NEWS & BLOG
Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-10-17 Origin: Site
Let me start with a question Swedish business owners ask me all the time:
Why is shipping heavy stuff from China to Sweden so much more expensive than shipping to Germany?
Fair question. And the answer is pretty straightforward once you see it on a map.
Sweden is far north. The ship from China has to sail past the entire European coastline, go through the English Channel, up through the North Sea, and then into the Baltic or around Skagen to reach Gothenburg or Stockholm. That's a longer route, and longer routes cost more.
Then you've got the geography of Sweden itself — it's a long country. From Malmö in the south to Kiruna in the north is over 1,500 kilometers. Trucking costs add up fast the further north you go.
And let's not forget: Sweden has islands. A lot of them. Gotland, Öland, Värmdö, Lidingö... each one adds logistical complexity.
But here's what I tell every Swedish importer I work with: you don't have to deal with any of this yourself.
That's the whole point of sea freight DDP — Delivered Duty Paid. We handle the sea freight, the customs, the trucking, the islands, the northern Sweden deliveries. You just get your goods at your door, for one price.
In this guide, I'll break down real October 2026 prices, the realistic timelines, what you need to know about Swedish customs and remote areas, and why DDP is becoming the standard for Swedish businesses importing bulky goods from China.
If you're new to this term, DDP is shorthand for Delivered Duty Paid. In simple Swedish: levererat till din dörr, tull och moms inkluderat.
That's really all you need to know.
You send us your cargo details and your Swedish delivery address. We pick it up in China, ship it by sea, clear it through Swedish customs, pay the tull and moms, and truck it to you. One price. Everything included. No surprises.
If you've ever done traditional sea freight and thought "okay, the rate is this much" — and then weeks later you get bills for port fees, a customs broker, import duty, VAT, trucking, and some "service fee" you can't even pronounce — you already understand why DDP is such a relief.
This is built for the heavy, bulky, oversized stuff that's too expensive for air freight but doesn't need a full container:
Furniture (soffor, matgrupper, kontorsmöbler, utemöbler)
Gym equipment and fitness machines
Industrial machinery and production equipment
Building materials, bathroom fixtures, kitchens
Retail displays and store fixtures (butiker, skyltar, hyllsystem)
E-bikes, electric scooters, and mobility products (bulk)
Restaurant and café equipment
Warehouse shelving and racking
Basically anything 100kg+ that makes air freight pricing laughable
Let's get to the numbers. These are real all-inclusive rates — door to door, tull och moms inkluderat.
Sweden has two price zones:
Zone A covers the vast majority of mainland Sweden — roughly 90% of addresses, including all major cities.
Zone B covers northern Sweden and certain remote areas.
Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala, Linköping, Örebro, Västerås, Helsingborg, Jönköping, Lund — all Zone A.
Weight Range | Price per kg (DDP, all-in) | Example: 1000kg shipment |
|---|---|---|
50 – 100 kg | ~ ¥18.8 / kg | ~ ¥18,800 |
101 – 300 kg | ~ ¥16.0 / kg | ~ ¥16,000 |
301 – 500 kg | ~ ¥15.2 / kg | ~ ¥15,200 |
501 – 1000 kg | ~ ¥14.9 / kg | ~ ¥14,900 |
1001 – 2000 kg | ~ ¥14.5 / kg | ~ ¥14,500 |
2001 – 3000 kg | ~ ¥14.5 / kg | ~ ¥29,000 |
3001 kg + | ~ ¥14.3 / kg | ~ ¥42,900 |
This covers the northern half of Sweden (roughly from Umeå and up), certain inland areas, and very remote postcodes.
Weight Range | Price per kg (DDP, all-in) |
|---|---|
50 – 100 kg | ~ ¥20.5 / kg |
101 – 300 kg | ~ ¥17.8 / kg |
301 – 500 kg | ~ ¥17.4 / kg |
501 – 1000 kg | ~ ¥17.2 / kg |
1001 – 2000 kg | ~ ¥16.5 / kg |
2001 – 3000 kg | ~ ¥16.0 / kg |
3001 kg + | ~ ¥15.8 / kg |
Gotland (621xx - 628xx), Öland (380xx - 387xx), and other Swedish islands — yes, we deliver there. But it's not standard Zone A pricing. The cargo has to go on a ferry from the mainland, which adds cost and time.
