Importing Building Material From China - 2024 Complete Guide
Buying and importing building materials from China can save you more than 50% of your construction supplies cost, yes, if you know how to work with building material manufacturers and how to avoid the risks involved.
There are many things you need to understand before buying building material from China. We have discussed all the major factors that play a great role in the purchasing process. Let’s discuss them.
Table of Contents
Our services
Product & Supplier Sourcing
A team with 10 years of experience | In-house database of 2000+ factories | 106 supplier screening criteria
Supplier Verification
Big data + on-site audit to identify supplier frauds or trading companies with no added value
Quality Inspection
Our AQL-compliant product inspection avoids quality crises caused by the so-called random quality check.
Shipping from China
We work directly with shipping companies, saving our buyers an average of 32% on logistics costs.
Who is Buying Building Materials from China?
Building material companies in China are making some fine products that attract every type of individual or company. Almost all professions related to building construction prefer Chinese manufacturers when it comes to importing affordable and high-quality materials. Here are some groups who purchase material from China.
Ø Building Supplies Wholesalers
As the name suggests, they purchase building material from China and sell at wholesale prices to the building developers, interiors designers, and others. Wholesalers are buying building material from China in great amounts.
They have established their own supply chain of building materials in China, selling to customers in their home countries under their own brand names.
Ø Property Developers
Property developers are the people who run property development and real estate business. They are responsible for doing building developments related tasks like renovation, purchase of raw land, re-lease of old buildings, and others.
They need material in bulk amount for renovation projects; hence, they prefer the Chinese market. This helps them increase the value of commercial and residential properties.
Ø General Contractors
A general contractor is a professional hired by a client to oversee the construction area. They are also responsible for coordinating the overall dealing of the project. They have a duty to provide all the necessary materials, equipment, labor, and services for the project’s development.
As they need larger quantities of different types of items, they try to purchase from the market with mass production of building materials such as China. This way, they get all the necessary materials from one place.
Ø Interior Designing Companies
Interior design companies are the ones that follow the rules of science and art to add a beautiful ambiance to the house. These companies have designers who research, plan, coordinate, and manage the interior appearance of one’s house.
Because of the wide variety of building materials and home furnishings in China, interior designers can find the appropriate product solutions for their designs at a low cost.
Ø Homeowners
Of course, you know who homeowners are. Every person aims to build a house with all the best features and amenities. They also look for home items that go well with their desired household design, such as traditional or contemporary style.
As many homeowners have low budgets, but they need plenty of household items, from kitchen cabinets to flooring for reconstruction, China is a top choice to import building materials.
What Type of Building Materials can you Import from China?
Doors, windows, roofing items, wood materials, you name it, everything is available in China. You can pick anything, from flush doors to glazed doors or from wood flooring to vinyl flooring for your project.
Import Building Products from China
Building products are items that are processed to be used as a module in construction. Such as cabinets, doors, windows, and others.
If your country has expensive labor or does not manufacture these products, importing from China can save you 50% – 70% of the building material cost. Some of those common building products include the following.
Ø Import flooring from China
You need to understand that texture of the flooring can vary from one batch to another. This is why you must try to buy all the flooring at once.
Moreover, laminate floorings in a single batch can have extremely same patterns, which may seem odd when you install them. To avoid this problem, take boards from different packages to make them look unique.
Don’t forget to measure the room’s square footage. You can do this by multiplying its length by its width. Make sure to purchase around 7 to 10 percent additional quantities, in case you make any mistake.
Ø Import windows from China
Choosing windows can be challenging, as it impacts building structure for many years.
There are so many window options in the market that complement any style of the house. For instance, the victorian and traditional range of windows complements the theme of every type of building.
You can purchase vinyl, wood, wood-clad, fiberglass, aluminum, and composite windows from China.
Ø Import doors from China
Each door and opening space has different requirements and dimensions. This is why you need to consider every aspect of your door.
When you are buying doors from China, check their handing and swinging. Is it opening inwards or outwards? Also, consider whether you want a door slab or a pre-hung door. Don’t forget to look for the material. You can also pick between sliding or swinging doors.
