Container removals from Sussex to New York and the North-East, sailing from Felixstowe. We sort the ISF filing, US customs entry and Manhattan building paperwork before the container is sealed.
Removals to New York and the North-East from the UK are the most frequent US moves we run, and they tend to arrive with a fixed start date attached. A transfer to a bank in Midtown, a research post in Boston, a policy job in Washington DC: the employer has named a Monday, and the furniture has to fit around it. The ocean leg is the most predictable part of the whole job. What decides whether the week goes smoothly is the paperwork a Manhattan building wants before it will let a crew through the door, and whether the container has cleared customs in New Jersey by the time your lease starts.
Manhattan is the address we are asked about most, and it is almost always an apartment: a co-op on the Upper East Side, a rental tower in Midtown, a condo downtown. Brooklyn brings a different kind of delivery, with brownstones in Park Slope and Cobble Hill that have a stoop at the front and a narrow staircase inside. Families who want more space usually look north to Westchester or east to Long Island, where the houses are detached, the driveways are real and the commute into the city is by train.
Further up the coast, Boston and Cambridge draw academics, doctors and biotech staff to the universities and hospitals. Philadelphia sits between New York and Washington and is a common choice for people who want a big city without New York rents. Washington DC and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs take diplomats, lawyers and people working for international organisations. All of them are served from the same New York or Baltimore arrival, with the last leg by road to your front door.
If you are not yet sure which of these will be home, that is common with job moves. Tell us at the survey and we will plan around a delivery address that is confirmed later.
Most Manhattan buildings will not accept a removal crew without a certificate of insurance naming the building and its managing agent, issued to their exact wording. They will also want the service elevator booked for a set window, often weekdays only, and some will not allow a move to start after a certain hour. Miss any of those and the truck sits on the street while the doorman makes phone calls. We ask for the building’s move-in rules at the start, and the destination crew supplies the certificate before the delivery date is fixed.
Walk-ups are the other Manhattan story. A fourth-floor flat in a pre-war building with no lift is a hand-carry up a tight stairwell, and a large sofa may not make the turn. We measure the pieces that worry you before they are packed, so the conversation about what fits happens in Sussex rather than on a landing in the East Village.
Outside New York, each city has its own quirks. Boston expects a street occupancy permit to hold kerb space for the truck, and its leases famously turn over around the first of September, when half the city moves at once. Washington DC uses temporary no-parking signs that have to be arranged in advance. In winter, snow across the whole region can push a delivery back a day.
Containers bound for New York discharge at the port terminals on the New Jersey side of the harbour, and clearance there is handled by US Customs and Border Protection. Two filings matter. The first is the Importer Security Filing, known as ISF 10+2, which has to be lodged at least 24 hours before the container is loaded at Felixstowe; we file it for every US shipment as standard, so it is never left to chance. The second is Form 3299, the declaration for free entry of used personal and household effects, which our destination agent lodges on arrival. Goods you have owned and used for at least twelve months, and are bringing with you to take up residence, generally enter without duty.
In practice the North-East shipments that stall are the ones where the paperwork trails the person. The agent will need copies of your passport and US visa, and clearance normally goes ahead once you have arrived in the country. If your start date in Manhattan is before the container lands, that is fine; if the container lands first, it can wait at the port, but storage charges on the New Jersey side mount up quickly. We time the sailing to your arrival rather than the other way round.
Customs can also choose any container for a physical examination, which adds days. Items bought in the last twelve months, alcohol, food and plants are what attract questions, so we identify them at the survey and keep them out of the container or on the declaration.
The container leg from Felixstowe to New York takes 3–5 weeks, the quickest of any North American route we run, and Baltimore is similar. Those figures cover the sailing; customs clearance and the drive to an inland address such as Westchester, Boston or Washington typically add a week or two on top. A sole-use container moves on the schedule you book. A shared LCL shipment waits for enough cargo to fill the container, which usually adds 2–4 weeks but brings the cost down for a smaller move.
If you only have a few boxes of work clothes and a laptop to get there before the rest, air freight runs 7–14 days door to door and pairs well with a container following behind. Late July and August are the busiest weeks in the international removals calendar, and a North-East move for a September school start falls right in it, so we would book those early.
We are a family-run removals firm, founded in 2017 and based at our Lower Dicker depot in East Sussex, and North American moves have been part of our international work since the start. The crew who wrap your furniture in Sussex are our own people, and they pack for the delivery that is waiting at the other end: a certificate-of-insurance building, a narrow walk-up, a winter doorstep. For the pieces that worry you most, our export packing and crating team builds protection around them, and anything irreplaceable can go into a made-to-measure box from our custom crate service.
If you would rather not pack at all, our full packing service covers every room, and if you are packing your own books and kitchen we deliver export-grade cartons and materials first. A grand or upright can travel in the same container with our piano moving crew, and if the Manhattan lease starts after your Sussex house sells, we hold everything in storage before shipping overseas until the dates line up.
We are a British Association of Removers Overseas Group member and work to BS 8564, the international removals standard. Read our customer reviews, find out more about Mark and the family business, or read our guide to moving to the USA from the UK. Compare this route with the rest of our international removals from Sussex, or call Mark on 01323 848 008 to talk it through.
The North-East is our quickest US route, but the same Sussex crews pack for every other corner of North America too.
Almost always. Most co-ops and condos ask for a certificate of insurance naming the building and its managing agent, a booked service-elevator slot and delivery within set hours. Send us the building’s move-in rules as soon as you have them and the destination crew prepares the paperwork before we confirm the delivery date.
It sails from Felixstowe to the Port of New York and New Jersey, where the container terminals sit on the New Jersey side of the harbour. Baltimore is the alternative gateway and takes a similar time; we choose between them on the sailing schedule and your final address.
The sea leg is 3–5 weeks. Customs clearance and delivery to an address outside the city, such as Westchester, Boston or Washington DC, typically add a week or two. A shared LCL shipment adds 2–4 weeks while the container fills.
Yes. Walk-ups are hand-carried, and we measure large sofas, wardrobes and bed frames at the survey so you know before packing day whether they will make the turn on the stairs. Anything that will not fit is better sold or stored in the UK than shipped.
Normally, yes. Our destination agent needs copies of your passport and US visa to lodge Form 3299, and clearance generally goes ahead once you have arrived. We time the sailing so the container lands after you do and does not sit at the port collecting storage charges.
Call us for a free, no-obligation quote, or use our online form. Whether it is a shared part-load or a whole house, we have handled the route before and we will handle yours with care.