Shipping & Import
Sea freight from Shenzhen or Nansha to Le Havre or Fos-sur-Mer takes about 25–35 days in September 2026, with most services routed round the Cape of Good Hope; allow another 1–2 weeks for French customs and delivery booking.
Under roughly 15 m³ ship LCL and pay per cubic metre (about USD 30/m³ base ocean freight, 25–40% more all-in); from 15 m³ a 20 ft container is cheaper; from 28 m³ a 40 ft high-cube. Indicative FCL rates to Le Havre in September 2026: USD 2,600–3,200 for a 20 ft, USD 4,100–5,000 for a 40 ft, before surcharges.
Import duty on most furniture into the EU is 0% (HS 9401 seats and 9403 wooden, metal and plastic furniture); rattan and cane furniture (9403 89) is 5.6% and mattresses and cushions (9404) 3.7%. French import VAT is 20% on the goods plus freight and duty — recoverable if you are VAT-registered.
A worked example: 250 stackable sun loungers plus furniture for 20 one-bedroom apartments is two to three 40 ft high-cubes, not LCL — and the container plan, not the ocean rate, decides whether it arrives assembled or in pieces.
There is no EU anti-dumping duty on Chinese household or hospitality furniture as of September 2026; the only open proceeding in chapter 94 concerns steel shelving (TARIC 9403 20 80 20), which does not touch seating or home furniture.
Ship LCL (less than container load, a shared container) below about 15 m³; above that a 20 ft container of your own is cheaper per cubic metre and handled less; above about 28 m³ move to a 40 ft high-cube, which holds 68–76 m³ usable. LCL is billed per cubic metre — around USD 30/m³ base ocean freight from South China to Le Havre in September 2026, but origin and destination CFS charges, documentation and customs typically add 25–40% — while FCL is billed per box regardless of how full it is.
| Volume | Ship as | What it costs (Sept 2026, indicative) | Handling |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–15 m³ | LCL, shared container | ≈ USD 30/m³ base + CFS both ends, docs, customs; all-in often 25–40% above the base | Loaded and unloaded at shared warehouses at both ends — re-crating matters most here |
| 15–28 m³ | 20 ft FCL | USD 2,600–3,200 to Le Havre before BAF/LSS (≈ USD 260–340 per TEU) and any Cape surcharge | Sealed in Foshan, opened at your door or a bonded warehouse in France |
| 28–68 m³ | 40 ft high-cube FCL | USD 4,100–5,000 to Le Havre before surcharges | Your cargo only; loaded by zone and floor |
| 68 m³ + | Two containers or phased | Two boxes, or one now and one when the site is ready | Phased shipping suits apartments that finish floor by floor |
The rule of thumb hides one trap: factory volume figures are usually 10–25% below the packed volume once export crating goes on. Measure the crates, not the furniture, before choosing between LCL and a 20 ft box — a 13 m³ order that becomes 16 m³ after crating has already crossed the line.
France has two container gateways for Asian cargo: Le Havre in Normandy for Paris, the north and the west, and Marseille-Fos (Fos-sur-Mer) for the south and the Riviera. In September 2026 most Asia–North Europe services are still routed round the Cape of Good Hope, so plan on 25–35 days port to port from Shenzhen (Yantian), Nansha or Hong Kong, with sailings two to four times a week; Fos is a few days shorter on Mediterranean loops. Add one to two weeks for import clearance, VAT payment or deferment and delivery booking, and a further one to three days of trucking to the site.
Pieces from several factories collected at one warehouse, inspected, re-crated where the factory packing is thin, and loaded by zone.
Foshan to Nansha or Yantian is a same-day truck; export declaration filed by the forwarder.
25–35 days via the Cape of Good Hope; tracking shared weekly.
Import declaration with HS codes, commercial invoice and packing list; duty (mostly 0%) and 20% import VAT paid or deferred by the importer of record.
Container on a chassis where the site allows, otherwise transloaded to a box truck; unloading, unpacking, assembly and packaging removal scoped in advance.
Most furniture enters the EU duty-free from China. The third-country (erga omnes) rates in the EU customs tariff for the codes a furniture order typically uses are below; the buyer or their customs broker must confirm the final ten-digit classification of each piece, because the material of the frame decides the code.
| HS / CN code | Covers | EU duty from China | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9401 71 / 9401 79 | Seats with metal frames — sun loungers, aluminium terrace chairs, metal-frame sofas | 0% | Upholstered (71) or not (79) |
| 9401 61 / 9401 69 | Seats with wooden frames — teak loungers, dining chairs, wooden-frame sofas | 0% | |
| 9401 80 | Other seats, e.g. plastic or resin | 0% | |
| 9403 20 | Metal furniture — beds, tables, shelving (household) | 0% | See anti-dumping note: steel shelving only |
| 9403 60 | Wooden furniture — wardrobes, sideboards, tables, bed frames | 0% | |
| 9403 70 | Plastic furniture | 0% | |
| 9403 89 | Furniture of other materials — rattan, cane, bamboo | 5.6% | Applies to natural rattan; aluminium-frame HDPE-weave pieces usually classify under 9401/9403 by frame |
| 9404 21 / 9404 29 | Mattresses | 3.7% | |
| 9404 90 | Cushions, pillows, quilts and similar stuffed articles | 3.7% | Loose outdoor cushions shipped separately from the seat |
French import VAT is 20% of the customs value — the goods, plus the freight and insurance to the EU border, plus any duty. A VAT-registered French company recovers it on its return (and since 2022 can use the postponed accounting mechanism so no cash changes hands at the border); a private buyer pays it as a final cost. Budget the total landed cost at ex-works plus freight plus VAT plus delivery, or roughly 25–45% on top of the ex-works price for a full container to France, more for small LCL lots.
