Sailing schedules from Cai Mep to Los Angeles

Cargo on this lane is received at CMIT (Cai Mep International Terminal) in the Cai Mep Thi Vai port cluster. CMIT is a joint venture of Saigon Port, Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) and APM Terminals, established on 26 January 2007. In February 2025, CMIT received the first call of the Gemini Cooperation (Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd) on the TP6/WC1 service, which links Vietnam directly with the US West Coast.

Maersk's published schedule currently shows direct sailings from Cai Mep to Los Angeles, with 0 transshipments. About 1 sailings a week are operated by Maersk. A direct call means there is no feeder connection at a transshipment hub to miss.

Containers from factories in Binh Duong and Dong Nai go by truck straight down to Cai Mep, with no barge leg, and are gated in at CMIT. Count trucking time and gate-in time back from the cut-off, not from the time the container leaves the factory.

Transit is currently 17 to 21 days, port to port. That figure excludes trucking and gate-in in Vietnam, discharge, customs clearance and delivery to a US warehouse. To estimate when cargo reaches the warehouse, add each of those legs.

The trade-off for a direct service is a thin schedule: miss the cut-off and the cargo waits for the following week's sailing. Set the stuffing date ahead of the cut-off with a buffer, and flag any factory delay right away.

The ISF ("10+2") is filed by the US importer or its agent, no later than 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on the vessel. A late or incomplete filing can draw a penalty of USD 5,000 per violation under bond conditions. The carrier or NVOCC also transmits AMS 24 hours before loading, so SI and document cut-offs on US lanes fall earlier than on many other trades. The cargo description must be specific, and any corrections must be made before the vessel sails.

The importer needs a bond, either single entry or continuous, before CBP will release the cargo. The entry is filed within 15 calendar days after the cargo is discharged from the vessel. The entry summary (CBP Form 7501) is filed with estimated duties within 10 working days of entry.

From 24 July 2026, most Vietnamese goods entering the US face an additional Section 301 duty of 12.5%, with an exclusion list. Some products also carry separate anti-dumping or countervailing duties. Check by HS code before quoting DDP.

Pallets and wooden crates must be heat-treated (HT) or fumigated with methyl bromide (MB) and stamped to the ISPM 15 standard, showing the country code, the producer's registration number and the HT or MB mark. A pallet without the stamp puts the whole shipment at risk, even when the cargo inside is fully documented.

Wood furniture and plant-based products are declared under the Lacey Act: the scientific name (genus and species) of the wood, its value and quantity. Ask the factory to collect this data when it buys materials, not on the day the documents are prepared.

Most cargo moving through Los Angeles and Long Beach is subject to the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) under the OffPeak (PierPass) program and the Clean Truck Fund (CTF). Agree in the contract or incoterms who pays. In peak season, carriers add a peak season surcharge (PSS), as in the July 2026 round.

Homexim provides FCL/LCL ocean freight, export customs clearance in Vietnam and domestic transport, including trucking containers from the factory to CMIT. Each shipment has one named person in charge from start to finish. This page does not publish rates.