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Ocean Freight Forwarders & Everything You Need to Know About the Ocean Freight Forwarding Process

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Ocean Freight Forwarding Companies

Sending a letter in the mail is easy — envelope, stamp, mailbox.

International freight? Not so much.

Thankfully, there are ocean freight companies that can facilitate the process, enabling you to get your goods where they need to go stress-free.

But, similar to the postal service, there are different routes you can take to deliver your goods; from Express to air and ocean.

In this article, you will learn the benefits of an ocean freight forwarder and how to determine if ocean freight is right for you.

What is an Ocean Freight Forwarder?

A freight forwarder is a person or company with the know-how to safely and effectively transport your freight from point A to point B.

While freight forwarders don’t generally own the trucks, ships, or airplanes necessary to move your cargo, they serve as middlemen who know every step of the complicated shipping process and can ensure that your goods get to their destination.

Some forwarders specialize in air freight, while others work exclusively with ocean freight.

An ocean freight forwarder specializes in moving freight via cargo ships. This specialization enables ocean forwarders to know precisely how to complete any shipment and build the relationships necessary to get the best ocean rates, which they can then pass on to their customers.

Ocean Freight Forwarding Services

Despite how crucial freight is to the world economy, it’s a pretty difficult field to navigate.

That’s why even the most seasoned of shipping professionals rely on a sea freight forwarder’s services for their ocean shipments.

An ocean forwarder knows what goods can be shipped, the correct procedures for shipping them, all of the paperwork required for shipping, how to get your cargo on a vessel, and what to do in case something goes wrong.

That means that with the right ocean freight forwarding services, you can be confident that your freight is in good hands and worry about the more important parts of your business.

Looking to compare ocean freight quotes?

Does an ocean forwarder charge less than an air forwarder?

Unsurprisingly, ocean rates are less expensive than air rates. But there are tradeoffs.

If speed is a priority, you may want to look elsewhere. Ocean shipments take over one month to be delivered, whereas air shipments take a few days.

Reliability is also a factor that should be considered. While air shipments run on a very tight schedule, it’s not uncommon for freight ships to take longer than expected to embark.

That said, there is a reason why 90% of cargo is sent via the ocean. It is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to send goods internationally. It’s also the best (and sometimes only) way to send oversized and hazardous items.

How do I calculate ocean freight rates?

You can calculate ocean freight costs and fees by using our freight rate calculator. Simply enter your dimensions and weight to get an instant estimate. If your shipment is large enough, you may want to look into container rates.

If you’re ready to book a shipment, you can log in to Freightos for an instant freight quote.

Who are the Top and Best Ocean Freight Forwarders?

Ocean freight, integral to global trade, thrives in a fragmented market, with the top ten ocean forwarders commanding just 43% of the industry. Our list of premier ocean freight forwarders helps navigate this complex landscape. These firms are renowned for their reliability, superior customer service, global presence, and innovative solutions. They excel in managing logistics, optimizing supply chains, and ensuring efficient cargo transportation. The right choice depends on individual needs, cargo type, destinations, and regulatory compliance. Careful evaluation and due diligence are essential for selecting the perfect partner for your ocean shipping requirements.

See our list of some of the best ocean freight forwarders below:

Kuehne + Nagel
A clear leader, whose ocean freight revenues are estimated to be around 65% larger than its nearest rival. But in a highly fragmented market, its share is estimated at just 9.2%.
DHL Global Forwarding
Although coming in second, DHL’s ocean freight revenue is smaller than their air and truck operations. In 2015, DHL Global Forwarding ocean freight revenue reached $3,850M.
Sinotrans
China’s largest freight forwarder is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange but is wholly owned by the government. Much of its ocean freight business takes place in the coastal cities of Eastern China.
DB Schenker
Headquartered in Germany, the freight giant employs nearly 100,000 employees around the world. In 2015, its ocean freight volumes were 1,942m TEUs.
DSV
The Danish company’s acquisition of another leading sea forwarder UTi approximately doubled the ocean freight forwarding revenues of DSV a year ago. Their 835,487 TEUs of ocean freight in 2015 brought in $1,7580 m in revenue.

The post Ocean Freight Forwarders & Everything You Need to Know About the Ocean Freight Forwarding Process appeared first on Freightos.

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FBA Calculator: Amazon Shipping Calculator

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How to Estimate Amazon Freight Rates

Calculating potential Amazon FBA freight costs? This Amazon FBA shipping calculator returns shipping estimates from the supplier address, or nearest port, shipping directly to Amazon fulfillment centers. This tool is perfect for freight forwarders. Not shipping to an Amazon warehouse? Use our general freight rate calculator. Check estimated transit times with our freight transit time calculator. Find a list of Amazon FBA Fulfillment Centers with this map of Amazon FBA warehouse locations.

