Moving to the USA from Australia is an exciting prospect. It’s normal to feel slightly nervous about this moving process due to the vast distance between the United States and Australia.
The key to mitigating your moving stress is planning, as planning will allow you to outline proper measures to take that will ensure a smooth transition. One of the first questions that come to a mover’s mind is, “how much is this going to cost?”.
Your total cost in moving to the USA from Australia will depend on key factors that include:
- The type of shipping service you select
- How many household items you’re moving
- Loading and unloading type
- Your specific moving location within the United States
- Car shipping costs
- Additional fees
Let’s take a look at the type of services you have to choose from when looking to ship household items.
What Shipping Services Can I Choose When Moving to the USA From Australia?
Sea freight or air freight shipping will be your two options for shipping household items overseas from Australia to the USA. If you’re curious as to what the best option is, the answer is air freight shipping, but it’s going to cost you. Sea freight shipping is more popular for Australian movers going to the United States as it’s less expensive.
How Long Does Sea and Air Freight Shipping Take When Moving From Australia to the USA?
Choosing to ship your household items via air freight means your possessions will arrive in the United States at a much faster rate. You might be wondering how quickly your items will get delivered if you’re paying an expensive premium for air freight shipping. The answer is that your items can be delivered in as soon as 2-3 days via a cargo plane. While it’s best to book ahead for sea and air freight shipping, you’re going to want to plan further ahead when selecting sea freight shipping as this process takes several weeks on average to complete.
What Moving Service is Right For the Number of Items I Have?
If you’re moving with fewer items, air freight shipping may be an affordable option. You can use a full household container for air freight shipping, but be prepared to break out the checkbook as shipping a large number of household items by air can cost 10-times more than sea freight shipping. Sea freight shipping offers movers options as you can choose a Less Container Load (LCL) or a Full Container Load (FCL) to suit your individual needs.
Small-sized moves should look into LCL containers. Sea freight shipping companies often prefer movers to select FCL as sharing your items with someone else in an LCL container makes logistics slightly more complicated. Request on FCL and LCL to ensure that you’re getting the best price on whichever service you select.
An important aspect to consider when organizing your move from Australia to the United States is how you want your items to be picked up and unloaded.
What Types of Loading and Unloading Options Do I Have When Moving to the USA from Australia?
The three service options you’ll have to choose from when loading and unloading your household items upon delivery are door to door, port to port, as well as drop and fill. Door to door delivery is going to be the most convenient option as this service involves a company loading items into a shipping container at your home and unloading the container at your home’s location. Port to port shipping consists of a mover dropping off their items at a port to be loaded, unloading their items at the port closest to their moving location, and then transporting them to their new home. Companies that offer a drop and fill service will leave a shipping container at your home to fill, pick up the loaded container, deliver the container, and leave the container at your new home for you to unload yourself.
Door-to-door shipping is going to be the most expensive option due to the convenience of the service.
What Additional Household Items Moving Costs Are There?
Common additional fees associated with moving from Australia to the USA include insurance, custom/duty/tax charges, and packing costs. Insurance is vital if you want to have peace of mind regarding the possibility of household items being damaged during the route, but ideally, they won’t be! A general rule states that you can import your household items into the USA from Australia without needing to pay customs duties and taxes if you’ve used/owned the items you’re importing for over one year. Most moving services will add a packing fee to your total cost.
What Will It Cost to Ship My Car from Australia to the USA?
The amount of money it’s going to cost you to ship your vehicle from Australia to the USA depends on the type of vehicle you own, your vehicle’s origin and delivery destination, your shipping method, and how far you book in advance. Additional costs for shipping a car from Australia to the USA include cleaning, vendor fees, and American tax and duties. Australians coming into the United States with their vehicle have up to one year before they are subjected to taxes and duties. Like shipping household items, air freight shipping for your vehicle will cost much more than sea freight shipping.
It’ll be helpful to consult with a car shipping service to understand all of the costs involved with shipping your vehicle from Australia to the United States.
Written By:Joe Webster
Joe Webster began his journey in the auto transport field by attending the University of Southern California (USC), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Marketing.
After college, he started his career in the auto transport industry from the bottom up and has done virtually every job there is to do at A-1 Auto Transport, including but not limited to: Truck Driver, Dispatch, Sales, PR, Bookkeeping, Transport Planner, Transport Manager, International Transport Manager, Brokering, Customer Service, and Marketing. Working with his mentor Tony Taylor, Joe Webster has learned the ins and outs of this industry which is largely misunderstood.
With over 30 years experience in the industry, we've been helping people ship their vehicles, motorcycles, RV's, heavy equipment, household goods and more across the country or overseas without a hitch. Ask us anything.
