The headache of tied-up capital and pressure for fast delivery
Many e-commerce shop owners selling from Vietnam to Canada assume that ocean freight is always the cheapest option. In practice, the story is different. Imagine you have a shipment of handicrafts or trending fashion. By sea, it spends 2 to 3 months on the water. By the time it arrives, your Canadian customers’ tastes may have changed or, worse, they may have cancelled because the wait was too long.
On top of that, Vietnam’s latest rules require people buying and selling through cross-border e-commerce to complete electronic identity verification when trading with foreign parties. This change is catching many people off guard, adding paperwork and lengthening clearance times. If you consolidate goods by sea, a problem with the electronic identity of just a few packages in a container can hold your whole shipment at the port for weeks. In this situation, switching to air freight to Canada frees up your capital and protects your shop’s reputation.
The hidden costs: is ocean freight really cheaper?
To know when to switch from sea to air, look at the total landed cost, not just the raw freight rate. Ocean freight has a low starting rate but carries a range of hidden costs:
- Storage and domestic transfer fees: When goods arrive at a Canadian port, they wait to be unloaded and declared, then a truck brings them to your warehouse before they are split up and shipped. Domestic costs in Canada are often expensive, from a few hundred to a thousand dollars or more.
- Opportunity cost of capital: If you invest 100 million VND in stock, that money is frozen for the 90 days at sea. By air, you could turn that capital over 3–4 times in the same period.
- High cancellation rates: Online shoppers in Canada are used to fast delivery. Waiting more than 3 weeks is the top reason they ask for refunds, so you lose both the goods and the two-way shipping cost.
The break-even formula for switching to air freight to Canada
To work out exactly when to change shipping methods, use this break-even calculation based on order weight and value.
1. Small parcels under 2 kg (use ePacket)
If your shop sells light products such as accessories, jewellery, phone cases or thin clothing, ocean freight is simply not viable because you can’t meet the minimum volume. The best option is ePacket.
From just $8.50 CAD per parcel, goods fly directly from Vietnam to Canada and are delivered to the recipient through Canada Post. Average transit time is just 7–12 business days. You don’t need to fill a full load or pay large storage costs.
2. Wholesale shipments of 10 kg or more
For heavier shipments, compare how efficiently your capital works. Assume your net profit margin per product is 30%.
- By sea: Cheap freight but 60 days in transit. You can only turn over your capital 6 times a year. Annual profit = Capital x 30% x 6 = 180% of capital.
- By air to Canada: From $16/kg (including all import duties and door-to-door delivery). Transit time is just 7–14 days. You can turn over your capital at least 18 times a year. Annual profit = Capital x 30% x 18 = 540% of capital.
So even though air freight costs more than ocean freight, turning over your capital three times faster brings much higher absolute profit. The break-even point is this: if your product has a life cycle under 3 months or a profit margin above 25%, you should switch to air to maximise revenue.
Prepare smoothly to avoid customs bottlenecks
To make full use of air freight’s speed (7–12 business days on average from take-off to delivery), shop owners need to handle paperwork and packing in Vietnam in advance. Delays in preparation wipe out air freight’s core advantage.
Complete electronic identity verification early
To avoid goods being held at the Vietnamese airport, sellers need to register and verify their electronic identity account on the public service portals or as instructed by the e-commerce authorities. Have a scan of your chip-based citizen ID and your household business or company details ready to provide as soon as the export declaration requires them.
Pack smart to save space
Air freight is charged on actual weight or volumetric weight (length x width x height / 5000), whichever is greater.
- Vacuum-seal clothing, stuffed toys and textiles to cut their volume as much as possible.
- Use sturdy cartons to protect your goods. Soleil Transportation offers free basic packing in standard cartons for all shipments to Canada.
- For heavy or oversized goods that need a pallet or wooden crate, contact us in advance for advice on surcharges.
Use fulfillment in Canada
If you have a steady flow of orders, the smartest option is to send one bulk shipment of 20–50 kg by air for storage in Canada, then use fulfillment in Canada from just $5 CAD per order.
The Soleil Transportation warehouse at 2446 Cawthra Road, B1U8, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5A 3K6 stores your goods, packs them to your standards and hands them straight to domestic carriers in Canada or the US (domestic rates from just $35 per parcel). This cuts delivery times to customers in Canada to just 1–3 days.
Act now to optimise your operations
Don’t let slow ocean shipments cool your customers’ interest and choke your cash flow. The new electronic identity rules may be a short-term challenge, but if you prepare carefully and choose the right shipping method, they become an opportunity to leave less professional competitors behind.
To start optimising your costs and try air freight to Canada, take these steps now:
- List your best-selling items and calculate the average weight per order.
- Have your personal or business electronic identity details ready for customs declarations.
- Call +1 888-998-5199 or email your shipment details (size, weight, type of goods) to info@soleiltransportation.com. The Soleil Transportation team will calculate your break-even point in detail and set up the fastest air route for your shop.
