Dalian Domestic Shipping Agency Freight Knowledge Dry Goods
The logistics industry is interconnected, and freight knowledge is something that every logistics person needs to understand. Mastering the entire industry chain is even more helpful for future development. We often hear about freight forwarders and shipping agents in ocean freight business. Dalian domestic shipping agency will introduce these two to you.
A shipping agent is a unit that acts as an agent for businesses related to ships. Its scope of work includes handling water diversion, quarantine, tugboat towing, berthing, loading and unloading of goods, materials, documents, etc. The shipping agent is responsible for ship business, handling ship import and export procedures, coordinating with the ship owner and various departments at the port to ensure smooth loading and unloading of goods. In addition, they complete the ship owner's assigned tasks, such as changing crew members, materials, catering supplies, ship repairs, etc. Sometimes the shipping company may also entrust a shipping agent to sign the bill of lading on their behalf.
Freight forwarders are freight forwarders, not actual carriers of shipping companies. The essence of freight forwarders and logistics (third parties) is the same as that of freight companies. Freight forwarders are different from shipping agents. Shipping agents can represent shipping companies in handling tasks such as booking, signing documents, modifying orders, and releasing containers, which are functions that freight forwarders do not possess.
Below is a detailed introduction to the differences between freight forwarders and shipping agents by domestic shipping agencies in Dalian:
1. Different definitions
Freight forwarder: The full name is freight forwarder. It refers to the completion of a certain stage of the import and export logistics transportation of goods, or related to it, at the commission of the shipper. Common freight forwarding work includes air and sea freight import and export, import customs clearance, import customs declaration, and so on.
Ship agent: The full name is ship agent. It refers to the procedures and coordination work related to ship business, ultimately ensuring the smooth loading and unloading of goods. Common shipping agency work includes quarantine, towing, loading and unloading of goods, and signing bills of lading on behalf of others.
2. Different responsibilities
Freight forwarders are essentially the same as third-party logistics, not the actual carriers of shipping companies, but rather the consignors of shipowners, helping them handle the connection and communication of goods in import and export logistics. And shipping agents mainly provide a series of specific services for ships and shipping companies.
3. Different service targets
Freight forwarder: Serving a wide range of foreign trade, factories, and shipowner friends, it is the link between shipowners and carriers.
Shipping agent: Serving the shipping company, it is the bridge between the shipping company or carrier and the port.
4. Other
Freight forwarder: generally divided into first level freight forwarder and second level freight forwarder. A first tier freight forwarder can directly book shipping from the shipping company, but may not be qualified to book, and a second tier freight forwarder may not necessarily be inferior to a first tier freight forwarder. It depends on the qualifications and capabilities of the freight forwarding company. Not all freight forwarders are versatile, and not all freight forwarders have the same scope of work.
Shipping agent: LCL booking is booked by the freight forwarding company, and shipping companies generally do not accept LCL, so LCL bills of lading are generally not shipping company bills of lading.
In general, a shipping agent is not equal to a freight forwarder. A freight forwarder may be a shipping agent, and a shipping agent must be a freight forwarder. Choosing a freight forwarder mainly depends on their service, followed by price. Therefore, a freight forwarder with good cost-effectiveness is preferred! Dalian domestic shipping agency hopes to provide you with satisfactory service and a more cost-effective choice!
