When shipping parcels between Japan and the US, many people wonder which method is the cheapest and safest.
With not only US services like USPS, FedEx, and UPS, but also Japanese companies such as Sagawa Express and Yamato Transport available, just getting quotes from each company can be a lot of work, right?
Therefore, based on our experience of partnering with these companies to ship products, today we would like to introduce a comparison of their services and our recommended shipping methods.
Generally, there seems to be an impression that USPS is the cheapest, and we often receive requests asking, “Can you ship via USPS?” However, there are other points you should compare!
We hope this will be a helpful reference for your international shipping needs.
Parcel Shipping Fees Between Japan and the US
First, we compared the rates of the three major US companies and the three major Japanese companies.
Since some companies have fixed rate charts like USPS, while others change their rates depending on the package details each time, we have calculated an estimated rate for the cheapest standard air freight.
Shipping Fee Comparison with Standard Rates
The quoted rates for shipping a 10kg package between Japan and the US are as follows.
- Cheapest shipping method via USPS/Japan Post (Priority Mail International) … $185
- Cheapest shipping method via FedEx (FedEx International Priority) … $296
- Cheapest shipping method via UPS (UPS Worldwide Expedited) … $424
- Cheapest shipping method via Sagawa Express … $112
- Cheapest shipping method via Yamato Transport … $124
What we can understand from these results is that US companies are generally more expensive, while Japanese companies are cheaper.
This price range is similar whether shipping from Japan to the US or from the US to Japan.
Among the US companies, the cheapest is almost without exception USPS, which is operated by a national agency, and for the Japanese companies, the results showed no significant difference among them.
However, since Japanese companies are over 30% cheaper than even USPS, it may be surprising, but using Sagawa Express or Yamato Transport is the best choice when shipping from the US!
When shipping from Japan, using any of the Japanese companies is perfectly fine.
By the way, because USPS and Japan Post are linked, we are treating them as a single shipping carrier.
Shipping Fee Comparison with Contract Rates
Next, what are the rates when you have a shipping contract with each company?
Under the same conditions, the estimates were as follows.
- USPS rate … $150
- FedEx rate … $90
- UPS rate … $105
- Sagawa Express rate … $85
- Yamato Transport rate … $105
As is obvious from looking at this list, the difference between standard and contract rates is very large!
In the case of US companies, the standard prices are very high, but with a contract, the prices drop drastically.
The amounts become comparable even when compared to the prices of Japanese companies.
While the rates for government-operated USPS and Japan Post do not change that much, private companies all offer significant discount rates, so obtaining a contract rate becomes a primary goal when handling international shipping for business.
Delivery Quality Between Japan and the US
We would also like to briefly introduce the shipping quality of each company.
As a premise, in our experience, the services provided by US shipping companies were basically all the same.
Regarding cultural norms, unfortunately, there are a certain number of people in the US who handle packages by throwing them rather than setting them down gently.
Even with fragile stickers attached, there have been many times in the past when packages were received and thrown right in front of us.
Since there is inevitably a high probability of boxes getting dented or torn during international shipping, we think it is better to entrust your packages to shipping companies with fewer staff who throw them.
From this perspective, for those who are conscious of product safety, we feel there is a great advantage in using Japanese companies, where throwing packages almost never happens.
Delivery Speed Between Japan and the US
Finally, we would like to introduce the delivery speeds of each company.
Because the fee structures differ depending on the service of each company, it generally means that “expensive services equal fast delivery.”
For the Fastest Shipping Methods
These are shipping methods that arrive between Japan and the US in about 3 to 5 days.
These include expedited services such as Express for USPS, and First for FedEx and UPS.
Since the three major US companies have their own cargo flights, they have a system that allows packages to be loaded with priority onto airplanes flying every day.
For Standard Shipping Methods
These are shipping methods that arrive between Japan and the US in about 7 to 10 days.
This includes Priority for USPS, and Priority or Economy for FedEx and UPS.
In this system, packages are loaded onto arranged flights in the order they are received, meaning they arrive faster if there is plenty of space, but take a while to be delivered if flights are congested.
When Booking a Flight
Between Japan and the US, the estimated arrival time is about 5 to 7 days, which is faster than Priority but takes slightly longer than Express.
Shipping methods via Sagawa Express and Yamato Transport fall into this category.
If a cargo space on an airplane can be booked immediately, it is the same speed as Express, but if not, you wait until there is a flight with available space.
The Options of Air Freight and Sea Freight
Instead of parcel shipping, when the volume of goods is large, there is also the option of chartering an airplane or a ship.
Consolidated air or sea freight can be used from about 100kg, and container shipping from around 2000kg.
Therefore, when transporting goods for business, this is generally the method used.
Compared to parcel shipping, the shipping cost is on average about one-tenth of the price.