Today we will talk about the China shipping agents to USA, let us first understand what is shipping agent?
China shipping agents to USA: What is a shipping agent?
In the China shipping agents to USA, a shipping agent refers to the person entrusted by the carrier to do all the business related to the ship, the main business has the ship in and out of port, freight, supply, and other services. The entrustment and acceptance by the ship’s agent shall be limited to one time per ship and shall be called voyage agency. There is a long-term agency agreement between the ship and the agent, called a long-term agency.
The international freight forwarding industry refers to the industry that accepts the entrustment of import and export cargo consignees, consignors, and other entrusting parties or their agents to organize and handle international cargo transportation and related business and provide value-added logistics services in the field of international cargo circulation in the name of the entrusting party or its name.
In the China shipping agents to USA,What is an international freight forwarder?
The China shipping agents to USA is also called the definition of international freight forwarder: to the international freight forwarding business as the main service of the enterprise is called international freight forwarder.
The International Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations (FIATA) defines its regulations as an international freight forwarder as a person who, at the instruction of the customer, undertakes the transportation for the benefit of the customer, and is not a carrier itself. International freight forwarders may also, by these conditions, engage in activities related to the contract of carriage, such as storage (including storage), customs clearance, acceptance, collection, etc.
Among the China shipping agents to USA, the service scope of international freight forwarder: foreign pick-up, foreign customs clearance, booking space, packing, domestic customs clearance, domestic storage, domestic delivery, etc.
What is the difference between a shipping agent and a freight agent?
The basic responsibility of the forwarder’s responsibility
Perform the transport of the goods as the carrier and assume the responsibility (issue the shipping documents, use the means of transport under its control, or entrust others to complete the transport of the goods, and collect the freight).
The carrier shall not be directly liable for the performance of the carriage of the goods (the carrier shall not be directly liable for the issuance of the shipping documents by another person, the use of the means of transport at his disposal, the hire of the means of transport by another person, or the performance of the carriage of the goods by another person).
When carrying out business activities by the provisions of the agreement or contract concluded with the principal or by the instructions of the principal, the freight forwarder shall perform such entrustment under its usual responsibilities, especially within the scope of authorization.
Report all important matters truthfully. The information and materials provided to the principal during the entrustment shall be true. In case of any loss caused by concealment or false information provided, the principal shall have the right to claim against the freight forwarder and cancel the agency contract or agreement.
Confidentiality obligation. The information obtained by the freight forwarder shall not be disclosed to any third party. At the same time, may not transfer the agency with others.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Different definitions
Freight forwarder China: Full name freight forwarder. Refers to the consignor entrusted to complete the goods in the import and export logistics transportation of a link or related to this link. The common freight forwarding work is air shipping import and export, import customs clearance, import declaration, and so on.
Shipping agency: full name shipping agency. It refers to the procedures and coordination related to the ship’s business to ensure the smooth handling of the cargo. Common shipping agency work: quarantine, trailer, loading and unloading cargo, on behalf of the bill of lading, and so on.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Different responsibilities
Freight forwarder: in essence, it is the same as third-party logistics. It is not the actual carrier of the shipping company, but the consignor of the consignor, who helps the consignor deal with the connection and communication of the goods in the import and export logistics.
Shipping agency: Shipping agency mainly provides a series of specific services for ships and shipping companies.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Different service objects
Amazon freight forwarder: serve the majority of foreign trade, factories, and shippers friends, is the link between shippers and carriers.
Shipping agency: serves the shipping company and is the bridge between the shipping company or carrier and the port.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Other content
Freight forwarder: generally divided into a freight forwarder and two freight forwarders. Primary forwarders can book space directly from the shipping company but are not necessarily qualified to do so, while secondary forwarders are not necessarily inferior to primary forwarders.
Want to see the aptitude of freight agency company specifically and ability. Not all freight forwarders are omnipotent, and not all freight forwarders have the same scope of work.
Shipping agency: LCL booking is made by the forwarder company, the shipping company generally does not accept LCL, so the LCL bill of lading is generally not the shipping company bill of lading.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Do I need a freight forwarder?
There are different options for ordering shipments. Whether you need a particular service depends largely on your business requirements. Here are some options:
Go it alone
Fewer people use travel agents these days, so why not cut out the middleman and arrange the goods yourself, or only with the help of a customs broker?
This is where the travel agency analogy fails. For most goods, it is simply not possible to arrange international shipments by sea or online by sea carriers.
Even without freight forwarders, it is possible, but it is a risky game for non-specialists. Many things can go wrong in shipping, and they often do. You need to cover freight insurance for your products.
Your supplier arranges the entire shipment
Your suppliers may be manufacturing or trading experts, but they won’t be shipping experts.
If they have an arrangement with a local freight forwarder who can manage the entire shipment, it is unlikely that the deal will be much better than what you arranged. Ultimately, suppliers will seek to recoup their costs.
If they charge by freight, they have no incentive to ensure a good freight rate. This means you may be paying inflated shipping charges.
If they offer a sales/shipping package, they may raise the price.
Your supplier arranges shipment to the USA
This is a classic trap that inexperienced importers fall into all the time. Many suppliers offer the service of arranging shipments to US ports. If you add in local shipping costs, that seems like a lot. But there are other costs involved.
This shipping arrangement usually uses one of the “C” inCOterms, especially CIF inCOterm. These incoterms have several drawbacks for importers, including the common situation where importers are subject to cost inflation.
You hire a freight forwarder to arrange shipment from a factory or a foreign port
If the idea of wading through four different options seems too informative, that’s exactly why you should let professionals manage the goods.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Request freight quotation
Are your goods ready for shipment? It’s time to get a freight quote.
Follow this quick list to make sure you take a close look at all the options with the right information:
In the China shipping agents to USA,contact
If the shipment is door-to-door, make sure you have the full pickup address, including the zip code and the entire destination address. Sometimes the zip code will suffice, but the more information the better.
You may need to provide the name of the port of departure. All airports and seaports have international codes (e.g. USLAX in the United States if port to port or port to door Los Angeles Airport.
If someone outside of your company is receiving goods, please be prepared with their contact information.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Weights and measures
Provide the total weight of the shipment. You may still be able to measure in pounds, but suppliers and increasingly freight forwarders measure in kilograms. You can get this information from the packing list.
If your shipment contains multiple boxes, pallets, etc., you will need to itemize the number of each type.
You must provide the total cubic volume, also known as “CBM”. Use this simple cubic meter calculator. If a wizard-type form has a total volume field, you may need to round it to the nearest integer.
In the China shipping agents to USA,Actual weight vs. volume weight
This is not something extra you should prepare before requesting a quote, but it is better to find this out now than to call and ask why you are being cited for the “wrong” weight.
It is usually uneconomic for the carrier to carry relatively light cargoes. The freight industry came up with a formula to charge light cargo at a profitable weight based on its volume.
This perceived weight is called volume weight or volume weight. Use this billing weight calculator to view the quoted weight of your shipment.
In the China shipping agents to USA,The product description
International freight uses HS codes – basically a global index of product types. The official product name and code should be on the commercial invoice, but it is best to check using the HS code lookup tool. It is worth checking carefully as uncorrected errors may cause delays in future customs clearance.
Businesses exporting goods need to know schedule B codes, even though the same large freight forwarder requires that the port of origin for door-to-door shipments also require schedule B codes for imports into the USA.
