As we know, Chinese mini excavators are getting hotter and hotter in the US. Whether it is an importer, a wholesaler, or an individual, they all want to find the most cost-effective machine.

But, a lot of people have the question:

How to Import Mini Excavators from China to the United States?

A lack of knowledge of the whole process makes the thought of importing Chinese micro excavators scary. But, with proper guidelines, the importing process can become smooth and reliable. 

In this article, we will discuss the whole process of importing mini excavators from China to the United States. So, let’s start the discussion.

How to screen reliable Chinese suppliers in an ocean-like market?

The first thing you have to do is to find a reliable manufacturer from whom you can import Chinese diggers. A reliable manufacturer will contain the following qualities:

• Having Business License: Please check their business license and check their import and export history.
• CE certification：Manufacturers with this certificate certify that their small excavators meet the manufacturing standards of EN ISO12100. quality assurance.
• Previous bill of lading: Every batch of goods transported by ship or plane will have a bill of lading issued by the transportation company, which is a document that cannot be forged. The number and experience of this company’s exports to North America can be fully verified.
• Check their Website: Large companies often have professionals designing and maintaining their websites. However, the website of a small company usually loads slowly, the page has no aesthetic feeling, and the overall browsing experience is not good.
• Check whether they have stores on Alibaba or Made In China: These websites are global marketplaces where reliable manufacturers sell their products. If they have these stores and got 5 Star Review, they are reliable.
• Visuals and Videos: You should ask for visuals and Videos of their factory and their mini excavators. You can ask them through the contact us page of their website. Even said, setting up a WhatsApp video call is simple and real.
• Ask your Chinese friend or relative: If you have a Chinese friend or relative, you can ask them to visit the factory. If there is none, you can virtually visit their factory by contacting them.
• Warranty: For the warranty period of small excavators, suppliers usually give a period of 6 months to 12 months. Of course, the longer the time, the more confident they are in the quality of their products. It is worth noting that when does the warranty period start to be calculated? When the small excavator leaves the Chinese factory or when you receive the machine successfully?
• Technical Solvency Certification: Please check whether your supplier can provide this document, and check whether its content details the terms of after-sales service.

After ensuring that they are reliable manufacturers, you should move forward with assuring the quality of the mini excavator.

Assuring the Quality of the Mini Excavator:

As you can’t visit China’s manufacturing industries from America, you should know some tips to assure the quality of mini excavators. You should know whether the machinery is worth importing or not.

Take care of the following elements and you can enjoy the quality mini excavator machinery:

• Most importantly, emission standards. Confirm whether the engine configured by the Chinese mini excavator supplier meets EPA Tire4. Otherwise, US or Canadian customs will prohibit its passage. Many friends ignored North America’s requirements for emission standards and only pursued cheap prices. As a result, the excavators were intercepted by the customs at the port and could not be successfully imported, causing huge losses.
• And is it a well-known engine? Kubota, Perkins, Yanmar. These brands make it easy to find accessories in the United States.
• Hydraulic performance: To check this performance, it is necessary to see whether the boom can support the machine. Action similar to the figure below.
• Test whether the small excavator can walk on one side. That is to say, one side of the track does not move, and the other side of the track walks. If the excavator machine can spin in place, it means that its walking system is normal. Otherwise, there are quality problems in its travel motor, hydraulic pump, or center rotary joint. Eaton is a better brand in the market for rotary motors and travel motors.
• Is the joystick mechanical or hydraulic? The hydraulic pilot is more flexible and convenient, which is the same as that of a large excavator. Its safety plate will ensure safety and helps you in maintaining the Chinese micro digger when used in tight quarters.

If your mini digger has these elements, it is a quality product that will help you in your job. Now, let’s see what is the process to import mini excavators from China to the United States.

How to negotiate best chinese mini excavator price with your supplier?

