Quick Answer: Sea-air from Vietnam to the USA moves cargo by ocean from Ho Chi Minh City or Haiphong to a transfer hub such as Incheon, Busan or Singapore, then by air to LAX, ORD, JFK or DFW. Door-to-door transit runs about 12-18 days. Request your 2026 rate in the calculator on this page.
- Sea-air Vietnam to USA takes roughly 12-18 days door to door, against 30-45 days for pure ocean and 5-8 days for pure air.
- The air leg is billed on chargeable weight using the 1:6000 volumetric rule, so cargo denser than 167 kg per cubic meter prices best.
- Cargo that arrives in the USA by air does not need an ISF 10+2 filing, but it does need ACAS data transmitted before the aircraft departs the hub.
- This lane is quote-on-request: submit your details in the calculator and a Walio specialist confirms space and the exact price within 1 business day.
Importers shifting sourcing from China to Vietnam keep hitting the same wall: ocean is too slow for a Q4 restock and air eats the margin. Sea-air sits between them, and this page explains how the lane works and how to request your 2026 rate.
Request your Vietnam to USA sea-air rate
Submit your details and a Walio specialist confirms space and your exact price within 1 business day.
Use the calculator →What is sea-air shipping from Vietnam to the USA?
Quick Answer: Sea-air is a multimodal Vietnam to United States service. Cargo sails from Cat Lai, Cai Mep or Haiphong to a transfer hub, is deconsolidated at a bonded CFS, then flies to a US gateway airport. It cuts ocean transit roughly in half and costs well under straight air freight.
The service splits one shipment across two modes under one booking. You get a House Bill of Lading for the ocean leg and a House Air Waybill for the flight, both managed by the same forwarder.
Here is the physical path your cargo takes:
Ocean leg, 4-7 days. Ho Chi Minh City (Cat Lai or Cai Mep-Thi Vai) or Haiphong to the transfer hub. Da Nang cargo feeds by truck through either port.
Hub handling, 2-4 days. Busan and Seoul Incheon in Korea, or Singapore and Port Klang in Southeast Asia, handle most US-bound sea-air volume.
Deconsolidation at a bonded CFS. The container is stripped, cargo is re-weighed, re-palletized and re-manifested on a new Master Air Waybill, then tendered to the airline.
Air leg plus US clearance. LAX for the West Coast, ORD for the Midwest, JFK or EWR for the Northeast, DFW for Texas and the central states, ATL for the Southeast, MIA for Florida.
Ho Chi Minh City(VNSGN)
Los Angeles(USLAX)Haiphong(VNHPH)New York(USJFK)The same hub model serves other long-haul markets. If you also ship to South America, see the Sea-Air Vietnam to Colombia Calculator: Rates 2026 and the Vietnam to Argentina Sea-Air Calculator: 2026 Rates.
Pro tip
Cai Mep-Thi Vai handles deep-draft vessels and often beats Cat Lai on cut-off timing by a full day. If your factory sits in Binh Duong or Dong Nai, ask for the Cai Mep routing — the extra drayage usually buys you an earlier sailing.
Sea air calculator Vietnam USA: how do I request a rate?
Quick Answer: Enter origin city, US destination ZIP, gross weight, dimensions and cargo ready date in the calculator on this page. This lane is quote-on-request, so a Walio specialist confirms hub space and airline capacity with the carrier and sends your exact price within 1 business day. No signup, no sales calls.
The quality of your quote depends entirely on the data you submit. Have these ready before you start:
Pickup address in Vietnam, plus the factory contact for collection
Piece count and per-piece dimensions in centimeters, not an estimated total volume
Gross weight per carton or pallet
HS code and commercial value of the goods
Cargo ready date, so the specialist checks space on the right sailing
Give a US destination ZIP code, not just a city name. Drayage and last-mile trucking from LAX, ORD or JFK price by distance, and a Riverside delivery is not a downtown Los Angeles delivery.
Flag Amazon FBA shipments at the start. The warehouse code, the ISA appointment requirement and carton labeling all change the last-mile leg and its cost.
Also tell us whether you need door-to-door or airport-to-door. Most Vietnamese suppliers quote EXW or FOB under Incoterms 2020, so Walio arranges the factory pickup and export clearance when you need it.
Dangerous goods need review before booking
Lithium batteries, aerosols, magnets, powders and oversized pieces require a specialist review before any airline accepts the booking. Declare them in your request. An undeclared battery discovered at the hub CFS gets the shipment pulled, stored and re-billed at your cost.
What drives the Vietnam to USA air freight cost per kg?
Quick Answer: Chargeable weight drives the price. The air leg uses the 1:6000 volumetric rule, so a cubic meter counts as 167 kg. Rates also move with hub handling, fuel and security surcharges, airline capacity in peak season, US customs clearance and last-mile trucking. Request your figure in the calculator.
Chargeable weight is the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight. Volumetric weight equals length × width × height in centimeters, divided by 6000. Light bulky cargo pays for air it does not fill.
The 1:6000 IATA volumetric break. Cargo denser than 167 kg/m³ bills on actual weight. Anything lighter bills on volume — which is why packaging design moves your cost per kilo more than negotiation does.
Your quote is built from these components:
Vietnam pickup, origin handling and export clearance
Ocean leg to the transfer hub
Hub CFS deconsolidation and re-palletizing
The air leg on the Master Air Waybill
US terminal handling and CBP entry
Last-mile trucking to your ZIP or FBA warehouse
Ask about surcharges by name so nothing surprises you: fuel surcharge, security surcharge, peak season surcharge from late August through November, and hub storage if your cargo misses its allocated flight.
Density is the lever you control. Compress cartons below the 167 kg/m³ break and your effective cost per kilo falls without changing a single unit.
