The distance between London and New York is about three thousand miles. The distance between London and Los Angeles by sea is closer to eight thousand, and the shipping cost reflects the difference.
We connect your enquiry with a vetted international moving company from our network. Which coast you are landing on shapes the price and the timeline more than almost anything else about the move.
Published 2026 schedules put the ocean leg from the UK at roughly eight to seventeen days to New York and fourteen to sixteen to Baltimore, against twenty six to thirty three days to the Pacific ports.
Atlantic sailings run roughly two weeks and Pacific ones roughly a month, because west coast cargo travels through the Panama Canal or crosses the country overland after an Atlantic crossing.
If your destination is inland, the coast your goods clear at is a decision rather than a fact. Ask which routing is being quoted, because it changes both the timeline and who handles the shipment after clearance.
West coast cargo from the UK either transits the Panama Canal or crosses the Atlantic and travels overland. Both add substantially to a journey that is already longer in a straight line.
The consequence is not only time. A longer sea leg means a longer commitment to whatever is inside the container, which is why splitting a shipment between air and sea is more common on Pacific routes than Atlantic ones.
It also affects shared containers. On a busy Atlantic lane a container fills quickly, while a thinner Pacific service can leave your goods waiting, and that wait sits outside any published transit figure.
| What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Ask which coast your goods clear at | For an inland destination there is often a choice, and the answer changes the schedule considerably. |
| Weigh the extra weeks against the extra cost | Where a west coast destination can be reached overland from an Atlantic arrival, the trade is money against time. |
| Plan the air shipment around the answer | A month at sea makes a small air consignment far more valuable than it is on a two week crossing. |
Roughly twice as long at sea. Published 2026 schedules put Atlantic ports at around two weeks and Pacific ports at twenty six to thirty three days.
Cargo either transits the Panama Canal or crosses the Atlantic and travels overland. Both add a great deal to an already longer journey.
Yes, because the sea leg is the largest single component of the cost and it is substantially longer.
It depends on the service and available space, and there is often a genuine choice. Ask which routing is being quoted.
It is worth considering. A month at sea makes the first few weeks harder, and a small air consignment covers them.
Often, because services are thinner and containers take longer to fill. That wait does not appear in a published transit time.
Yes, most noticeably through the summer, when rates rise and congestion adds time at both ends.
Only if your destination allows it. For inland destinations it is sometimes possible, and the trade is money against time.
For an inland destination, sometimes. Ask what each routing costs and how long it takes, and make it a decision rather than an assumption.
Send your collection address, your US destination and your dates. A moving company from our network sets out the routing options with the timings and prices side by side.
Send your move detailsA Working Member of AGM Group. Enquiries are connected with vetted FIDI FAIM certified and BAR Overseas accredited international moving companies from the network.
We are an enquiry service rather than a carrier. Routings and schedules are set by the moving company and the shipping lines it uses.
Written by Darren Benjamin, Founder.