RoRo vs Container: The Real Cost of Shipping Cars from China (2026)

You've got the cars. The price is locked. The contract is signed. Now you need a boat.

Two ways to do this, and the wrong choice costs you thousands.

RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off)

$800-1,500 per car. Transit: 20-35 days.

Imagine a floating multi-story parking garage. Your car gets driven on at Shanghai, strapped down, and driven off at destination. That's RoRo. It's the default for a reason — it's the cheapest way to move standard vehicles in volume.

The downside: loading and unloading involves actual humans driving your car up narrow steel ramps. Occasionally, a bumper gets scraped or a mirror gets clipped. It's rare, but it's not zero.

Container Shipping

$1,500-3,000 per container. Transit: 25-40 days.

A 20ft container holds 1 car. A 40ft holds 2-3, depending on how creative your loading crew is. The car is lashed down inside a sealed steel box.

This is more expensive — sometimes significantly — but the car arrives exactly as it left. For luxury vehicles, odd-sized trucks, or anything with fragile paintwork, container is the only serious option.

Real Numbers: Shanghai to Tema, Ghana

Three Toyota Corollas. Let's compare.

RoRo Route

$1,100 freight + $90 insurance + $150 port handling = $1,340 per car.

Three cars: $4,020 total.

Container Route (40ft Shared)

$1,800 freight + $60 insurance + $200 port handling = $2,060 per car.

Three cars: $6,180 total.

Difference: $2,160. That's 35% cheaper by going RoRo.

On a three-car batch, you just saved enough to almost buy a fourth car at the Suzuki Swift end of the market. Multiply that over a year of shipments and it's the difference between a business and a hobby.

A Note on Insurance

Always. Every shipment. One container going overboard in heavy seas and your entire margin for the quarter is gone.

RoRo insurance runs 0.5-1% of declared value — slightly higher because of that handling risk. Container insurance is 0.3-0.8%. Take photos of every car, every angle, before loading. If a damage claim lands and you don't have pre-loading photos, you have no claim.

The Simple Playbook

First-time buyer shipping 1-2 cars? Go container. You're paying for peace of mind and you should be.

Repeat buyer moving 3+ standard cars? RoRo all day. The math doesn't lie.

Luxury, classic, or high-value vehicle? Always container. Don't overthink this one.

I've done both dozens of times. I default to RoRo for my Corollas and Sunnys because the savings compound. But the first Land Cruiser I ever shipped? Container. No question. The extra $800 was the cheapest sleep I ever bought.