Cost of shipping a 40-foot container from the USA to Kenya

1. The nature of the commodity included. For example, is it for personal use, or is it for resale?

2. Are the products new or used?

3. Are you shipping personal goods as a returning resident or just as a regular shipper?

4. How far are you to the closest port? For example, somebody in Houston, Texas, would pay less than somebody shipping from Cleveland, Ohio, to Kenya.

5. The value of your goods in U.S. dollars. Goods are taxed based on value. Certain goods have excise duties, while others are zero-rated. For example, farm equipment and some medical equipment are zero-rated in Kenya.

 6. Final destination. For example, if your final destination for your container in Kenya is Mombasa, your cost is going to be different than somebody whose final destination is Kisumu, Kenya.

7. Container ownership. Who owns the empty container? Is it a lease from the shipping line, or do you own an ocean-worthy certified container that you want to retain?

 8. Loading time. For example, live loading, where a container comes to a warehouse and it's loaded within 2 hours, will cost differently from a container dropped off to be picked up at a later date.

9. Location of your loading. For example, a container being loaded from a warehouse tends to be cheaper than a container being loaded away from a warehouse with forklifts.

10. A laborer who is going to load the container. Commercially loaded containers would attract loading fees, versus if you load your own container, you would do that work yourself with your own laborers.

 11. Dry containers versus refrigerated containers. Just like in trucking, refrigerated containers, or temperature-controlled containers, are more expensive than dry containers. There is no difference between a 40-foot high cube and a 40-foot regular container in shipping cost. 

1. Your origin address in the USA

2. A detailed manifest, including the nature of your goods and their cost

3. Final destination in Kenya

4. Determine who is going to clear your goods: are we going to help you clear your goods, or are you going to deal with KRA and customs?

 

For example, shipping a 40-foot container from Dallas, Texas, all the way to Mombasa, Kenya, would cost approximately $8,500. 

Shipping the same 40-foot container from Houston, Texas, to Mombasa would cost approximately $6,800. The difference is due to the tracking cost from Dallas to Houston, Texas. 

Shipping the same 40-foot container from Kansas to Kenya through the port of Houston would cost approximately $9,400. 

You can tell that the further away the container is from the nearest port, the more expensive the tracking cost is. 

For a returning resident shipping a 40-foot container containing 100% used household goods and personal effects from Dallas, Texas, to Nairobi would cost around $18,000 to $20,000. That cost includes tracking, shipping from Houston to Mombasa, clearing customs, and delivering anywhere in Nairobi. 

Shipping the same 40-foot container from a state like Ohio or Nebraska to Kenya, you can expect to pay around $22,000 all-inclusive. 

These costs are just estimates. Trucking costs within the United States fluctuate based on seasons and fuel cost. These estimated costs do not include loading costs and chassis rent or charges. 

If you want to ship a full 40-foot container from the US to Kenya, just let us know what you have, and we will do the rest to give you an accurate quote.