Select whether you are shipping full containers or boxes/pallets.

Enter your load dimensions, weight, quantities, origin, and Amazon fulfillment center.

Search!

About the Amazon FBA Shipping Calculator

Use this Amazon FBA Calculator, specially designed for Amazon FBA shipments, to calculate shipping costs from your supplier’s factory to an Amazon fulfillment center location. Amazon has strict requirements regarding international shipments and Freightos has built these requirements into its quoting process.

Unlike any other freight rate estimator, Freightos’ freight rate calculator and Amazon FBA calculator use real freight data to calculate instant, all-in freight quotes, including surcharges and freight costs. This calculation takes into account dimensional weight. Our data is based on live freight rates from dozens of global freight forwarders, helping us provide you with accurate, real-time quotes.

What’s Included in the Amazon FBA Shipping Calculator

The Amazon Shipping Calculator includes all fees and surcharges available for trucking, air and ocean shipping. It does not include customs duties associated with specific commodities. Since this estimator is unique in that it relies on live data from real freight companies, it may not have global coverage for every route you search.

If you’re looking for fully binding quotes that you can book online, check out the Freightos Marketplace.

The post FBA Calculator: Amazon Shipping Calculator appeared first on Freightos.

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Unifying the Freightos Identity – ONE Freightos: Building One Company

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Global supply chains are becoming increasingly digital, AI is accelerating how work gets done, and customers are no longer looking for standalone software to solve individual problems. They increasingly expect connected platforms that bring together data, workflows, and decision-making across the entire freight lifecycle.

That shift requires a different kind of technology partner.

Over the past several months, we have been evolving our operation as a company. We have simplified decision-making, strengthened accountability, aligned teams around shared priorities, and focused our investments behind a common vision. Internally, we call this ONE Freightos.

Today, our external identity is evolving to reflect that same reality.

Bringing our products together under a single Freightos brand is not simply a branding exercise. It is the natural next step in building one company, and delivering an interconnected digital ecosystem where data and workflows operate seamlessly. .

An Evolution of Scale: Matching the Industry’s Shifting Needs

Over the past decade, Freightos has built one of the world’s largest digital freight networks, connecting carriers, freight forwarders, importers, exporters, and logistics providers across global trade.

Along the way, we expanded our capabilities through innovation, strategic acquisitions, and the development of specialized products serving different parts of the freight ecosystem.

Those products have been successful because they solve meaningful customer problems.

But as the industry evolves, customers increasingly expect something bigger than individual solutions.

They want a trusted technology partner that helps them make better decisions, connect more easily with trading partners, automate more workflows, and operate more efficiently across the entire logistics journey.

That is exactly where Freightos is headed.

Our ambition is not simply to offer great logistics software. Our ambition is to build the connected platform where procurement, pricing, booking, payments, data, and decision intelligence work together to help customers move freight more efficiently.

Brand unification is an important milestone on that journey.

A Simpler Experience for Customers

As our capabilities have grown, so has the number of brands representing different parts of our business.

Each of these brands has built deep trust within its respective segment. However, as these capabilities become more interconnected, bringing our portfolio together under the Freightos name makes it easier for our partners to unlock the full value of our network. This creates a simpler and more consistent experience making it easier for customers to understand who we are, what we offer, and how our solutions work together as a platform.

To support that vision, our products will now clearly reflect the customers they serve:

Freightos for Forwarders – our digital platform for freight forwarders, bringing together Rate & Quote, Booking, Sales Portal, Payments, and other workflow solutions under a single experience.

Freightos for Airlines – our technology platform enabling airlines with digital distribution, interlining, eBooking, and payment capabilities.

7LFreight by Freightos – our North American domestic freight procurement platform. Given its strong market recognition, it will initially retain its identity while becoming more deeply connected to the Freightos platform before full integration.

Freightos Enterprise – our enterprise procurement, tender management, and market intelligence platform for multinational importers and exporters.

Freightos Marketplace – our marketplace connecting importers and exporters with freight forwarders through instant pricing, booking, and shipment management.

Our public digital presence is now centered around freightos.com, providing a single destination to discover our platform and solutions.

For existing customers, nothing changes operationally. Accounts, logins, integrations, contracts, and workflows remain exactly as they are today.

Built Around the Success of Forwarders

Throughout this evolution, one principle remains unchanged.

Freightos succeeds when our customers succeed.

That is especially true for the freight forwarding community, which remains at the center of our strategy.

