With the continuous development of international trade, more and more foreign trade enterprises choose international freight forwarders to carry out various trade businesses。Should realize,International freight forwardingIt has begun to penetrate into various fields of international trade and has gradually become an indispensable part of international trade。Therefore, what factors should be considered by the cargo owner or shipper when choosing a freight forwarder？
1.Freight forwarderPeople should be familiar with Marine geography。As an international freight forwarder, ships must understand the geography of countries, routes, port locations, transport locations and their inland hubs。In addition, freight forwarders should understand the international trade pattern and its development trend, the flow of goods and so on。For example, developed countries such as Western Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan import a large number of raw materials from developing countries and export industrial products to these countries。
2.Freight forwarders should be familiar with the applicability of various modes of transport to the goods。There are four modes of transport in the global shipping market: liner transport, charter transport, non-vessel transport and multimodal transport。The characteristics of passenger ship transport are time, voyage, port order and rate.Charter transport is indefinite transport, that is, there is no fixed route and no timetable。According to the supply and demand of the shipping market, any route can be operated, freight can be negotiated, and suitable for bulk cargo transportation;Non-vessel transport means that it is engaged in scheduled transport, but does not own or operate vessels required for maritime transport。A non-vessel carrier is a carrier in relation to the actual carrier, but a carrier in relation to the actual carrier。
For the owner or shipper, choosing the right mode of transport depends on the ability of the freight forwarder to:
(1) The periodicity of transport services, such as goods must be transported within a certain period of time, liner transport should be selected;
(2) Transport speed;
(3) Transportation costs: in the case that the shipper or the cargo owner is not the main consideration of transportation time and speed, the transportation price is the most important;
(4) The reliability of transport: before choosing the company entrusted to transport goods, it should check its strength and credibility to reduce the possibility of maritime fraud;
(5) Operating conditions and responsibilities, on the surface, a shipowner has the ownership of the ship, but in fact he mortgages the ship to the bank, and through the operator who has signed an operating contract with the bank, his interests are adversely affected when he resorts to law in the future transport of goods disputes。
3.Freight forwarders should understand the adaptability of different types of vessels to the cargo of the owner。As a freight forwarder, we must know the country of registration and tonnage of the ship, gross registered tonnage, net registered tonnage, bulk cellars, packing cellars, gross deadweight tonnage, load line, ship class, etc。A good freight forwarder should also be aware of several special cargo ship types, such as liner, half container ship, half pallet ship, bulk ship, ro-ro ship and full container ship。
4.A first-class freight forwarder should be familiar with shipping regulations。In addition to knowing the Hague Rules, Wisby Rules and Hamburg Rules, freight forwarders should also properly understand the maritime regulations and port operation habits of the countries where the goods are exported or the port of destination。
5.A first-class freight forwarder should be skilled in handling sea freight documents and ensure that they are prepared accurately, clearly and in a timely manner。Important shipping documents include bill of lading, shipping documents, packing list, invoice, bill of lading, packing list, port receipt, mate's receipt, etc。
6.A good freight forwarder should understand customs procedures and port operation procedures。Customs declaration of goods import and export is the traditional occupation of freight forwarders。Countries have different provisions on the legal positioning of freight forwarders, but customs agents are usually authorized by the government, and the status of cargo agents is different in the two relationships。The customer (i.e. the owner of the cargo) should consider whether the freight forwarder, in his capacity as a customs agent, is capable of protecting both the customer and customs in the performance of his duties。
Freight forwarders have the functions of handling departure procedures, bonded warehousing, inland customs clearance and other agents, and the operation ability of port operation procedures is very important。In addition, the low freight rates that freight forwarders can offer are also an important factor, and freight forwarders are mainly closely related to liner rates。
Admittedly, when investigating freight forwarders, other factors should also be paid attention to, such as credit, choosing a good freight forwarder, which is crucial to the completion of the trade contract by the shippers。