A consignment leaving the West Coast for Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong or Singapore crosses the Pacific in one sector and lands the following afternoon. That is the simple case, and where the goods are already in California, Washington or Arizona it is almost always the right one. The complication starts on the other side of the country.
From New York, Chicago, Atlanta or Boston there are three genuinely competitive ways to reach most of Asia. Westward across the Pacific, usually with a domestic sector first. Eastward through a European hub. Or eastward with one stop in the Gulf, which reaches South and Southeast Asia particularly well and has the advantage of a single connection with a carrier whose cabin baggage policy we know. On a hand carry, one connection beats two almost regardless of the clock, because every transfer is a point at which the courier and the consignment can be separated.
The third factor is what the region is strict about, and it varies enormously. Some destinations here admit a US passport holder without a visa; several require one in advance; one requires one for the mainland but not for two of its special administrative regions. Customs practice differs just as much, and several countries in the region take export control, encryption and dual-use classification seriously enough that the American end of the paperwork has to be settled before anyone books a seat.