Walio returns one itemized quote with the ocean leg, air leg and US charges shown separately. You see who collects what. The pricing mechanics are identical on sister lanes — compare the breakdown in the Sea-Air China to Peru Calculator: 2026 Rates.
Get your itemized sea-air quote
Ocean leg, air leg and US charges shown separately. A specialist replies within 1 business day.
Use the calculator →Is sea-air really faster than ocean shipping from Vietnam to the US?
Quick Answer: Yes. Sea-air lands cargo in about 12-18 days door to door. Direct ocean FCL from Cai Mep to Los Angeles takes 18-25 days port to port and 30-45 days door to door through the East Coast. Pure air lands in 5-8 days but costs far more per kilo.
Mode | Door-to-door transit | Pricing basis | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
Ocean FCL | 30-45 days | Per container (20', 40', 40HC) | Steady volume above 15 m³ |
Ocean LCL | 32-48 days | Per m³ or 1,000 kg | Under 10-15 m³, no deadline |
Sea-air | 12-18 days | Per kg chargeable | 300-3,000 kg, mid-value, deadline |
Air freight | 5-8 days | Per kg chargeable | High value or true emergency |
Sea-air fits 300-3,000 kg of mid-value goods. Apparel, footwear, small electronics, accessories and FBA replenishment ahead of Q4 are the typical cargo.
Below roughly 10-15 m³, ocean LCL beats FCL on cost per cubic meter. Above that line, book a 40 ft container and accept the longer transit.
West Coast importers
Trans-Pacific ocean into Los Angeles or Long Beach already runs 18-25 days port to port. Sea-air into LAX saves roughly two weeks door to door. The gain is real but narrower, so reserve it for genuine stockouts.
East Coast importers
Ocean via the Panama Canal to Savannah or NY/NJ runs 30-38 days port to port. Sea-air into JFK holds near 15 days door to door. East Coast importers gain the most from this lane, often cutting three weeks.
Use sea-air to cover a stockout, not as your standing program. Your steady volume belongs on ocean, and the true emergency belongs on a direct flight. Caribbean and Latin American routings follow the same math — see the Sea-Air Hong Kong to Jamaica Calculator: 2026 Rates and the Sea-Air Vietnam to Panama Calculator: 2026 Rates.
Compare sea-air against your current ocean lane
Submit weights, dimensions and your cargo ready date. Walio compares carrier options and replies within 1 business day.
Use the calculator →Does ISF filing apply to a Vietnam sea-air import?
Quick Answer: No. ISF 10+2 applies to cargo arriving in the USA by vessel. Sea-air cargo arrives by aircraft, so CBP requires ACAS data before the plane departs the hub instead. You still need a customs bond, an HTS classification and a CBP entry filed by your broker.
According to CBP, the Air Cargo Advance Screening program requires seven data elements transmitted before wheels-up from Incheon, Busan or Singapore. Late ACAS data holds your freight at the hub and costs you the flight.
If you switch the same cargo to straight ocean, ISF 10+2 returns. Your filer must submit it 24 hours before vessel loading in Vietnam, per CBP's rule.
On bonds: a single-entry bond suits a one-off shipment. A continuous bond usually costs less once you file more than about four entries a year.
Plan for this paperwork:
Commercial Invoice with correct HTS classification and value
Packing list with per-carton weights and dimensions
House Air Waybill and Master Air Waybill
Certificate of Origin
Manufacturer Identification Code (MID) for textiles and apparel
Transshipment scrutiny on Vietnam-origin claims
CBP actively reviews Chinese goods routed through Vietnam. Keep manufacturing records, bills of materials and production photos that prove substantial transformation occurred in Vietnam. FDA, FCC and CPSC rules also apply to many Amazon categories. A licensed customs broker should confirm your classification and duty rate — Walio ships freight, not legal advice.
What should I do next?
Quick Answer: Gather your cargo details, submit them in the calculator on this page, and a Walio specialist confirms hub space and airline capacity with the carrier. You receive one itemized quote covering the ocean leg, air leg, US clearance and last-mile delivery within 1 business day.
Confirm your cargo ready date with the supplier in Vietnam
Measure every carton in centimeters and weigh each one
Decide your US gateway: LAX, ORD, JFK, DFW, ATL or MIA
Have your HS code and FBA warehouse code ready if you sell on Amazon
Submit the request and a specialist replies within 1 business day
Request your 2026 sea-air rate
No signup, no sales calls. A specialist confirms space and sends your exact price within 1 business day.
Use the calculator →Sea-air takes about 12-18 days door to door. The ocean leg from Ho Chi Minh City or Haiphong to the hub runs 4-7 days, hub handling adds 2-4 days, and the flight plus US clearance and last-mile delivery adds the rest. Transit varies with your US gateway and inland distance.
Yes. Sea-air costs meaningfully less per kilo than a direct flight from Ho Chi Minh City because only the shorter hub-to-USA leg travels by air. It costs more than ocean freight, so it suits mid-value cargo on a deadline. Request your exact figure in the calculator on this page.
No. ISF 10+2 covers ocean vessel arrivals, and sea-air cargo arrives by aircraft, so ACAS applies instead. Your forwarder transmits ACAS data before the aircraft leaves the transfer hub, and your customs broker still files the CBP entry under a valid customs bond.
Yes. Walio arranges last-mile delivery from LAX, ORD, JFK, DFW or ATL to the FBA fulfillment center, including the delivery appointment. Give the warehouse code when you submit your request so the quote covers pallet building, labeling and the appointment slot.
A Walio specialist confirms hub space and airline capacity with the carrier and sends your exact price within 1 business day. This lane is quote-on-request because space at the transfer hub is allocated per sailing and flight. Submit weights, dimensions and your cargo ready date to speed it up.