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CNSHA PHMNL
Consumer electronics

Shanghai to Manila freight CO2 emissions

One tonne of cargo shipped Shanghai (CNSHA) to Manila (PHMNL) by sea emits 15.8 kg CO2e well-to-wake at GLEC v3.2 default factors. The same tonne by air emits 1,581 kg — roughly 100x the sea number.

Lane noteShort intra-Asia China-Philippines run — 3-4 day sailings across the South China Sea. Manila North Harbor congestion typically adds 1-2 days at berth and pushes some carriers to call Subic Bay as a relief port.

Per-tonne CO2e by mode

Sea freight

Container ship 3,000-8,000 TEU

15.8
kg CO2e
Distance
2,100 km
Factor (WTW)
7.5 g CO2e/tkm
Per shipment
1 t × 2,100 km
Factor source
GLEC v3.2 container 8,000-15,000 TEU (Post-Panamax, WTW)

Air freight

Short-haul belly cargo

1,581
kg CO2e
Distance
1,860 km
Factor (WTW)
850 g CO2e/tkm
Per shipment
1 t × 1,860 km
Factor source
GLEC v3.2 short-haul belly cargo (WTW)

Mode comparison

On the Shanghai to Manila 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 (850 g CO2e/tkm) and a Container ship 3,000-8,000 TEU (7.5 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 Manila?

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.