Ø Import staircase and railing from China
You can purchase pre-built and ready to assemble staircases from China. These include a straight staircase, 90-degree staircase, 180-degree staircase, circular staircase, spiral staircase, and more.
Ø Import Kitchen cabinets and wardrobe from China
When it’s your first time shipping these products from China, discuss with your supplie or agent in China what kind of package will be best for you.
There are two common types of packaging, assembled or flat. If you have to pay a high labor cost in your country, then go for the assembled package. It’s better than the flat packaging even if you have to pay more for the shipment.
On the other hand, if your local labor cost is affordable, you can ship flat packing, which cabinetry craftsman can easily install. However, flat packing is best for the wardrobe for the safety concern.
Ø Import roofing material supplies from China
To build a high-end building, you need the best roofing material. Asphalt, slate, wood, metal, solar shingles, green roof, and tiles are some of the most common roof types. However, all of these work well in different types of locations.
For instance, solar shingles are not good for cooler atmospheres, and metal roofs don’t work well in hot climate areas. So, assess your needs before importing roofing material from China.
Ø Import decking material from China
WPC is the most popular decking material among buyers. This material comes from wood flour and plastic such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PP (Polypropylene), and HDPE (High-density polyethylene).
The quality of WPC depends on your required material composition; the higher the quality, the higher the durability and price.
Ø Import bathroom fitting from China
You can find a wide variety of bathroom fittings from China, including washbasins, toilets, bathroom cabinets, bidets, pedestals, urinals, baths, sinks, and much more.
Interestingly, these bathroom fittings with different prices look the same, but the materials and workmanship make them different in terms of service life and water-saving performance. You can opt for the one that goes well with your pocket and preferences.
Import Raw Building Material from China
Raw building materials are the things you need for construction. These include naturally growing elements such as sand, stone, and wood, etc.
Raw building materials also consist of materials that are man-made. You may need these materials for insulation, roofing, plumbing, and carpentry needs.
Ø Import marble from China
Marble is one of the most popular building materials that help to boost the look of your property and furnish the space. You can opt for different types of marble slabs, tiles, and other items that come in different colors.
Since marble is a natural stone, each batch has a slightly different texture, so if you are buying marble for the same building area, it is best to choose from the same quarried batch.
Ø Import glass from China
Building material companies in China offer you float, laminated, shatterproof, extra clean, chromatic, tinted, toughened, and insulating glass from different brands in China.
There are many benefits to using glass as a building material, but its disadvantages should not be ignored. The use of glass as a façade helps to let in light but is not suitable for areas that are prone to earthquakes.
Ø Import cement from China
Every country has its own rule for importing cement. For instance, if you have plans to import cement from China to India, you will need permission from the Environmental department and a test from the state laboratories. Once you go through all the required processes, you can easily import your desired quantity of cement.
Think twice when Importing Bricks from China
Yes, you can import bricks from China. However, importing building bricks from China might not be a good idea.
The primary reason is that almost every country has its brick industry that provides fine quality bricks. Also, it better to purchase from local suppliers instead of importing and spending money on shipping costs.
Unless your project is large enough that it is necessary to control costs from bricks and mortar, or there are special technical requirements that local companies cannot meet.
Don’t import timber from China
China went from being a major exporter of hardwood chips at the beginning of the last decade to becoming the world’s largest importer in 2016.
Why does China import so many timbers? On the one hand, it is needed for domestic construction, and on the other hand, it is used as raw material for furniture and other wood products for export.
What Type of Construction Material Supplier in China is Right for you?
When you are considering purchasing any construction item from China, you need to hire someone that is honest, qualified, experienced, and knows about the rules of your country. You can choose between trading companies, sourcing agents, and manufacturers of imported materials.
However, not all these choices are suitable for you. Wondering which one is best for you? Here is what you need to understand.
Ø Building Material Trading Companies
Do you want a building material trading company or not? Decide it after reading these pros and cons.
Advantages
- The trading company will give you a complete catalog to view.
- You can also get a quote easily and even in a day.
