Freight Forwarder

A freight forwarder is a company that specializes in arranging the movement of goods internationally – coordinating ocean, air, rail, and ground transportation across multiple countries, customs jurisdictions, and regulatory environments. Unlike a domestic freight broker who matches a shipper with a truck, a forwarder orchestrates complex, multileg shipments that may involve consolidation at origin, ocean or air transit, customs brokerage, deconsolidation, and final-mile delivery in the destination country.

Freight forwarders handle the documentation that makes international trade possible: commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, bills of lading (ocean or air), customs declarations, and any commodity-specific documentation like phytosanitary certificates for food products or dangerous goods declarations for hazmat. They manage Incoterms compliance – ensuring both buyer and seller understand where responsibility and risk transfer – and coordinate with customs brokers to clear goods through import and export authorities.

For shippers moving goods internationally, a forwarder's value lies in their knowledge of trade lanes, carrier relationships, and regulatory requirements that would be impractical to maintain in-house. A good forwarder knows which ocean carriers offer the best rates and reliability on your specific lanes, which ports are experiencing congestion, how to classify your products for the lowest legal duty rates, and how to structure shipments to avoid costly compliance errors. They also offer freight consolidation – combining your less-than-container-load shipment with other shippers' goods to achieve better ocean or air rates.

The freight forwarding industry ranges from global integrators like DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, and DB Schenker that handle end-to-end international logistics, down to regional specialists focused on specific trade lanes or commodities. Many forwarders also hold NVOCC authority, allowing them to issue their own bills of lading for ocean shipments.