Quick tip: Wondering which zone your postcode is in? Send it to us and we'll check within a few hours. If you're in Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Uppsala, or any major southern/central city — you're Zone A. If you're in Umeå, Luleå, or anywhere north of that — you're probably Zone B.
For a 500kg shipment of furniture or equipment:
Air freight to Sweden: ~ ¥55-75 / kg = ¥27,500 – 37,500
Sea DDP to Sweden (Zone A) : ~ ¥14.9 / kg = ¥7,450
That's about 70-75% cheaper. For heavy and bulky cargo, the savings are massive. Enough to make a real difference to your margins.
Here's exactly how it works, from your first email to delivery at your door:
Send us: weight, dimensions, product type, photos (if you have them), and your Swedish postcode. We respond with an all-inclusive price — usually the same day.
Your supplier sends the goods to our warehouse in Dongguan (near Shenzhen) or Yiwu. Need factory pickup? We can arrange that.
Your cargo is checked, labeled, and loaded into a shared container with other Sweden-bound shipments. This is how we keep the price competitive — you share the container instead of paying for a whole one you only partially fill.
The ship sails from China (usually Shenzhen or Shanghai) to Gothenburg. Sea time is roughly 36-44 days, depending on the route (some go via the Suez Canal, some around the Cape of Good Hope).
This is the part that makes DDP worth it. We handle everything — filing the declaration, paying the duty and import moms, dealing with any inspections or queries from Tullverket. You do nothing.
After customs clears the cargo and it's unloaded, it goes onto a truck for final delivery. For Zone A addresses, this is typically 2-5 business days after clearance.
No more invoices. No customs forms. No phone calls from the port. Just your goods, delivered to your Swedish address.
Let's be completely honest — sea freight to Sweden is not fast. If you need it in three weeks, you're paying air freight prices and you know it.
Here's the realistic timeline:
Stage | Estimated Time |
|---|---|
Receiving + consolidation in China | 3 – 7 days |
Ocean transit (China → Gothenburg) | 36 – 44 days |
Customs clearance in Sweden | 3 – 8 days |
Last-mile trucking delivery | 2 – 7 days |
Total door to door | 46 – 66 days |
The real deal on advertised times: You'll see forwarders out there claiming "32 days to Sweden!" — and that might be the pure sailing time. What they don't mention is the consolidation before departure, customs clearance, and last-mile delivery. By the time you actually have your goods in hand, it's more like 50-60 days. Plan for it.
If you're in Luleå, Umeå, Kiruna, or anywhere north of Östersund, add a few extra days for trucking. The distance from Gothenburg up to northern Sweden is significant — we're talking 1,000+ kilometers. It's doable, but it takes longer and costs a bit more.
I work with Swedish clients every week — Amazon.se sellers, B2B suppliers, butiksägare, restaurangägare, warehouse managers. Here's what they tell us:
(I can't deal with surprise invoices anymore.)
This is by far the most common thing I hear. You agree on a price, and then — bam — port fees, customs broker fees, duty, VAT, trucking, "service charges." With DDP? What we quote is what you pay. Slut på det.
Running a business is already a full-time job. The last thing you need is to become a part-time customs expert. With DDP, we handle all of it. You focus on your business.
I have a client in Stockholm who sells home gym equipment on Amazon.se. They used to ship everything by air because they thought there was no alternative. We switched their last restock to sea DDP and their per-unit shipping cost dropped by 73%. That's not a small saving — that changes the whole product economics.
A lot of Swedish small businesses think they only have two options: expensive air freight or complicated full-container shipping. They don't realize there's a middle ground. Sea DDP is that middle ground.
I'm not here to sell you a perfect picture. Let's be straight about the downsides:
If you need stock for Black Friday and it's mid-October, you're cutting it way too close. Plan at least 10-12 weeks ahead for first-time shipments, 8-10 weeks for established ones.
