Sea freight costs less. Air freight costs less when speed matters.
Should Indian importers use air freight or sea freight from China?
Sea freight is the default for almost all Indian importers — it costs 70–85% less per kg than air freight. Air freight makes sense when: product is high-value and low-weight, you need emergency restocking for a bestseller, or you're shipping samples. The key calculation is: does the cost of being out of stock exceed the air freight premium?
Air Freight vs Sea Freight across 8 key factors.
Samples and pre-production prototypes (small, time-sensitive)
Emergency restocking — you're out of stock on a top-selling Amazon ASIN
High-value, low-weight products (electronics, jewellery components, precision parts)
Time-critical products: seasonal launch, promotional deadline
Your gross margin is 70%+ and delivery speed is a brand differentiator
Regular inventory replenishment — your standard import cycle
Bulky, heavy products (home goods, hardware, apparel)
Products with gross margin under 60% — air freight destroys economics
You're importing a full container (FCL) or consolidating multiple SKUs
Products that don't have time-sensitive demand
Use sea freight as your default for all regular inventory. Use air freight for samples, emergencies, and high-value low-weight products only. Build your inventory planning to avoid emergency air freight — if you're consistently air-freighting to avoid stockouts, your reorder point is wrong, not your freight choice.
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