Headford Group mini guide to freight forwarding

Mini guide to

Freight Forwarding

Freight Forwarding A freight forwarder, forwarder, or forwarding agent, is a person or company that organizes shipments for individuals or corporations to get goods from the manufacturer or producer to a market, customer or final point of distribution.

Forwarders contract with a carrier to move the goods. A forwarder does not move the goods but acts as an expert in supply chain management. A forwarder contracts with carriers to move cargo ranging from raw agricultural products to manufactured goods. Freight can be booked on a variety of shipping providers, including ships, airplanes, trucks, and railroads. It is not unusual for a single shipment to move on multiple carrier types. 'International freight forwarders’ typically handle international shipments. International freight forwarders have additional expertise in preparing and processing customs and other documentation and performing activities pertaining to international shipments.

Information typically reviewed by a freight forwarder includes the commercial invoice, shipper's export declaration, bill of lading and other documents required by the carrier or country of export, import, and/or transhipment. Much of this information is now processed in a paperless environment.

The FIATA shorthand description of the freight forwarder as the 'Architect of Transport' illustrates the commercial position of the forwarder relative to his client. In Europe, some forwarders specialize in 'niche' areas such as rail-freight, and collection and deliveries around a large port.

Some forwarders handle domestic shipments only.

BIFA (British International Freight Association) The British International Freight Association is the trade association for UK-registered companies engaged in international movement of freight by all modes of transport, air, road, rail and sea.

BIFA has around 1400 corporate members, known generally as freight forwarders, which offer a wide range of services within these various modes.

General Freight Key Words Containers 20ft Refrigerated Container 40ft Container 40ft High Cube Container 40ft Refrigerated Container TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit)

Abnormal Loads When a load cannot be dismantled into units that can be transported without exceeding the limitations in terms of the dimensions and/or mass, it is classified as an abnormal load

Airfreight The carriage of goods by aircraft, which is more expensive but much more reliable

Air Charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline)

Airway bills (AWB) The Air Waybill (AWB) is the most important document issued by a carrier either directly or through its authorised agent. It is a nonnegotiable transport document. It covers transport of cargo from airport to airport. By accepting a shipment an IATA cargo agent is acting on behalf of the carrier whose air waybill is issued

Bill of Lading (BoL) A bill of lading (sometimes abbreviated s B/L or BoL) is a document issued by a carrier which details a shipment of merchandise and gives title of that shipment to a specified party

Bulk Cargo Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. It refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum, grain, coal, or gravel

Courier - Air Courier - Road Express Deliveries via Air or Road, also sometimes known as ‘parcels’

Cross-Trades Foreign-to-foreign trade carried by ships from a nation other than the two trading nations

Customs Clearance Customs broking or Customs brokerage is the ‘clearing’ of goods through customs barriers for importers and exporters

Dangerous Goods Articles or substances capable of posing a significant risk to health, safety or property and that ordinarily require special attention when being transported.

Export The term export means shipping the goods and services out of the port of a country

Import The term Import means shipping the goods and services into the port of a country

FCL - Full Container Load A full container load (FCL) is an ISO standard container that is loaded and unloaded under the risk and account of one shipper and only one consignee. In practice, it means that the whole container is intended for one consignee

LCL - Less Container Load LCL is a shipment that is not large enough to fill a standard cargo container

FTL - Full Trailer Load The same as containers however this only applies to trailers

General Service Agents A company that will represent multiple airlines/shippers/road hauliers etc

Groupage Consolidate goods from different consignors into full loads for road transport to Europe, known as groupage

Heavy Lift The transportation, handling and installation of heavy items which are indivisible, and of weights generally accepted to be in the range of 1 ton to over 1000 tons and of widths/heights of more than 100 meters that are too large to fit into normal containers or onto conventional transporters

NVOCC – Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier An FMC-Licensed cargo consolidator of small shipments in ocean trade, generally soliciting business and arranging for or performing containerization functions at the port

Out of Gauge Cargo that is either too large or too wide to fit standard containers or vessels

Personal Effects Personal Cargo – Cars/Household Goods

Project Cargo Project Cargo is a term used to broadly describe the national or international transportation of large, heavy, high value or critical (to the project they are intended for) pieces of equipment

Rail Transportation Cargo Transport by Railway

Reefer Refrigerated Transport & Storage via Air, Road or Sea

Road Haulage / Trucking Haulage generally refers to the business of being a haulier which transports goods by road or rail for other companies or one’s own company

RoRo Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle

Ship Chartering Chartering is an activity within the shipping industry. In some cases a charterer may own cargo and employ a shipbroker to find a ship to deliver the cargo for a certain price, called freight rate

Shipping Freight transport is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo.

The term Shipping originally referred to transport by sea, but is extended in American English to refer to transport by land or air (International English: ‘carriage’) as well

Shipping Lines A shipping line is a business that operates ships. Because shipping accounts for 95% (approx.) of world trade volume, information about shipping lines plays a crucial role.

Top Freight Forwarders DHL Global Forwarding

Yusen Logistics

Kuehne + Nagel

Geodis

DB Schenker

Damco

Panalpina World Transport

C.H. Robinson Worldwide

UPS Supply Chain Solutions

Davies Turner

CEVA Logistics

Woodland Global Logistics

Expeditors

Ziegler UK

SDV Logistics

Rhenus Logistics

DSV

Kerry Logistics

Nippon Express

Cardinal Maritime

Agility

Toll Global Forwarding

Kintetsu World Express

GEFCO

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics

Allport Cargo Services

UTi Worldwide

Norman Global Logistics