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CNSHA USLAX
Electronics

Shanghai to Los Angeles freight CO2 emissions

One tonne of cargo shipped Shanghai (CNSHA) to Los Angeles (USLAX) by sea emits 63.3 kg CO2e well-to-wake at GLEC v3.2 default factors. The same tonne by air emits 6,323.2 kg — roughly 100x the sea number.

Lane noteTrans-Pacific Eastbound — the single highest-volume container lane in the world by TEU. Vessels typically run at 14-16 knots eco-speed; a knot less saves ~7% bunker per voyage.

Per-tonne CO2e by mode

Sea freight

Container ship 12,000-15,000 TEU

63.3
kg CO2e
Distance
11,500 km
Factor (WTW)
5.5 g CO2e/tkm
Per shipment
1 t × 11,500 km
Factor source
GLEC v3.2 container 12,000-15,000 TEU (Neopanamax, WTW)

Air freight

Long-haul belly cargo

6,323.2
kg CO2e
Distance
10,400 km
Factor (WTW)
608 g CO2e/tkm
Per shipment
1 t × 10,400 km
Factor source
GLEC v3.2 long-haul belly cargo allocation (WTW)

Mode comparison

On the Shanghai to Los Angeles lane, air freight emits about 100 times more CO2e per tonne than sea freight at GLEC v3.2 defaults. The gap is driven by the WTW factor difference between long-haul belly cargo (608 g CO2e/tkm) and a Container ship 12,000-15,000 TEU (5.5 g CO2e/tkm), partly offset by the shorter great-circle air routing.

Try this in the calculator

These numbers are GLEC v3.2 defaults at 1 tonne. Change weight, vessel class, or load factor in the calculator and see the per-mode CO2e update under ISO 14083:2023 data quality tiers.

Methodology references

Need primary-data emissions for Shanghai to Los Angeles?

The EcoFreight API ingests AIS, bunker delivery notes, and shipment manifests to return ISO 14083 Tier 3 primary-data numbers for the same lane. Free tier covers 1,000 calculations per month.