Disadvantages
- They have a little higher price than the sourcing agents, which can vary from 15 to 40 percent.
- Trading companies usually hide information about their manufacturers. Hence, you can’t expand your knowledge in this field.
Ø Building Material Manufacturers
Building material manufacturers have their own benefits and disadvantages. Here is what you need to understand.
Advantages
- You don’t need to pay for the fees like you have to do for sourcing agents. This means you can save around 3 to 7% of your order value.
Disadvantages
- You need to order at least the minimum amount they require.
- Getting products directly from the factory means you have to face the risks all alone.
Ø Building Material Sourcing Agent
Many buyers import building materials from China through sourcing agents. Why? Although you pay extra for the services of a sourcing agent, they save you far more than you pay, and unlike other building material suppliers, the sourcing agent controls the quality of the product for the buyer.
How to Find a Reliable Building Materials Manufacturer in China?
Do you know you can find plenty of building material manufacturers in China? But which one is the best for you?
Here is what we will discuss in this chapter. You need to pick the one that offers the best materials. In this case, look for the manufacturers in local trade shows, online trade sites such as Alibaba, and other global manufacturing market places.
You can also look in the building material expo in China to find the mass production manufacturers.
How to tell if a Chinese Building Material Supplier is a Factory or a Middleman?
If you want to know whether you are dealing with a third person or factory, simply ask them. If still, you have doubts, check their supplier’s Registered Capital. Request for the sample, ask it to provide a copy of the ISO-9001 certification, and verify the supplier’s business license.
You can also ask them to show you their factory. These tactics will help you determine whom you are dealing with. You can also predict that the supplier is not a factory if they are asking for 15 to 50 percent more than other factories.
Beware of One-Stop Building Material Suppliers
All the factories try to produce a single type of product. This is because they require a bulk amount of specific raw materials, equipment, and experts to develop products. So, if they develop different types of items, they will need different machinery, employees, and materials. This can’t happen in real.
So, when choosing a supplier to buy building materials from China, ensure that you are purchasing an item from a company that specifically deals in that product.
A Building Material Manufacturer with a Downtown Office?
To find a reliable Chinese manufacturer, you need to check the supplier’s location. Generally, genuine factories are located in industrial and suburban areas, which is approximately an hour’s drive from the center of the city.
Companies that are present in urban areas give you a red signal. It’s a great chance that they are a trading company and not a manufacturer.
You can search for the location on websites like Baidu, which will help you check the location.
Why you can’t find Building Material Manufacturers in China with Google Search?
Chinese suppliers are more focused on their production, and they usually sell to domestic trading companies; they don’t find the need to do SEO on Google.
Not to mention, most manufacturers can’t speak English. This is because small scale companies only communicate with domestic buyers and focus on production-related work. Furthermore, they consider it too expensive to hire English sales team for their website and advertisements.
So most of the “factories” you find online with English keywords are actually trading companies.
More articles to make your import business better:
Table of Contents
Our services
Product & Supplier Sourcing
A team with 10 years of experience | In-house database of 2000+ factories | 106 supplier screening criteria
Supplier Verification
Big data + on-site audit to identify supplier frauds or trading companies with no added value
Quality Inspection
Our AQL-compliant product inspection avoids quality crises caused by the so-called random quality check.
Shipping from China
We work directly with shipping companies, saving our buyers an average of 32% on logistics costs.
Where to find Reliable Building Materials Manufacturers in China?
Looking for the best building material manufacturers in China? You have the following options to consider.
Building Materials Wholesale Market
The best place to get your desired building material from China is the wholesale market. When you go to this market, you have a chance to touch and feel the building products, which makes the decision easy for you. Not to mention, you also have a wide variety of choices in a single type of item. These markets are also great if you want products at reasonable prices.
You can also bargain for the prices, in some cases. Additionally, buying directly from a single market saves your time and effort. You don’t need to travel from city to city to look for factories or trading companies.
So, if you have decided to check the wholesale market, then Guangzhou and Foshan should be your destination. These are wholesale cities that have all the essential products in the market related to building that you might want to purchase.
