The logistics industry is closely linked, and the knowledge of freight transportation is something that every logistics person needs to understand. If you can master the entire industry chain, it will be like a godsend for your future development. In the shipping business, we often hear about freight forwarding and shipping agency, and TJ CHINA FREIGHT will introduce them to you.
Shipping agency, that is, the unit that acts as an agent for business related to ships, and its scope of work includes handling water diversion, quarantine, tugboat, berthing, loading and unloading, materials, certificates, etc. The shipping agent is responsible for the ship business, handles the ship import and export procedures, coordinates the ship and port departments to ensure the smooth progress of loading and unloading, and completes the ship’s entrusted matters, such as replacement of crew, materials, food supplies, ship voyage repairs, etc. Sometimes the ship will also entrust the shipping agent to sign the bill of lading.
Freight forwarding is a freight forwarder, not the actual carrier of the shipping company. Freight forwarding, logistics (third party), and freight companies are essentially the same. A freight forwarder is different from a shipping agent. The shipping agent can handle booking, signing, changing the order, and releasing containers on behalf of the shipping company, which are functions that the freight forwarder does not have.
Here are some differences between freight forwarding and shipping agency in detail:
- Different definitions
Freight forwarding: The full name is freight forwarding. Refers to the entrustment of the owner to complete a certain link in the import and export logistics transportation of goods or a link related to this. Common freight forwarding work includes import and export by air, import customs clearance, import declaration and so on.
Shipping Agency: The full name is Shipping Agency. It refers to the formalities and coordination work related to the ship business, and ultimately ensures the smooth progress of cargo loading and unloading. Common shipping agency work includes: quarantine, towing, loading and unloading cargo, signing bills of lading, etc.
- Different responsibilities
The freight forwarder is essentially the same as the third-party logistics. It is not the actual carrier of the shipping company, but the consignor of the cargo owner, helping the cargo owner to handle the connection and communication of the cargo in the import and export logistics. The shipping agency mainly provides a series of specific services for ships and shipping companies.
- Different service objects
Freight Forwarder: Serving the vast number of foreign trade, factories and cargo owner friends, it is the link between the cargo owner and the carrier.
Shipping Agency: Serving the shipping company, it is a bridge between the shipping company or the carrier and the port.
- Others
Freight forwarding: generally divided into first-level freight forwarding and second-level freight forwarding. The first-level freight forwarder can directly book space with the shipping company, but it is not necessarily qualified to book space, and the second-level freight forwarder is not necessarily worse than the first-level freight forwarder. It depends on the qualification and ability of the freight forwarding company. Not all freight forwarders are omnipotent, and not all freight forwarders have the same scope of work.
Shipping agency: The LCL booking is made by the freight forwarding company, and the shipping company generally does not accept LCL, so the LCL bill of lading is generally not the shipping company’s bill of lading.
Generally speaking, the shipping agent is not the same as the freight forwarding agent. The freight forwarding agent may be the shipping agent, and the shipping agent must be the freight forwarding agent. The choice of the freight forwarding agent mainly depends on its service. After the service is the price, so the freight forwarder with good cost performance is the first choice! TJ China Freight hopes to provide you with satisfactory service and a more cost-effective choice!
