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Eastern Europe Shipping Blog

Expert tips on smarter shipping between the U.S. and Eastern Europe, including shipping of heavy goods.

Working with freight forwarding companies in New Jersey

I.C.E. Transport | Oct 10, 2024 2:00:00 AM | ocean shipping, freight brokers

 

The Port of New York and New Jersey is now the second-busiest port in the U.S., and the busiest on the East Coast. It handled 7.8 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) in 2023, up 4.4% from pre-pandemic 2019, and has outstripped the Port of Long Beach since 2022. When you ship through a facility of that size, access to local knowledge and connections could save you time and money. So what do you gain when you work with freight forwarders in NJ?

A company’s position on the map isn’t as crucial as it used to be. For instance, since most transactions have gone electronic, you don’t need to hand deliver paperwork to the port or Customs office. However, when you ship cargo through one of New Jersey’s marine terminals, working with a freight forwarder in NJ does give you some extra advantages. Let’s review those advantages.

 

freight forwarding companies in New Jersey

 

Freight forwarders in NJ have close relationships with local truckers

Freight forwarding companies in New Jersey do business with local truckers day after day. Your NJ forwarder knows many of the owners and drivers, with personal relationships that go back years. Sometimes those relationships translate into favors. When capacity grows tight and you need a truck in a hurry, a local forwarder will know exactly who to call.

That forwarder also knows which truckers prefer local moves, who’s always looking for a load to Pittsburgh, who mainly makes runs to South Jersey, or who doesn’t mind crossing the Hudson into New York. A partner with that inside knowledge can find you better rates.

This local knowledge is particularly useful as port congestion increases at East Coast ports – especially at the Port of NY/NJ. In 2021, many shippers shifted part of their container volume from crowded West Coast ports to the East Coast. But with added volume came port congestion, making it harder to get containers off crowded ports from Miami to NY/NJ. 

The 2024 closure of the Port of Baltimore due to the bridge collapse caused shipments to be rerouted to other East Coast ports, including NY/NJ along with ports in Norfolk and Philadelphia. Temporarily, this added to the strain of an already busy shipping hub.

Close, long-standing relationships with local truckers in New Jersey can help you get your containers off the terminals and avoid costly detention and demurrage charges. Those same relationships can allow a local NJ freight forwarder to pre-pull or re-deliver containers to/from the trucker’s own yard at preferable yard storage rates. 

 

Freight forwarders in NJ have an “in” with local warehouses

Shipping a load to the Port of NY/NJ that requires trans-loading can get tricky without the right connections. Say you’re importing several container loads of pipe in bundles, and once it gets to New Jersey you want to transload them into domestic vans or flatbeds. The warehouse your forwarder uses for transloading stopped handling bundled tubing several years ago. But your New Jersey freight forwarder gives that warehouse a lot of business, and the owners are old friends. So, management at the warehouse makes an exception, and you get expert service at a competitive rate.

A local warehouse might also find a way to squeeze in your cargo even when the facility is busy or short on space – thanks to its close relationship with a freight forwarder in New Jersey.

In another scenario, freight forwarding companies in New Jersey often partner with local operators with on-dock or port-area facilities that enable handling of heavyweight containers. This can facilitate deliveries in the Tri-State area or connection to rail for heavyweight delivery in the Midwest. 

 

Freight forwarding companies in New Jersey know the ocean carriers

The Port of NY/NJ is an extremely busy hub, with large ocean freight carriers offering multiple sailings per week. A shipper can easily become bewildered by the dizzying array of options available.

An experienced New Jersey freight forwarder has tight relationships with all the carriers and mega alliances, knows their schedules and ports of call, and their current rates. Armed with this information, they can offer shippers the most economical sailings that meet their timelines, whether capacity is tight or flush.  

 

In-person extras

Even in a world of e-mail, internet portals and electronic data interchange (EDI), physical proximity sometimes lets your forwarder offer a special service. Say you’re expecting a shipment of out-of-gauge cargo at Port Newark, and you’re concerned about damage. A New Jersey freight forwarder can send someone from its office to inspect the cargo in person, take pictures and send them to you before the product goes onto a truck.