Everything we build is designed to help forwarders work more efficiently, connect with more carriers, automate more of their operations, and deliver better experiences to their own customers.

By bringing our capabilities together, we can deliver greater value than any individual product could on its own.

More Than a New Brand

This announcement is about much more than a new name or a new website.

It reflects the company Freightos has become—and the company we are continuing to build.

ONE Freightos is our operating model. It is how we execute, how we innovate, and how we create value for customers.

By bringing our products, teams, and customer experience together under one identity, we can focus our investments, accelerate innovation, simplify engagement, and deliver an increasingly connected experience across global freight.

Our vision remains clear.

To build the platform that connects the global freight ecosystem through better data, smarter workflows, and more intelligent decision-making.

This brand evolution is another important milestone on that journey.

And we’re just getting started.

The post Unifying the Freightos Identity – ONE Freightos: Building One Company appeared first on Freightos.

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Air Waybill (AWB): Meaning, Number, Types, and Examples

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What is an air waybill (AWB)?

An air waybill, also called an air consignment note, is a required shipping document for air freight. It contains detailed information about your shipment and allows it to be tracked.

An AWB is a legally binding document when signed by all relevant parties.

Here is some of the information found in an AWB:

Carrier details
Consignor/shipper details
Consignee/receiver details
Origin airport code
Destination airport code
Quantity of items (number of packages or pallets)
Description of goods (weight, dimensions, condition)
HS code
Value of goods for customs clearance
Special handling instruction, if required
Payment information and shipping charges
Insurance details
Contract terms and conditions
Date, time, and place of contract execution
An 11-digit number

What is an air waybill used for?

Used for both domestic and international air freight forwarding, the AWB serves a number of functions:

Invoice or bill of freight
Contract between carrier and shipper
Proof of receipt by the carrier
Certificate of insurance for air freight
Essential document for customs declaration
Instrument to convey handling instructions

How can you get an air waybill?

For air shipments, the carrier and freight forwarders provide the air waybills. If you are an importer or exporter, your freight forwarder will share the air waybill with you.

Every international air waybill is issued in at least eight sets of different colors:

Green: Carrier’s copy
Blue: Shipper’s copy
Pink: Receiver’s copy
Yellow or Brown: Receipt of goods
White: 4 or more copies for various purposes, such as customs and airport

Looking for air freight quotes?

What is an air waybill number?

An air waybill number (AWB number) is a unique identification code used to track your shipment. It is an 11-digit number divided into three parts. Here’s an air waybill example:

AWB NUMBER
11-digits
99953729071

First three digits
Carrier / Airline prefix
999

Next seven digits
Serial number of AWB
5372907

Last digit
Check digit. This number is equal to the remainder when the 7-digit serial number is divided by 7. For example, when 5372907 is divided by 7, the remainder is 1.
1

What are the different types of air waybills?

There are two types of air waybills: master air waybill (MAWB) and house air waybill (HAWB).

A MAWB is issued by a carrier to a freight forwarder. It can include a number of different shipments because when freight forwarders book freight with a carrier, they consolidate shipments and book them together. The MAWB is the forwarder’s contract with the carrier for all of those shipments.

A HAWB is issued by the freight forwarder to each individual importer or exporter after their shipment is picked up. It includes only their specific goods.

Here are some more details about these different types of air waybills:

Master Air Waybill (MAWB)
House Air Waybill (HAWB)

Has the airline or carrier’s logo
Does not have the carrier logo

Issued by the actual carrier or their agent
Issued by the freight forwarder

States the terms and conditions of the carrier
States the terms and conditions of the forwarding company

Contains only one number: the MAWB number
Contains two numbers: HAWB and MAWB

Adheres to IATA rules or any of the international air conventions
May or may not be subject to regulations put forth by IATA or other international air conventions

Air waybill vs bill of lading

An air waybill is similar to a bill of lading (BoL): both are contracts issued by freight carriers. However, air waybills are used only for air freight and bills of lading are used for ocean freight as well as rail and other freight.

Here are some more differences between an air waybill and bill of lading:

Air Waybill (AWB)
Bill of Lading (BoL)

Used for air freight
Used for ocean, road, and rail freight

Non-negotiable
Can be negotiable or non-negotiable

Signed by shipper and carrier
Signed by shipper, carrier, and receiver

Acts as a legal contract of carriage
Acts as a title and receipt of delivered goods

Not used with Incoterms: FAS, FOB, CIF, and CFR
Can be used with all incoterms

Calculate air freight costs for your next shipment

The post Air Waybill (AWB): Meaning, Number, Types, and Examples appeared first on Freightos.

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