1) Freight forwarder is the abbreviation of Freight Forwarder, not the actual carrier of the shipping company; since it is an "agent", it will naturally make people think of "middleman". Yes, the freight forwarder is between the cargo owner and the actual carrier. The bridge and link between people, can be said to be the "middleman". The actual carrier generally does not have direct contact with the cargo owner. Some cargo owners with particularly large cargo volume may directly contact the carrier to get the price, but the specific operation must be handled by the freight forwarder.
2) Freight forwarding is essentially the same as third-party logistics (3PL) and freight companies. In practice, it feels like freight companies mainly do domestic freight and freight forwarders mainly do international freight.
- Freight forwarding (the agent of the cargo owner) is different from the shipping agency (the agent of the shipping company) - the shipping agency handles booking, order signing, order modification, container release and other related services on behalf of the shipping company.
4) Freight forwarding is divided into first-level and second-level freight forwarding. First-level freight forwarders have an international freight forwarding qualification certificate issued by the Ministry of Commerce and have US dollar invoices, while second-level freight forwarders generally do not.
5) Ocean shipping first-class freight forwarders can book space directly with shipping companies, but some shipping companies designate a few first-class freight forwarders as booking portals, and other freight forwarders (even first-class freight forwarders) can only book space with these designated first-class freight forwarders. First-class air freight forwarders can book space directly with airlines, but some airlines adopt a general sales agent (GSA) system. Other freight forwarders (even first-class freight forwarders) can only book space with this designated GSA.
6) The main work of a freight forwarder is booking space, customs declaration, land transportation, warehousing and other tasks. They cannot do everything.
7) Customs declarations are not necessarily done by customs brokers. Freight forwarders who have been registered with the customs can also declare. Some freight forwarders specialize in customs declarations, focusing on customs declarations.
- The cargo owner must book space with the carrier (shipping company, airline, railway company) through the freight forwarder. After the carrier receives the order from the cargo owner (shipper), it must ultimately be operated through the freight forwarder.
9) Shipping LCL booking is not made from the shipping company, but through the freight forwarding company. Shipping companies generally do not accept LCL, so the LCL bill of lading received by the cargo owner is generally not the shipping company’s bill of lading (shipowner’s bill), but It is a bill of lading (freight forwarding bill) issued by the LCL freight forwarder itself.
10) Non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) and first-class freight forwarding are essentially the same. But there are differences. NVOCC is definitely a first-class freight forwarder, but first-class freight forwarding is not necessarily NVOCC.
11) The two brands of NVOCC and first-class freight forwarding can be owned by one company at the same time, so it is often seen that some freight companies are both first-class and non-shipping.
12) It cannot be generally said that the first generation is good and the second generation is bad. The second generation has its reasons for existing. First-generation passengers who are eligible for direct bookings do not necessarily get good prices and services. Some second-generation passengers get better prices from first-tier passengers than those from first-tier passengers directly from shipping companies or airlines. The service of the second generation may also be better. Freight forwarding affiliation is very common, and affiliation does not mean it is bad, nor does it mean it has no strength.