Sea freight is rough. Your pallet moves from truck to warehouse to ship to warehouse to truck. If your packaging is weak, your goods arrive damaged.
For anything over 30kg, wooden pallets are essential. For fragile items (glass, marble, electronics, displays), you need proper wooden crating. If your Chinese supplier doesn't know how to pack for sea freight, we can arrange professional packaging at our China warehouse. It costs extra, but it always costs less than replacing damaged goods.
From Gothenburg in the southwest to Kiruna in the north is over 1,200 kilometers. That's a long truck ride, and it's reflected in the price. If you're in northern Sweden, expect Zone B pricing and longer delivery times.
Gotland, Öland, Orust, Tjörn — if it's an island, the logistics are different (ferry transfers, limited truck access) and more expensive. Just send us the postcode and we'll give you an exact quote.
Most commercial goods are fine. But hazardous materials, certain battery types, perishables, restricted items — there are limits. Not sure? Send us the product details and we'll tell you straight up.
Swedish customs (Tullverket) is generally efficient and well-organized — it's not chaotic, but it is thorough. They check documentation carefully, and if something's wrong, it gets held.
With DDP, we handle all of it. We have a Swedish-registered importer of record, a Swedish EORI number, and a team that deals with Tullverket daily.
You don't need to:
❌ Have a Swedish EORI number
❌ File customs declarations
❌ Calculate import duty and VAT
❌ Deal with Tullverket
❌ Pay surprise bills after delivery
We take care of everything. You just receive the goods.
För svenska registrerade företag: If you're VAT-registered in Sweden (F-skatt) and want to reclaim the import moms on your declaration, we can provide the proper customs documentation (SKV-formulär). Just let us know when you request your quote.
You sell bulky products on Amazon.se, Tradera, or your own webshop
You're a B2B company importing machinery, equipment, or supplies from China
You're setting up retail stores and need fixtures, displays, or fit-outs
You're a restaurateur or café owner importing kitchen equipment or furniture
You're shipping 100kg+ of oversized cargo and don't fill a whole container
You're tired of surprise bills and customs headaches
You need your goods in less than 30 days
You're shipping less than 50kg (air courier is cheaper for small parcels)
You're shipping personal effects or moving house
You're shipping something highly regulated or hazardous
Q: Do I need an EORI number?
A: No, not at all. We act as the importer of record with our own Swedish EORI number. You just receive the goods. If you're F-skatt registrerad and want to reclaim import VAT, we can provide the proper customs documentation — just mention it when requesting a quote.
Q: Is moms (VAT) included in the price?
A: Yes. The DDP price includes both Swedish import duty AND import moms. No extra bills.
Q: Do you deliver to Amazon FBA warehouses in Sweden?
A: Yes. We deliver to all major Swedish FBA centers — ARN1, EMB1, GOT1, etc. Just give us the FBA warehouse code and we'll handle the rest.
Q: What if customs inspects my shipment?
A: If Tullverket inspects the cargo, we handle it. That's part of the DDP service. The inspection doesn't cost you extra.
Q: Can you pick up from the factory in China?
A: Yes. We have pickup services covering all major manufacturing areas in China — Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian, Shandong, etc.
Q: What payment methods do you accept?
A: Bank transfer in SEK, EUR, USD, or RMB. Payment is due before the vessel departs China.
Q: What about insurance?
A: Basic coverage for lost cargo is included. For high-value or fragile goods, we strongly recommend additional insurance. We can arrange it for a small percentage of the declared value.
If you're shipping heavy or oversized goods from China to Sweden and you're tired of air freight prices and customs headaches, sea DDP is probably the solution you've been looking for.
Getting a quote is free and takes about 5 minutes. Send us your cargo details — weight, dimensions, product type, and Swedish postcode — and we'll get back to you with an all-inclusive, no-hidden-fees price.
Inga överraskningar. Ingen fin lilla text. Bara dina varor, levererade.
Request your free quote: STU Supply Chain EU DDP Service
Email: sales@stusupplychain.com
