How to be the Good Freight Forwarder?

Freight forwarder with goods manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors work to ensure safe and efficient and timely transportation of the vast loads of goods finally sold in the market. These professionals also work on methods of moving content from one place to another, and the amount received as part of the profit is called freight brokerage. Freight brokers have been in the trucking business since the early 20th century. You need to complete courses of freight forwarding to becoming a freight forwarder.

The freight forwarder is a transport intermediary, neither the shippers nor the asset owner, who plays a major role in moving the goods. These professionals with freight forwarding leverage their knowledge, investments and resources to help shipping and carrier companies.

Licensed freight brokers can be companies or individuals that match the carrier with the shippers for a fee. According to research, there are over 1,000,000 licensed brokers in the United States, and only about 100 per cent of them operate full-time. Brokers are people who provide valuable services for both motor carriers and shippers. They help freighters load goods into trucks and earn commissions for their efforts. Some companies use brokers as their traffic department and rely entirely on them to coordinate their shipping requirements.

Environment-friendly freight forwarding

Over the past decade, environmental concerns and the threat of global warming have entered the mainstream. Green issues are at the top of the political agenda and ‘Tree Huggers’ is no longer just a concern. This is certainly for the most part because the fact of climate change is no longer for discussion. Now most scientists agree that the future of the planet is in danger as temperatures behave more erratically due to pollution.

We have seen entrepreneurs entering law books on 'green bandwagon' and environmental issues. This puts pressure on the freight forwarding industry to reduce pollution levels and adopt more environmentally friendly systems.

Indeed, a recent report the way goods are transported in and around is not really very green. This is partly because of the dominance of roads as a way to carry fares. In fact, road transport accounts for about 70% of all forwarding. The report states that this will have to change in favour of more environmentally friendly transport methods.

Rail forwarding is one way the report advises emphasizing roads. Another suggestion to reduce the impact of road traffic was to try to reduce congestion by adding carless lanes on major roads. Another idea reported in the report is that the freight company that allows the use of red diesel using trucks on forest roads. This fuel is used in refrigeration, household heating systems and agricultural appliances and is seen as greener than other fuels.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, the freight industry needs to look at what it does in all areas of its operation, from the type of transportation it takes to make sure it adopts a greener approach. Although freight forwarder does not require any formal training, there are some institutes that provide knowledge on the subject. Such an institution, like a JSB Academy, not only provides information about the profession but also gives certificates to students who successfully complete the courses of freight forwarder.