Importance Of Freight Forwarders

Firm specializing in arranging storage and shipping of merchandise on behalf of its shippers. It usually provides a full range of services including: tracking inland transportation, preparation of shipping and export documents, warehousing, booking cargo space, negotiating freight charges, freight consolidation, cargo insurance, and filing of insurance claims. Freight forwarders usually ship under their own bills of lading or air waybills and their agents or associates at the destination provide document delivery, deconsolidation, and freight collection services also called forwarder.

Transshipment is an essential feature of modern container operations. Due to high operation costs, large container ships usually serve only a few so called ‘hub ports’. The carriage from such ports to regional ports is for most of the time sub-contracted by shipping lines to local operators of feeder vessels. At the hub ports the containers are transshipped from the mother vessel to feeder vessels or vice versa. Furthermore, as a result of modern technological developments, improved cargo handling facilities at port terminals, roll-on/roll-off ships, and the invention of standardized containers, which permit their integrated use on various modes of transportation, are frequently transferred to other means of transportation, truck, train, and airplane for inland carriage. Where cargo passes in transit through a country, the freight forwarder coordinates the transfer of the cargo from one transport vehicle to another. This involves booking space on a transshipment vessel, discharging, sorting, loading and distribution of the cargo to various consignees. Transshipment agents generally act as agent for the shipper/consignee or another freight forwarder. Within the context of multimodal transport the forwarder might also act as contracting carrier.

Then, freight forwarder may arrange for packing, warehousing and distribution of cargo. He keeps the goods in storage before export and subsequent to import whilst awaiting transportation or distribution. The freight forwarder can either operate his own warehouse and offer those ancillary services as principal to the shipper and other freight forwarders or function as an agent in procuring the service from independent contractors for his customers. The fact that the freight forwarder does not own the warehouse, does not automatically lead to the conclusion that he offers the service as agent. In providing multimodal services the freight forwarder might act as principal and then subcontract the physical performance. A contract of carriage can extend to storage services before and after discharge of the cargo awaiting custom clearance if so contemplated by the parties.

Freight forwarder also provides all necessary documentation for the import and export of goods having regard to legal and customs requirements and the terms of the sales contract. He performs this function as an agent of the customer. Also as agent of the shipper/consignee, the freight forwarder coordinates and effects payment of freight to the performing carrier and any local taxes, for example, government service tax on behalf of his customers to avoid delays.

Freight Forwarders are the communicating party to keep us aware of when specific shipments arrive to local terminals, and receive specific pickup information from them to coordinate the local. A good freight forwarder will constantly communicate the shipment location during transit, therefore giving the local transportation and customer an idea of when the freight will be available and when they can expect freight to be at a holding warehouse and available for the end user.