Sourcing guide · East Asia
How to source machinery & industrial from China
Light industrial machinery, components, tools. Below: realistic FOB cost vs Chinese baseline, full lead time including sea freight to Rotterdam, minimum order quantities you'll actually negotiate with, and what audit discipline this country × category combination demands before signing your first PO.
Cost and lead time at a glance
For machinery & industrial sourced from China, OrcaTrade's benchmark is FOB index 1 relative to a Chinese tier-2 factory baseline (CN = 1.00). This means a unit you'd buy at €10 FOB from China typically lands at €10.00 from China — before duty, freight, and any preferential origin claims.
Production runs 10 weeks at the factory; sea freight from China to Rotterdam adds 5 weeks. Total door-to-warehouse: 15 weeks. Air freight saves 3-4 weeks at significant cost premium; for the 200-5000 kg sweet spot from China, rail via Małaszewicze is faster than sea by 10-15 days.
MOQ bands: minimum acceptable is around 1 units, typical orders are 10 units. Below the minimum, factories often deprioritise small orders and add 1+ week to the lead time.
Specialty and risk profile
Most cost-effective for general light machinery; CNC, plastic injection moulds
Machinery Directive (EU) 2023/1230 conformity must be verified pre-shipment
Country context
- Largest manufacturing base globally
- Most categories have multiple-tier factory ecosystems
- Anti-dumping risk on certain commodity exports to EU (steel, aluminium, footwear)
Quality and IP risk
Quality risk: medium. A factory inspection before the first order is recommended, with AQL on the first 3 shipments.
IP risk: high. For unique designs, custom moulds, or branded electronics, use NNN agreements (Non-Disclosure, Non-Use, Non-Circumvention) and partition tooling across two suppliers to limit exposure.
Compare with other origins
For the same category — machinery & industrial — across the OrcaTrade benchmark:
| Country | FOB index | Production lead | Sea transit | Total lead | Quality risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China (this guide) | 1× | 10w | 5w | 15w | medium |
| Vietnam | 1.15× | 14w | 5w | 19w | medium |
| India | 1.05× | 12w | 4w | 16w | medium |
| Bangladesh | 1.3× | 16w | 5w | 21w | high |
| Türkiye | 1.1× | 7w | 1w | 8w | low |
Next concrete step
If you're at the "choose a sourcing country" stage, run a free comparison through the OrcaTrade Sourcing Agent — it ranks all five countries on cost, quality, IP risk, and lead time for your specific MOQ and urgency. If you're at the "need real supplier introductions" stage, the OrcaTrade HK office runs a 2-4 week supplier-discovery sprint and returns a 5-supplier longlist with samples.