09/10/2026
Amazon just rolled out two of its own air freight services for shipping from China. Air SMP gets goods from Shanghai or Hong Kong to the US in 7 to 10 days. Economy Air takes 11 to 15 days into Los Angeles. Neither one has a published price yet.
If you’re an FBA seller thinking about switching, that unpublished price is worth pausing on.
A forwarder and prep setup gets goods landed in 6 to 10 days DDP, with duties figured out before the container leaves China. You know your landed cost on day one. With Amazon’s new lanes, you find out what you’re paying only after you’ve booked it.
Before you move your Q4 freight onto a lane with no posted rate, ask your forwarder two things: what’s my actual transit time right now, and what happens to my duty exposure if the rate changes mid-shipment.
We get asked about this tradeoff every week right now. Is your Q4 freight locked at a rate you can see before you ship, or are you finding out after?