Freight forwarders in NJ also offer an advantage when you ship a motor vehicle overseas. That’s probably the only time when you need to clear Customs on the export side, and one of the few cases when you might need to present physical paperwork. A New Jersey freight forwarder can send an employee to hand-deliver your export clearance documents, making sure you present those papers before the deadline set by your shipping line.

A forwarder in another region will probably use a courier to make the delivery. That’s perfectly fine. But when a freight forwarding company in New Jersey personally delivers your documents, you gain additional peace of mind.

Another advantage of a New Jersey freight forwarder is they can have their customs broker representative present during U.S. Customs inspections. If there are any questions about the cargo, their on-site presence helps resolve them quickly. For instance, they can quickly handle complex compliance or Customs documentation, especially for shipments that require precise timing, such as hazardous materials.

Freight forwarding companies in New Jersey can also arrange for direct pickups from local warehouses, ensuring that items are loaded safely and meet regulatory requirements. They can also oversee the delivery process to make sure there aren’t issues with the cargo reaching its destination.

 

NVOCC vs. freight forwarder

It’s likely wise to look for a forwarder that is also a licensed Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC), meaning they take on full legal responsibility for the cargo from point of origin to destination, and issue their own bill of lading. 

In addition, an NVOCC like New-Jersey based forwarder I.C.E. Transport contracts directly with the ocean carrier for space on its vessels, then sells it to shippers. If you use a freight forwarder that is not an NVOCC, you’re responsible for negotiating the freight rate yourself. And because NVOCCs work with multiple shippers and commit large volumes to ocean carriers, they have greater buying power and the ability to offer discounted rates.

Freight forwarders often charge for their services after negotiating each element of the transportation process separately, while NVOCCs can add a profit percentage onto contracted carrier rates they've already secured. NVOCCs are permitted to do this, based on their Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) license from the Federal Maritime Commission, while freight forwarders can only add operational fees.

 


A New Jersey freight forwarder helps with oversized shipments

When I.C.E. Transport helped a buyer in Poland transport a CNC (computer numerical control) machine from the seller’s location in Maine, no single carrier could handle the complex move. I.C.E. Transport found a rigging company to retrieve and crate the machine. But it was not feasible to move the machine over the road on the flat rack container that would be needed to load the cargo on the ship.

Thanks to a long-standing relationship with a warehouse in New Jersey, I.C.E. Transport was able to piece together the perfect combination of services. The rigging company transported the CNC machine from Maine on a step deck trailer. At the warehouse, employees transferred the load to a flat rack, blocked and braced the crate, and had it trucked the short distance to the port. With just one phone call, the Polish customer found an efficient and cost-effective solution – and working with a freight forwarder in NJ helped. 

 

The real scoop on local terminals

It’s hard to predict when congestion will become a problem at a particular ocean terminal. But if you stumble into congestion unaware, you could be in for a major headache. To make up for time the driver loses sitting in line, a trucker might add $150 or $175 to its basic rate. Some truckers might refuse to take loads to that terminal altogether until things clear up.

A freight forwarder in NJ does business with the ports day after day and stays aware of conditions at each terminal in the Port of NY/NJ. When it comes time to book your load, that forwarder’s advice can save you time and money. For example, if the APM Terminal facility is unusually crowded, it might be smarter to book your cargo with a carrier that calls Maher Terminal home. 

 

With so many freight forwarding companies in New Jersey, how do you choose the right one?

Conduct all your usual due diligence. On top of that, look for longevity in a forwarder. If they’ve worked in the NY/NJ market for many years, they have had time to cultivate a rich network of local partners, close relationships and the expertise of a true insider.

I.C.E. Transport has operated as a New Jersey freight forwarder since 1987. Since then, it has expanded to offer international shipping between the U.S. and all of Eastern, Central and Western Europe. To discuss how we can assist you with our full range of services, in New Jersey or anywhere else, get in touch today with one of our experts.

 

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