current shipping quotes from Africa for air and sea rates

[Green Chile]

Just to give anyone a heads up on current rates, I was quoted this morning both air and sea rates for a 67"x52"x61" crate weighing 472 lbs...air rate to DFW was about $7300 and sea rate to port of Houston was about $3820. These are for finished goods not green skins. No ivory or primates in this shipment. This is for shipping, crating, liability insurance and documentation to get it here. Any fees on this side are additional.

As further info on sea rates...
OCEAN - Next planned Sailing

We are taking reservations for our next dedicated hunting trophy container to Houston. Please do note that we currently have limited options with the shipping lines as only one provider will take hunting trophies to the USA and they only have one vessel dedicated to the port of Houston. This means the next available departure if you opt for ocean freight will only be around February/March 2026, when the vessel is planned to return to South Africa. Please make payment to secure your space as availability will be limited.

 

[cgdemakis]

Just had a shipment delivered last week that was handled by Badger. I did have a primate skull. All finished work. Air was $4529.34, on Delta JNB to ORD. Crate was 189x129x112 with a weight of 180kg. Cost on this end was $1750 to clear the crate and have it trucked from IL to ND.

 

[mdwest]

Costs are definitely going up substantially..

I just paid $3010 (plus a 3% cc fee.. so a little more than $3100 all in) for a 212lb crate that is 148x95x97 CM to be shipped from SA to DFW...

Sharing a shipping container by sea is probably a very good option if someone is in need..

 

[JimP]

Don't forget to try and figure in storage and dock fees on the ocean freight. I've read that they can be quite the shock when you see them.

 

[dchum]

Dang that’s a big crate at 472lbs!

What do you have In there? Is this your buff skull ?

 

[Green Chile]

That's a good question...I sent a note asking for a reminder of the inventory as we had combined 2 or 3 trips. I need to get verification on that. I will post a list here when I figure it out!

 

[Elkeater]

My crate should be to my house this week.

Total charges for finished taxidermy work for shipping a 145x123x102cm crate weighing 135kg with a chargeable weight of 303kg containing:

Kudu shoulder mount x1
Impala shoulder mount x2
Blesbok shoulder mount x1
Blue wildebeest shoulder mount x1
Nyala wall pedestal mount x1
Steenbok full body plus base x1
Zebra rug x 1
Springbok skull x1
Warthog skull x 2
Porcupine skull x 1
Springbok flat skin x1
Porcupine flat skin x1
Warthog leather tan x1
Backskins for all shoulder mounts
Kudu horn core x2

Charge for Bullseye Taxidermy to DFW airfreight $3450.24

Coppersmith clearing fees plus domestic shipping from DFW to Globe Arizona $2258.53

Total from vaalwater South Africa to my door $5708.77

Expensive but there’s a bunch of stuff in there.

 

[Green Chile]

Dang that’s a big crate at 472lbs!

What do you have In there? Is this your buff skull ?

Ok here's the list...it's from my hunt with Boddington...

48" Sable pedestal
buff pedestal

48" buff euro (2nd buff)
waterbuck euro
bushbuck euro
some finished backskins for misc

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

It pays to shop around on the shipping. I have seen some substantial savings. Dont simply accept the quote from the taxidermist. Do your own research.

 

[Adipose]

On our last safari here in sept, I asked the taxidermist to just estimate a price for shipping for our animals. They are doing the dipping and packing for taxidermy in the States, but I wanted to make sure that was the best option. There is quite a few animals and many full mounts. They are a great company that I have used before. They estimated the freight would be 80-93K if we had the animals done in Africa and shipped home. We stayed with the done in the States plan. So far I know it is around 5500 for dipping and packing, will not know the freight to US for apx 4 months.

 

[Green Chile]

In your case of having so many full mounts, you should look at a shipping container by sea option. Could easily save a lot of $.

