The international freight forwarder is sometimes called a transportation consultant because its job is to plan, design and execute an entire international shipment for the exporter. That term aptly describes Nippon Express USA because its freight forwarding operation is devoted to helping exporters plan their international transportation strategies, and then execute these plans through the services of various carriers and other intermediaries to achieve the required performance at the right price.

When the planning is completed and exports are ready to move, Nippon Express’s forwarding reserves and books space on ocean carriers on behalf of its customers, and then arranges for any additional services needed for the land portion of the move to include shipment pickup, cargo transfer to the pier, warehousing services, cargo insurance, and whatever is need to provide true door-to-door service.

Licensing of International Trade & Transportation
Ocean freight forwarders need licenses from various government agencies, and Nippon Express has them all. In the U.S. ocean forwarders are licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). Forwarders with air cargo operations, such as Nippon Express, also need to be accredited by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). Nippon Express also has its customs brokerage division, so these activities are licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Every item imported into the U.S. must be cleared through U.S. Customs, either at inbound port or by special arrangement at an inland point. Nippon Express has its own Customs Brokerage service that can handle all aspects of the clearance paperwork, duty calculation and payment and all other filings required by Customs. With its own Automated Broker Interface to U.S. Customs, Nippon Express can provide all of these services electronically with its state-of-the-art computerized customs clearance and customs brokerage services in all major U.S. markets.

Transportation Analysis and Coordination
Pre-shipment planning is a key element of Nippon Express’ freight forwarding services. It works with its customers to understand its service and cost requirements for all of the freight that it controls, and then advises these customers on the best rates, routings and modes of transporting goods to or from any area in the world. Nippon Express provides this comprehensive service to all its export customers, whether they have very basic shipping requirements or extremely complex international transportation challenges.

While there are many freight forwarders U.S. exporters can choose from, none has the number of skilled professionals located throughout the world, a global information technology system and long-established relationships with every major transportation service on every continent. Nippon Express uses all of these resources, so its customers’ shipments move by the most timely and cost-effective means. It makes sure its customers’ shipments do not fall victim to the many risks of international commerce.

Transportation and Trade Documentation
One of the most important roles of an international freight forwarder is to prepare all necessary transportation documents, and if the customer requires, various trade documents to complete the international transaction. As the customer requires, all documents can be transmitted to anywhere in the world via electronic data interchange (EDI) using Nippon Express’s global information capabilities.

Regulatory Compliance
Since Nippon Express handles just about any type of cargo, its handling of certain items such as hazardous materials, pharmaceuticals, perishables and other foodstuffs, high-technology products each are subject to U.S. and foreign regulatory agencies. Only a forwarder with the resources and experience of Nippon Express can stay on top of constantly changing rules and regulations for many products moving between many countries.

Which ever role a company wants Nippon Express USA to fill, the customer can have confidence that one of the world’s largest and most experience freight companies is in control of the customer’s ocean freight. Every shipment that Nippon Express USA handles is monitored. That shipment status information is available to all customers and their authorized trading partners through the Nippon Express online ocean shipment tracking system.