Vape Shipping Price From China To USA Soared In Past 3 Months

Since the end of July, the logistics costs of vape from China to the United States has skyrocketed, with sea freight increasing by over 200% and air freight inspection rates exceeding 50%. Exclusive investigation and analysis by DankSmoke on key factors and industry response strategies behind the skyrocketing freight rates.
Meanwhile, on October 10th, the Chinese Ministry of Transport issued a notice on the collection of special port fees for American ships. The notice stated that starting from October 14th, 2025, Chinese ports will levy “special port fees” on American ships and will gradually increase the fee standards in the coming years.

China Imposes Special Port Fees on US Vessels

According to the Announcement on the Collection of Special Port Fees for US Ships, starting from October 14, 2025, affected ships will be subject to special port fees in stages

1. Starting from October 14, 2025: RMB 400 per net ton,about 56.14USD;
2. Starting from April 17, 2026: 640 RMB per net ton,about 89.83USD;
3. Starting from April 17, 2027: RMB 880 per net ton,about 123.52USD;
4. Starting from April 17, 2028: RMB 1120 per net ton,about 157.2USD.

After the announcement, Matson, a popular shipping service provider for vape exports, has raised its vape freight rates. Andy senior person who has been engaged in vape logistics for a long time said, “Now (after the announcement of the ‘special port fees’), the fast shipping of vapes has increased by 5 yuan per kilogram, which is 5000 yuan per ton. ”(Editor’s note: Unless otherwise specified, all prices mentioned in this article are in Chinese yuan.)
However, for other e-commerce goods, the increase is relatively moderate. The average price of one container (for other goods) has increased by one thousand US dollars, which is equivalent to about 0.6 yuan (RMB) per kilogram.

According to this calculation, after the announcement of the “special port fees”, the freight rate of vape goods has increased by more than 8 times that of “other goods”.
Another logistics company has stated that due to the release of the “Special Port Fees” announcement, the quotation has been adjusted accordingly – the average sea freight for vapes has been increased by about 1 yuan per kilogram, with specific increases varying depending on the route, delivery time, and insurance terms.

Shipping costs have doubled in three months, with risk costs leading the increase

Industry insiders generally believe that although “special port charges” have become a new cost variable for the rise in shipping prices between China and the United States, they are not the main driving factor.
Several logistics practitioners have stated that the fundamental reason for the increase in freight rates is the sustained high inspection rate in the United States.
The ‘special port fees’ only account for a small part of the increase, and the real impact on freight rates is the risk cost brought about by the increase in inspection rates
In fact, the sea freight price of vapes exported from China to the United States has continued to rise since the end of July and is currently at its highest point of the year.
Before June, the sea freight price of vapes was only a dozen yuan per kilogram. After July, it rose to 45 to 50 yuan, an increase of over 200%, almost the same as the air freight price in the past.

Air freight costs double, Chinese vape companies’ dare not go too much ‘

In terms of air transportation, Andy stated that the quotation has increased to 95 to 150 yuan per kilogram (including insurance) since May, which is about 3 to 5 times higher than the 30 yuan before the end of April.
Air freight is currently being inspected too strictly, and we dare not take on too many orders ourselves. Of course, customers are willing to use air freight, but once there is a problem, they cannot afford compensation
He introduced that currently the company compensates for the value of goods at 200 yuan/kg, plus freight compensation, totaling about 300 yuan/kg, which is equivalent to three times the freight rate.
Although the current air freight quotation includes insurance, we still lose money even if we find one order
Therefore, many logistics companies actively tighten their air freight business and only retain a small number of small batches for shipment.
At present, air freight accounts for less than 15% of the company’s vape transportation business, while sea freight still accounts for nearly 80%.

The normalization of joint law enforcement by the US and high inspection rates have become the main reasons for logistics price increases

Andy pointed out that the continuous increase in logistics prices is mainly due to the high inspection rate in the United States since the end of April.
The cost of foreign ports and warehousing is already high, especially with the increase in inspection rates and difficulties in returning goods (i.e. goods that are difficult to return after confiscation), everyone has to raise prices
According to him, the current maritime inspection rate has risen to 5% to 7%, compared to only 1% to 2% before June; Air freight inspections are more stringent, reaching up to 40% to 50%.

According to previous interviews with the FDA and other international media reports, only 39 vape products have received marketing authorization from the US FDA, and these legally marketed products have a market share of less than 20% in the US vape market. The vast majority of vapes currently popular in the United States have not obtained fully compliant listing qualifications. It is worth noting that some tobacco companies have also criticized the FDA for its low efficiency in product marketing review, which hinders the progress of legal product marketing. Since mid-2024, FDA’s Latest PMTA Decisions: Which Vape Products Made The Cut? to strengthen the crackdown on illegal vapes.
The FDA, CDP, and customs have been jointly enforcing the law, and the inspection scope has extended from ports to overseas warehouses and even distributor warehouses. ”
Andy added that the larger the warehouse size, the higher the risk of being inspected. Once inspected, it often faces the problem of “difficult return and confiscation”, and the overall risk significantly increases.
In this high-risk context, many logistics companies have adopted a “limited shipment” model – “one batch, one batch cleared” – to reduce the potential losses of bulk transportation.
However, despite high freight rates, the demand for vape exports remains strong. Andy said that the company’s current orders have not decreased, but have continued to grow. We dare not accept many goods now for fear of not being able to afford compensation if there are problems. Orders are not lacking, what is lacking is goods that can be safely received
We will continue to monitor the logistics of vapes between China and the United States, as well as the situation of the vape market in the United States.