Construction Materials Tradeshows in China
If you want to know the latest news about the building materials industry, then you must attend the building materials exhibition in China. Unlike wholesale building material markets, building material shows are usually held for only a few days, but the exhibitors are mostly suppliers with specialties.
Some famous building materials exhibitions in China are:
- Window Door Facade Expo- Guangzhou
- Roof China – Guangzhou
- Cerambath- Foshan
- Construction Innovation Expo- Hong Kong
Construction Materials Sourcing Agent
If you don’t have enough time to visit China’s trading fairs, you can hire sourcing agents. As already mentioned, these are the companies or individuals that help you import your desired construction product from China. Not only will they export your construction materials, but they will also search for the products that you are asking for.
Moreover, you can ask them to visit fairs or factories to purchase the best items. Once they buy your materials, they thoroughly inspect each and every piece. After checking everything, sourcing agents send these items to your location.
What are the Problems and Risks of Importing Building Materials from China?
Whether you are importing items from China or any other country, there is always a certain amount of risk involved. Some of the common problems that you may have to face are:
Construction Material Products in China do not Meet your Country’s Regulations
It is crucial that you follow all the rules and regulations of your country when importing any material. Since you, as the importer, are responsible for getting consumer safety compliance and product certification before importing. As most Chinese companies are unaware, they don’t comply with the European and American product certification standards. This makes the importing procedure challenging for you.
What can happen if I Import Non-Compliant Products?
Product certification compliance is an important rule that everyone has to follow. These laws protect both consumers and the environment and ensure that people are getting the best products.
If your products do not meet the standards, you may never be able to pick up the goods from customs and will not receive any compensation from the government. This is why you should not overlook the product certification, even importing from other countries like China.
Insufficient Quantity or Missing Parts of Building Products Received
This is another common problem that occurs when you are importing a huge amount of building materials from China. You may not get the entire item that you have paid for.
When we inspect goods for our customers, our quality inspectors often find missing quantities or parts, for example, flat-packed cabinets that are missing back panels and drawer handles.
Construction Material Quality Defects
When you import construction materials from China without inspecting them, you are putting your import business at risk. Of course, it is hard to send back your building materials to China and get them repaired or exchange items. These are the major problems that most people face. By the way, don’t put too much faith in the finished products pictures sent to you by the supplier.
Building Materials Factory owners cannot Communicate in English
Most of the China factory owners can’t speak English. Some of the well-known companies have hired English-speaking sales staff to deal with foreigners. But small scale suppliers don’t offer these features, which makes communication challenging with them. In worst cases, both of you might understand things the other way around, which leads to undesired results.
Difficult to Buy and Ship from Multiple Building Product Suppliers
It’s difficult to buy and ship from multiple building product suppliers. This is why buyers ask us to help with consolidation. In this case, Cargo from different suppliers will be inspected and loaded into the same container. This avoids split shipments and greatly reduces the total shipping costs.
It is Time Consuming to Communicate with Building Material Suppliers in China?
Unless you are willing to pay 30-50% extra to work with a trading company, you will need to maintain close communication with more than five suppliers to complete your construction material procurement. Not to mention the fact that you will need to contact at least 10+ suppliers for each product in order to ensure you get a good deal.
Don’t know how to Reduce the Cost of Shipping Building Materials from China
There are many common buyer practices that you see in the import process that are actually wrong:
- Consider only the FOB and not the EXW terms
- Let the supplier be responsible for logistics and transportation
- Choosing a supplier without consideringthe geographical location
- Not having shipping insurance
- Asking the supplier to deliver the goods to the warehouse early
Don’t know how to Reduce the Cost of Building Products
If you are now relying on Alibaba to find new suppliers, there is still a lot of room for improvement in your supply chain. There are many Chinese manufacturers who do not advertise online, and you need to go to the cities where the industry is clustered to find your building material manufacturers.
High Import Duties on Building Materials from China
Rates and taxes change every year. Anything like a drop in oil prices and reduced currency valuation can lead the government to change the import duties. However, people often forget to check their current duties and start their process of importing products. They get the idea of high import duties only when they have to pay for it.
