Free Resource
What It Really Costs to Ship from Bali
Freight rates, the charges nobody quotes upfront, and a landed cost worksheet you can use on every order. Written from the shipments I actually run, not a rate card someone copied off the internet.
Shipping is the first question almost every buyer asks me, and the one that is hardest to answer in a single number. A freight forwarder quotes you the ocean leg. The supplier quotes you ex-works. Nobody hands you the full picture of what it costs to get a container from a workshop in Bali to your warehouse at home. So you find out the real number on your first invoice, when it is too late to plan around it.
This guide is my attempt to give you that full picture before you commit to anything. Here is the honest short version, and then I will break down where every dollar goes.
As a rough guide, in August 2026 a 40ft container of ocean freight alone runs from roughly USD 4,650 on the Asia to Rotterdam lane to around USD 5,900 on Asia to Los Angeles, based on the Drewry World Container Index. Ocean freight is only one line on the bill. Once you add origin charges in Bali, destination handling, customs clearance, duty and inland delivery, the freight and clearing side typically adds 15 to 25 percent on top of the product value. Rates change weekly, and right now they are high, so treat these as a starting point and ask me for a live quote on your actual shipment.
Two things are worth saying plainly before the numbers, because they explain why the figures below are higher than you might expect.
First, the published freight indices you will find online, Drewry and Freightos, measure containers leaving China. Your goods leave Indonesia. Bali and Surabaya are smaller ports with fewer direct sailings, so a container out of here almost always transships through Singapore, and Indonesia origin rates sit above the headline China number for the same destination. That is normal. It is not anyone marking you up.
Second, 2026 has been an expensive year across the board. July and August are peak season, when everyone is moving Christmas stock, and several carriers added emergency fuel surcharges over the summer on the back of Middle East tension around the Strait of Hormuz. That combination has kept rates high all year, not just this month. When the market softens, your quote softens with it, which is exactly why I quote live rather than publishing a fixed price that would be wrong by the time you read it.
LCL or FCL, and how to tell which you need
There are two ways to ship by sea, and choosing the wrong one is one of the easier ways to waste a few hundred dollars.
LCL, less than container load, means your goods share a container with other people’s cargo. You pay by the cubic metre, or by the weight tonne if the goods are heavy for their size, whichever is greater. It suits smaller orders, roughly under 12 cubic metres.
FCL, full container load, means you take the whole box. A 20ft container holds around 25 to 30 cubic metres, a 40ft holds around 55 to 60, and you pay a flat rate regardless of how full it is. It suits orders above roughly 15 cubic metres.
Between about 12 and 15 cubic metres the two options cross over, and it is worth pricing both. I have seen plenty of orders where a 20ft FCL came in only a couple of hundred dollars above the LCL price, and FCL is faster and handled less, so it was the easy call.
One trap with stone. Lavastone and paras paving are heavy, and a container hits its weight limit long before it looks full. On heavy stone orders the weight decides everything, not the volume, so always check both.
The charges that are not in the freight quote
When a forwarder quotes you ocean freight, that is one line on a bill that has a dozen. None of these are hidden exactly, they are just left off the headline number, and they are what catch people out on a first order:
- Origin charges in Bali: pickup, container stuffing, export documentation, port handling
- Fumigation and phytosanitary certificates where the goods need them, which timber and some stone do
- Destination terminal handling at the arrival port
- Customs clearance and your broker’s fee
- Import duty and, in most countries, VAT or GST on top of the duty
- Inland delivery from the arrival port to your door
- Peak season and fuel surcharges, which come and go with the market
- Demurrage and detention if your clearance is slow and the container sits too long
The full guide puts real 2026 numbers against every one of these, plus a worked example of a real teak order landed in Rotterdam, and a blank worksheet you can fill in for your own shipment.
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Get the full Bali Shipping Cost Guide
The complete guide has the freight rate reference by destination, port to port transit times, import duty ranges by product type, the full list of charges with real figures, a worked landed cost example, and a blank calculator for your own order. Enter your email and I will send it straight over.
The figures in the guide are indicative and dated. Freight rates and duty rates change constantly and are never a guarantee. For a firm number on your shipment, message me.
Common questions about shipping costs from Bali
How much does it cost to ship a container from Bali?
As of August 2026, ocean freight for a 40ft container runs roughly USD 4,650 to Northern Europe and around USD 5,900 to the US West Coast, based on the Drewry World Container Index for Asia origin. Indonesia origin rates sit a little above these China based figures because of transhipment through Singapore. Ocean freight is only part of the total: origin charges, destination handling, customs, duty and inland delivery usually add another 15 to 25 percent on top of the goods value. Rates move weekly, so ask me for a live quote.
Why is shipping from Bali more expensive than from China?
Bali and Surabaya are lower volume ports with fewer direct services, so containers almost always transship through a larger hub like Singapore. Higher volume China ports have direct sailings that pull rates down. So for the same destination, an Indonesia origin container costs somewhat more than the China index you see quoted online. This is a structural feature of the route, not a markup.
Is now a good time to ship, or are rates unusually high?
2026 has been an expensive year throughout. July and August are peak season for Christmas stock, and emergency fuel surcharges were added over the summer on the back of Middle East tension. Rates have been elevated all year rather than spiking only now. They will ease when demand and fuel costs settle, which is why I quote live rather than publish a fixed figure.
What is not included in a freight quote?
A freight quote is usually the ocean leg only. It leaves out origin charges in Bali, fumigation and certificates, destination handling, customs clearance and broker fees, import duty, VAT or GST, and inland delivery. The full guide lists every one with 2026 figures so nothing on your first invoice is a surprise.
Do I pay import duty on goods from Bali?
It depends on the product and your country. Wooden furniture into the EU is often zero to low duty, natural stone is usually low, and textiles and ceramics can be higher. Most countries also charge VAT or GST on the customs value plus duty. Duty rates and classifications change and are not something I can guarantee, so the guide gives ranges and I always tell buyers to confirm the exact figure with their own customs broker.
Where this connects to the rest of the process
If you want the full picture around the cost, these go deeper: the complete guide to shipping from Bali for how the whole shipping process works end to end, how to import products from Bali for the process from first enquiry to clearing customs, and the export documentation guide for the certificates and paperwork that sit behind the fumigation and origin lines above.
For how I handle the shipping and paperwork on your order, and the single fixed all-in price my cargo partner quotes, see shipping and logistics. For how payment works across the order, see Bali Buying Agent.
Want a real number for your shipment?
Tell me the product, rough cubic metres or weight, and your destination port. I will come back with a straight answer, usually within a few hours.