• Price factors that affect the machine itself: Knowing these shows that you know a lot about the mini excavator industry and your supplier will not be able to cheat you easily.
  • The tonnage of machine: 0.8 ton, 1 ton, 1.5 tons, 1.7 tons, 2 tons, 2.5 tons, 3 tons, 3.5 tons, 4 tons, 6 tons, 6.5 tons. You can also choose the right tonnage for your job (dig depth, dig strength, etc.).
  • Cab: open cabin or enclosed cabin. A small fan is standard, but is it equipped with air conditioning and heater?
  • Shape: Small excavators with tails are usually cheaper than zero-tail excavators. The size of the small excavator is designed to be very small. If your working space is not so small that it is difficult to operate, it is recommended to have a tail excavator because it is more cost-effective.
  • Chassis: Is it equipped with a retractable chassis? Is the track material rubber or steel track?
  • The cost of additional attachments tools: hydraulic thumb, quick hitch, auger, grabberd, etc..
• Packaging methods and cost:
  • If you only need to import one set of small digger, please tell your supplier that you need fumigation-free wooden box packaging for LCL. The LCL method makes your shipping cost low. In this case, the shipping company will require the goods to be packed in wooden boxes, otherwise they cannot be shipped.
  • And if you need to import 2 or more units at one time, you only need to tell your supplier to pack them with stretch film or bubble film for FCL. Please note that the front and rear of the tracks need to be blocked with wooden blocks nailed to the bottom of the container.
• Choice of trade terms: Trade Terms, also known as Price Terms, are specialized terms that emerged from long-term international trade practices and are used to express the composition of transaction prices and delivery conditions, and to determine the risks, responsibilities, and cost divisions of buyers and sellers. Among them, the most trouble-free is DDP, because you only need to wait at home to receive the goods. The most practical and cheapest is CIF, but you need to find a freight forwarding company to handle customs clearance and delivery at the destination port for you. Here are 4 trade terms suggested for friends in North America.
  • EXW: The English abbreviation for “EX Works. The seller is responsible for placing the goods at the buyer’s disposal at his premises (factory, workshop, warehouse, etc.) and fulfills his delivery obligation.
  • FOB: Free on Board or Freight on Board. The seller shall be responsible for handling export declaration procedures, deliver the goods to the ship designated by the buyer at the port of shipment and within the specified time limit specified in the contract, bear all risks before the goods pass the ship’s rail at the port of shipment, and notify the buyer in time.
  • CIF: The English abbreviation of “Cost Insurance and Freight”. Using this term, the seller is responsible for chartering the ship and booking space under the usual conditions and paying the freight to the port of destination, and is responsible for the insurance of the cargo transportation and pays the insurance premium.
  • DDP: “Delivered Duty Paid” (named place of destination). The seller must bear all risks and costs of transporting the goods to the named destination, including freight, insurance, and any “taxes” payable at the destination when customs formalities are required (including the responsibility and risk of customs formalities, and payment of commissions, duties, taxes and other charges).

• Terms of payment: 30% deposit, 70% before delivery. This is relatively common. Please note that you have the right to request photos or videos from the supplier for your inspection before the final payment is made.

After understanding the above factors that affect the price, you can choose three suppliers that meet the above conditions to compare prices, and then ask the supplier to make a proforma invoice for you. Your bank can then make the wire transfer for you based on the information on this PI. It takes about 1-3 working days for the deposit to reach your supplier’s account.

How to ensure smooth transportation and import?

Here is an example of the most commonly used CIF trade terms，
Next Process Steps:

1. Ship booking – by Chinese factory

2. Delivery to Chinese port – by Chinese factory

3. Chinese freight forwarder handles export customs clearance – The Chinese factory is responsible for providing documents and fees.

4. Custom Bonds for Importing Machinery:

You should know the custom bonds when importing machinery from China. Two types of customs bonds are there, and you have to select one according to your intention.

• Single-Entry Bonds:

About $60. You can select this type of bond when you are going to import single, low-risk machinery through a specific port of entry. You have to take this bond every time you import from China.

• Continuous Bonds:

About $500. This bond will be suitable for anyone that plans to import machinery more than four times a year. It is also suitable when you have to import high-risk products such as a mini excavator. Through this bond, you can import as much as you want, and can do so through any point of entry in the US.

5. ISF-Importer Security Filing also referred to as 10+2, is a customs import requirement of the United States Customs and Border Protection. Your supplier contacts you to prepare the information form, which you then have to send to your US customs broker 24 hours before sailing.

6. Ship arrives at US port – Send the customs clearance documents made by the supplier to your customs broker for import customs clearance.