What are the Compliance Regulations for Importing Building Materials to your Country?
Do you know that there are proper safety rules and regulations that you have to follow in order to ship the building materials from China? Wondering what are they and why? You will get the answers from this chapter. In a nutshell, the imported items should have the country of origin labels. The CPSC regulations control some substances in all products, such as formaldehyde. Moreover, you also need to import things that are completely safe and not hazardous.
Importing Building Supplies from China to the United States: International Building Code
A building code is the rules and regulations made for materials like non-building structures and buildings. The building should have planning permission from the local council before importing items from another country. The primary objective of the building code is safety, protection of public health, and general welfare.
Importing Building Material from China to Canada: National Building Code of Canada
As the name suggests, the National Building Code of Canada is the building code of Canada. This code comes under the regulation of the National Research Council of Canada, and it is the base of every building code in the country. Some jurisdictions build their own code by considering it, while others adopted it as it is. Its aim is to protect people from problems that can occur in relation to infrastructure.
Importing Construction Material from China to Australia: Building Code of Australia
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) contains technical laws for constructing and designing buildings and their infrastructure. The BCA includes the following matters:
- Fire resistance
- Structural adequacy
- Equipment and services
- Sustainability and energy efficiency
The Australian government controls these regulations.
Importing Building Material from China to Europe: Construction Products Regulation
These construction product regulations aim to give stability to products and mechanical resistance to the material used in the construction process across Europe. These rules cover every material used in a building’s construction, such as doors, windows, building cladding, timbers, and cabling.
How much is the Tariff for Importing Building Materials from China?
Do you know both America and China have implemented tariffs? Wondering how much is the tariff for importing building material from China?
The Trump tariffs refer to the United States’ tariffs for different materials. The US government has set and escalated tariffs on materials imported from China. In response, China has also implemented retaliatory tariffs, which are equal to the $24 million worth of American items. Hence, check the tariff of individual items online that you are importing before shipping.
How to Calculate the Landed Cost of building Materials Imported from China?
Landed cost means the total price of the product you are buying from the manufacturer or seller’s warehouse and taking to the buyer’s facility or warehouse. So, to determine your landed cost, you need to add the cost of the products, customs, shipping, risk, and overhead. The result will be your total landed cost. However, all of these costs are not present in every shipment.
The general formula for calculating landed cost is:
Landed Cost = FOB/EXW + Custom Fees + To-Door Freight
In this formula, you need to pay:
- FOB/EXW to the supplier or seller
- To-Door Freight to the freight forwarder
- Customs fees to the customs thorough custom broker
Are your Building Materials Products Subject to Anti-Dumping Duties?
The anti-dumping duties implement on those goods that exceed the cost of the goods. The primary purpose of the anti-dumping duties is to save local jobs. However, these tariffs can lead to a higher cost of goods for local users. Plus, these duties can also reduce the international competition of local brands developing the same goods in the long term. Not to mention, these anti-dumping duties have the ability to distort any market, which is opposite to the concept of the free market.
Wooden cabinets imported from China to the United States will be subject to anti-dumping duties of up to 262.2% and countervailing duties of up to 293.5%.
However, there are still ways for buyers to import these building materials from China and avoid high anti-dumping duties; you can contact us for details.
How to Reduce Import Taxes on Construction Materials from China?
The value of the import taxes depends on the following factors. So when you manage these factors, you can limit the customs duties widely. So, let’s take a look at them.
- The goods you are importing determine the duty rate and tariff code
- From where you are getting these goods to help determine the standard or additional duties
- Your structure of the transaction, whether it is leased, loaned, repaired, re-exported, and others
- What you will do after importing these goods determines whether you are going to get several reliefs.
Are you ready to import building materials from China?
Working with the wrong building material supplier, poor product quality, improper logistics and transportation, any one of these problems can lead to serious consequences.
HUACI SOURCING is a professional building materials sourcing company that helps overseas buyers reduce import costs and ensure the safe arrival of their goods.
You can talk to us about your project and get a free product quote.