In 2021, the export value of Vietnamese plywood to the US market will increase to 14 billion USD, up 10% compared to 2020. This number still tends to continue to grow in the coming years when Vietnam is recognized benefit from the US’s imposition of anti-dumping duties on plywood products from China. So, how to export this good?

1. Documentation for exporting wooden furniture

Ply woods are not banned from export, moreover, they are also a major export product of Vietnam with many promotion tax policies such as export tax is 0%. Similar to other wood products, Plywood products require the following documents:

• Customs declaration sheet
• Commercial invoice.
• contract
• Packing list
• A list of forest products with the certification stamp of the Forest Protection Department at the district and sub-department levels
• List of forest products (self-made enterprises).

For HS code, ply wood code is in heading 4412. May be applied according to actual goods, HS codes 44123100, 44123300, 44123400 and 44123900.

2. Delivery plywood cargo from Vietnam to US

To delivery ply wood cargo from Vietnam to the US, we can use sea or air service.

For air mode, this is a fast and popular method of transportation. Air service will be suitable for urgent goods, projects cargo, or goods with high requirements such as dangerous goods, fragile goods, temperature control cargo, … the transit time by air is very short, only 4-6 days so the risk is also a lot lower than other shipping methods.

However, this method also has limitations. First, the cost of air freight is very high, calculated per kg. Therefore, air cargo will be more suitable for packages of not too large volume. Goods that delivered by air also need to be checked very carefully about the type of goods as well as the level of danger before the airline receives the goods. In addition, the airline will also consider the size of the package, for example pallets will have a size limit.

SM Global has a good relationship with airlines: JL, KE, NH, CI,… These are all very strong airlines on US routes, so we can provide very competitive price as well as space guarantee for customers.

With sea mode, this is most popular method in delivery cargo.  Ocean service will be suitable for many types of goods, and there are no strict regulations like air. Goods such as liquid, bulk, oversized cargo, refrigerated cargo can also be shipped by sea. One advantage of sea freight is that the freight is lower than air. In addition, for sea mode, we can choose FCL service – for a full container of 20 or 40, or use LCL service – for cargo with smaller volume. This will help importers to optimize the costs.

However, delivery cargo by sea, transit time is much longer than air cargo. Depending on the destination port, transit port and depending on the service of each line, the transit time can range from 20 to 50 days. Long schedule will be more risk, especially with Plywood goods at risk of moisture, causing damage to goods.

There are many shipping lines providing services from Vietnam to the US such as: YML, ONE, CMA, EMC, MAERSK, MSC, … with the advantage of large volume of goods to the US every month, SM Global has competitive rate from these line as well as guaranteeing space even if in the peak season.

3. SM Global- one of the leading freight forwarding companies in Vietnam for US shipment

We had experience in handling US shipment, and US shipment accounting for around 70% total volume cargo (data 2021), with a big volume, we got competitive ocean freight and other service also.

• The main commodity: furniture, general goods, sea food, footwear, truck tire, garment, …
• Volume per month: From 50- 70 containers ( 20 DC & 40HC )
• Port of loading: Ho Chi Minh port, Hai Phong port, Da Nang Port, Qui Nhon port

•    Port of discharge: Los Angeles, Seattle, Tacoma, Oakland, Houston, Chicago, New York, Dallas,…