the order is certified, and the Incoterm.
- Packing list by carton range, with gross and net weight and dimensions.
- Bill of lading, original or telex release as agreed.
- Certificate of origin (CO), or a preferential form where a trade agreement applies.
- Insurance certificate, if the term includes insurance.
- Test reports and, for the US, the Children's Product Certificate.
- CE declaration of conformity for the EU, with the importer's details.
- Fumigation or heat-treatment evidence for wood packaging.
Missing or inconsistent paperwork is the most common cause of a customs hold; the mismatch is usually between the invoice description and the product label. Keep the description identical across invoice, packing list, carton marks and CPC.
Wood packaging: ISPM 15
Export pallets, crates and dunnage must be treated and marked under ISPM 15 — heat-treated or fumigated, with the IPPC stamp on each piece. This is separate from the toy: a solid wood toy is not packaging, but the pallet under the cartons is. Some buyers ask for plastic pallets, or none, to avoid the issue; the trade-off is loading time.
The timeline from PO to arrival
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Production | 25–30 days after deposit and PP sample approval |
| Booking and space confirmation | 7–14 days before planned ETD |
| Trucking to port and export declaration | 1–2 days |
| Port cut-off | 2–4 days before ETD |
| Ocean transit, US West Coast | about 2–3 weeks |
| Ocean transit, Europe | about 4–5 weeks |
| Destination clearance and delivery | 3–10 days |
Total door-to-door is usually 7–10 weeks. Plan backwards from the retail launch, not forwards from the PO.
Chinese New Year and peak season
Chinese New Year is the biggest scheduling risk in a Chinese supply chain. Factories close for roughly two to three weeks, and the effective disruption is longer: workers travel before the holiday and return gradually, capacity ramps up over the following two weeks, and material suppliers reopen on their own schedules.
Practical rules:
- Ship before the holiday or accept that the order runs after it. There is no third option.
- Book vessel space 4–6 weeks ahead of the pre-holiday window; rates rise and space disappears.
- Finish production at least 2–3 weeks before the holiday so there is buffer for inspection and trucking.
- Expect the first two weeks after the holiday to be slower than normal.
The other peak is late summer to early autumn, when US retail orders and European Christmas stock compete for the same vessels. If your launch depends on a specific vessel, book early and keep one week of slack in the production schedule.
FAQ
Is FOB or EXW better for a first order?
FOB, unless you already have a Chinese forwarder handling export clearance and trucking. FOB gives you a known price at the port, puts export compliance with the party that does it daily, and keeps freight visible as its own line.
How do I calculate how many cartons fit in a container?
Divide usable volume (about 28 CBM for a 20GP, 65 CBM for a 40HQ) by the carton CBM, then reduce by 10–15% for stacking loss. Check the weight as well: toys cube out, so volume is almost always the limit.
Can you ship less than a full container?
Yes, as LCL through a consolidator, but it adds handling, transit time and a real risk of carton damage at the consolidation warehouse. For 500–1,000 pieces, LCL can be cheaper than a container; above that, the maths usually favours a full box.
Frequently asked
Is FOB or EXW better for a first order?
FOB, unless you already have a Chinese forwarder handling export clearance and trucking. FOB gives you a known price at the port, puts export compliance with the party that does it daily, and keeps freight visible as its own line.
How do I calculate how many cartons fit in a container?
Divide usable volume (about 28 CBM for a 20GP, 65 CBM for a 40HQ) by the carton CBM, then reduce by 10–15% for stacking loss. Check the weight as well: toys cube out, so volume is almost always the limit.
Can you ship less than a full container?
Yes, as LCL through a consolidator, but it adds handling, transit time and a real risk of carton damage at the consolidation warehouse. For 500–1,000 pieces, LCL can be cheaper than a container; above that, the maths usually favours a full box.