Customs Clearance Time
Average days from goods arriving at border to customs clearance being granted
What is Customs Clearance Time?
Customs clearance time is the average number of days from a shipment's arrival to its clearance by customs. It shows how quickly goods can be released for delivery.
Delays at customs add cost and can disrupt supply chains, so shorter times are valuable.
How this KPI is measured
- Function
- Operations & Supply Chain
- Sub-function
- Customs & Compliance
- Industry
- Logistics & Transport
- Type
- Lagging
- Impact
- Efficiency
- Unit
- days
- Measurement frequency
- Monthly
- Formula
- Sum of days from arrival to clearance / Number of shipments cleared
How to calculate it
Add up the days from arrival to clearance across shipments and divide by the number of shipments cleared.
For example, if 50 shipments took a combined 150 days to clear, the average is 3 days.
Split by port, route and type of goods, and look at the longest delays.
Where it is used
Improving supply chain speed
Cut delays.
Choosing routes and brokers
Compare performance.
Planning lead times
Set realistic expectations.
How to improve it
Tips and common mistakes
- Incorrect paperwork is a common cause of delay.
- Follow customs rules carefully.
- Record the reason for each hold.
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