When attempting to discover international business opportunities, there are many areas worth examining that are necessary in the vast industry surrounding cargo shipping. If a person can successfully break in to this business, however, the potential gain is immense. Simply consider that world trade has averaged twice as much growth for decades than production. Trade supports roughly 9.7 million jobs in the United States and has lifted Asia out of poverty, giving it the fastest growing economy and making it twice as wealthy as Africa. Given that level of global importance, and the money that drives it, it should surprise no one that the trade industry attracts new investors. Here is a highlight of one area of this industry, freight forwarding and three services they offer.
What Are Freight Forwarding Companies?
These are the businesses contracted to perform the export shipping and related services services for companies that either cannot or will not arrange this for themselves.
Some Shipping Related Services:
- Warehousing: The storage of goods prior to export or distribution not only is a necessity, it also is an organizational maze and a significant expense. Forwarding companies are able to dedicate time and resources to streamlining this process, making them cost efficient.
- Document preparation: Any interaction between nations generally produces mounds of paperwork, and cargo shipping is no different. International shipping companies are better able to navigate the different forms of documentation because they often need those forms on a day to day basis.
- Insurance: As the provider of the shipping, such a company would have a realistic idea of how much insurance a freight actually needs. This would prevent the uninsured damage possible with too little insurance and the waste of money that is purchasing too much.
No decision will be correct for every business, some will scoure the freight forwarders directory for the best and use every service they offer. Others will handle international trading in house. Most will fall somewhere in between, using the freight forwarders directory as a useful tool, not their last life line.