 

[Osama Mahdi]

My previous shipment in May from Johannesburg to Chicago weighed 78 kilograms and included a buffalo, a kudu, a red duiker, and two genets. It was sent via Turkish Airways at a cost of $1,564.
Coppersmith 1674$
D and P 562$

 

[Osama Mahdi]

My crate should be to my house this week.

Total charges for finished taxidermy work for shipping a 145x123x102cm crate weighing 135kg with a chargeable weight of 303kg containing:

Kudu shoulder mount x1
Impala shoulder mount x2
Blesbok shoulder mount x1
Blue wildebeest shoulder mount x1
Nyala wall pedestal mount x1
Steenbok full body plus base x1
Zebra rug x 1
Springbok skull x1
Warthog skull x 2
Porcupine skull x 1
Springbok flat skin x1
Porcupine flat skin x1
Warthog leather tan x1
Backskins for all shoulder mounts
Kudu horn core x2

Charge for Bullseye Taxidermy to DFW airfreight $3450.24

Coppersmith clearing fees plus domestic shipping from DFW to Globe Arizona $2258.53

Total from vaalwater South Africa to my door $5708.77

Expensive but there’s a bunch of stuff in there.

Actually, it’s not expensive compared to taxidermy work in the States. The problem is the cost of shipping the taxidermy work.

 

[358 Norma]

Just had a shipment delivered last week that was handled by Badger. I did have a primate skull. All finished work. Air was $4529.34, on Delta JNB to ORD. Crate was 189x129x112 with a weight of 180kg. Cost on this end was $1750 to clear the crate and have it trucked from IL to ND.

In September my shipment from African legacy logistics Air freight Johannesburg to Huston was $4,200. Then $2,400 shipping from Huston to ND. In the crate contained Buffalo wall pedestal, 1 Nyala wall pedestal, 1 shoulder Sable, 1 euro Gemsbuk, 1 Impala euro, and Zebra rug.

 

[Elkeater]

Actually, it’s not expensive compared to taxidermy work in the States. The problem is the cost of shipping the taxidermy work.

True. So my total all in for the taxidermist plus the shipping was $12,508.73 (spread out over 2024-2025).
My taxidermy quote alone here in the U.S. was over $17,000 and that did not include dip and pack and shipping and clearance.

I figured I likely saved about $8,000 by having my taxidermy completed by bullseye taxidermy in South Africa vs having it done in the U.S. plus I didn’t have to wait 2-3 years to get my mounts which I get to pick up tomorrow.

 

[Green Chile]

Bullseye is sending this shipment to me. They do good work and unlike the US side, almost all they do is African game so they are good with poses, eyes, detail, etc. You don't want your kudu looking like a whitetail. That's not a blanket statement of US quality of course...just a plus to having a good African taxidermist to work with. There are several good ones in Africa.

 

[BryceM]

Another data point: Air freight from Windhoek to JFK and then on to me in the Rocky Mountains via ground freight. Crate is a mix of finished animals, euro mounts, flat skins, and two dip & pack PG animals. No CITES, no primates, no pigs. Volume is 1.3 cubic meters, 224 kg volumetric billable weight. Total cost from WDH to my house is just over $5k. It’s roughly double what I paid 5 years ago. Right now the crate is stuck in Addis Abba for a few days.

Ocean was cheaper, but wouldn’t have dispatched until May of 2026.

 

[BryceM]

BTW, volumetric weight is charged by the airlines, not actual weight. They have their own formulas to figure this out. My 224 kg billable weight crate actually weighs 108 kg.

 

[Green Chile]

These topics are helpful and I feel like we should post more often to give members different ideas on how to get things back. I'm busting my butt to get ele panels tanned here in the US because of a miscommunication with Africa shipping.

I'm thinking seriously of the ocean option as I'm trying to buy a house to make room for more things right now. I've got taxidermy in 2 storage units and 4 countries.

 

[Green Chile]

BTW, volumetric weight is charged by the airlines, not actual weight. They have their own formulas to figure this out. My 224 kg billable weight crate actually weighs 108 kg.

Good point. My chargeable weight was 595 kg...actual weight 214 kg.