7. American forwarder delivers the goods to your home. Or you pick it up at the port.

8. Unloading – Usually you will need to prepare or hire a forklift to unload the load, or use a unloading platform. The supplier will usually leave a little diesel fuel for you to drive the small digger out of the container.

Working with a Customs Broker:

Who is a Customs Broker? 

A customs broker is a person who helps companies and individuals to ship products across borders. He or she usually works at a customs brokerage firm and has good knowledge of rules and regulations about importing.

The person can help you in understanding and pay the import duty on the Chinese excavator and will help you in submitting the important documents.

Import duty is the tax paid on items you will ship from China. It depends on the machinery and can be calculated through Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). You have to pay it at the time of import.

Your customs broker can help you in determining the import duty you have to pay on a Chinese digger and can pay it at the time of import on your behalf.

Though it is not necessary to hire a customs broker, having one can help you greatly in the whole process of importing and receiving Chinese diggers in the United States.

The broker will take the brokerage fee according to the shipment value. It means that the fee will be more for expensive shipments.

Do the attachments of mini excavator need to be declared separately?

No need. According to our 13 years of import and export experience, the product name on the documents of customs clearance only needs to reflect “excavator”, and the amount on the invoice can be directly written as the sum of excavator and accessories. Without having to list the value and quantity of parts separately. This greatly reduces the trouble of customs declaration and clearance.

What is HS code?

HS CODE is short for Harmonized System of Commodity Names and Codes. The code coordination system, formulated by the International Customs Council, is a system for quantifying the management of the applicable/returnable tariff rates of various products. The HS code, the universal identification certificate for import and export commodities, is the basic element for customs and commodity entry and exit administrations to confirm commodity categories, conduct commodity classification management, review tariff standards, and check commodity quality indicators.

For large excavators or small excavators, the HS code is 842952. It is shown in the bill of lading.

Documents Required for the Importation of Machinery:

You need several customs clearance documents to import Chinese diggers to the United States or any other country. These documents are:

• The arrival of Notice:

A shipping agent will help you with preparing an arrival notice. This document will tell you that your product has come to its destination. It also includes information about pickup charges, the number of cargo units, and what each cargo unit contains.

• Bill of Lading:

This document tells you the destination of the item, the form of transportation, and the estimated time of arrival. You can check the ship’s track and estimated time of arrival on the official website of the corresponding shipping company according to the above B/L #/Container #/Booking, As shown below.

• Packing List: 

The shipper will send out a packing list that will contain all the information on the invoice of an imported product before shipping it.

• Commercial Invoice:

It is the essential document in the whole importing process. You should ensure that your commercial Invoice should contain the following information:

• Shipping address
• Name and location of the manufacturing company
• Business Address
• Country of Origin
• Receipt’s name and location
• Value of the machinery
• Description of the mini excavator

You should print out these documents and should have them with you when your Chinese digger arrives at your port. Your warehouse can also charge you some money before giving you your parcel.

You have to show them the documents, and can take your mini excavator with you.

Whole Process:

These are all the requirements and steps you need to import a mini excavator from China to the United States. Let’s see the whole process so that you can understand everything in detail.

• You will Google or check Alibaba mini excavator and Made In China to find the manufacturer.
• You will contact the supplier and will place your order. You will tell them everything about your requirements.
• Your custom mini excavator will start manufacturing, and you will get the images and videos when it will be ready.
• After your approval, the product will be gone for shipment. 
• You have to hire a custom officer and have to collect the documents when your product will be on the ship.
• When it arrives in the warehouse, you have to go with your trailer to pick it up. In place of you, your custom officer can go.
• You have to show the documents and can take your mini digger to your home.

This is it! This is the whole process from selecting the mini excavator to taking it to your home. The whole process can take days or a month depending on different factors such as holidays, or your requirements.

Hixen is a Chinese Mini Excavator manufacturer who can help you in having your mini excavator at your United States Port. They are reliable and have an experienced manufacturer team who can provide you with quality services within an affordable range. You can contact us for more details.

Wrap Up:

This is all about importing Chinese mini excavators to the United States. It is a hassle-free process in which you can get quality machinery for your business. If you will need more information, you can ask questions to your supplier who will happily help you in answering all of your queries.