Anti-dumping. The EU has no anti-dumping or countervailing duty on Chinese seating, household or hospitality furniture as of September 2026. The one open chapter-94 proceeding, initiated on 10 June 2026, concerns bolted and boltless steel shelving units (TARIC 9403 20 80 20 and 9403 99 10 20) and does not cover beds, tables, seats or outdoor furniture. Check the Commission’s trade-defence list again before a large order, because measures can be introduced with provisional duties at short notice.
A free second look from a local team that reads Foshan quotations every week: unit specs, add-on risks, packing and freight lines, payment terms. No commitment.
A beach club and 20 one-bedroom holiday apartments in the same French town, ordered together in Foshan. The loungers are stackable aluminium sling (Tier A in our bulk lounger guide); the apartments are a laminate-and-veneer package, knock-down where sensible.
| 250 sun loungers, stackable aluminium sling | USD 95–160 each → USD 24,000–40,000 ex-works; 55–70 m³ packed |
|---|---|
| 20 × one-bedroom apartment packages | USD 3,000–6,000 per unit → USD 60,000–120,000 ex-works; 100–160 m³ knock-down/assembled mix |
| Total volume | 155–230 m³ → three 40 ft high-cubes, loaded by zone: beach / floors 1–2 / floors 3–4 |
| Ocean freight to Fos-sur-Mer | 3 × USD 4,100–5,000 plus BAF/LSS and any Cape surcharge → roughly USD 13,000–18,000 |
| EU duty | 0% on loungers (9401 79), beds and casegoods (9403 20/60), seating (9401); 3.7% on mattresses and loose cushions only |
| French import VAT | 20% × (goods + freight + duty) ≈ USD 20,000–36,000, recoverable by a VAT-registered operator |
| Delivery and installation | Chassis or transload, unloading, assembly, positioning and packaging removal for 20 units and the beach; scoped per building day |
| What LCL would have cost | Not applicable — at 155–230 m³ LCL would be handled at shared warehouses ten times over; FCL by zone is both cheaper and safer |
| Ranges are indicative bands from factory listings and project quotes checked in September 2026. A firm quote follows a piece list and a site address. | |
A freight forwarder’s door delivery usually ends at the kerb with two free hours to empty the container. For a beach club or a building of apartments that is not a delivery, it is a problem. On Source Foshan projects the last leg is scoped in the quote as unloading, carry-in, uncrating, assembly, positioning and removal of the packaging, sequenced by floor or zone — the same scope documented in our Los Angeles, Orlando and British Columbia case notes.
Add 10–25% for export crating before you read the threshold. Most orders above one room’s worth of furniture are already FCL territory.
A beach that opens at Easter needs loungers on the water by late March: order in October, load by late January, allow for Chinese New Year.
Frame material sets the HS code; 0% on almost everything, 5.6% on natural rattan, 3.7% on mattresses and loose cushions. Get the ten-digit code per piece from your broker before the commercial invoice is issued.
Unloading, assembly and packaging removal per building or zone. If a quote says “door” without those words, it means kerb.
About 25–35 days port to port from Shenzhen or Nansha to Le Havre or Fos-sur-Mer in September 2026, with most services routed round the Cape of Good Hope, plus one to two weeks for consolidation before sailing and one to two weeks for French customs and delivery booking — five to seven weeks door to door in total.
LCL below about 15 m³ of packed volume; a 20 ft container from 15 to 28 m³; a 40 ft high-cube from 28 to 68 m³. LCL costs around USD 30/m³ base plus 25–40% in handling charges; a 40 ft box to Le Havre was USD 4,100–5,000 before surcharges in September 2026. Measure crated volume, not the factory’s figure.
0% for most seats (HS 9401) and wooden, metal or plastic furniture (HS 9403 20/60/70) under the EU common customs tariff; 5.6% for furniture of rattan, cane or bamboo (9403 89); 3.7% for mattresses and stuffed cushions (9404). French import VAT of 20% applies on top of goods, freight and duty and is recoverable for VAT-registered businesses. Confirm the ten-digit code per piece with your customs broker.
Not on seating, household or hospitality furniture as of September 2026. The only open chapter-94 proceeding, opened 10 June 2026, concerns steel shelving units (TARIC 9403 20 80 20 and 9403 99 10 20). Check the European Commission’s trade-defence list before committing a large order.
Planning a Foshan order that has to arrive assembled, not just arrive? Tell us the destination, the rooms and roughly how many pieces, and we will scope the buying trip, the packing and the door-to-door leg together — start your project, or read how consolidation and shipping and pre-shipment inspection work.
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Read the articleA floor plan, a furniture list, a quotation you already have or a rough brief is enough. Our local team in Foshan replies within one business day with real options, prices and lead times — no commitment.
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