Freight Forwarder Business Startup
How to Start, Run & Grow a Successful Freight Forwarding Business
The global freight forwarding market has been seeing a steady growth of around 5% for last four years in a row now. This trend is expected to continue and grow bigger. With all the new trade deals like TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), TAP (Trans-Atlantic Partnership) and many other similar trade deals between countries are bringing the whole world into one marketplace.
According to Transportation Intelligence, a leading logistics research firm, in 2013 the freight forwarding industry was at 129 Billion, but as of today, it has grown by another 16-20 billion more.
This is an industry that in my opinion still in its infancy, with TPP, TAP and many other global trade agreements, the need for such services will grow higher every year.
Another rapid growth I see in this business is from all the Amazon FBA(Fulfilled By Amazon) business owners, most of who buy their merchandise from China. Now Amazon never accepts merchandise directly from a foreign country, so each and every piece of merchandise has to come through a freight forwarder/broker. This way the merchandise can get relabeled and shipped to various Amazon warehouses.
In This Book You Will Learn:
- What is a Freight Forwarder
- What Is Freight Forwarding Business
- Types of Freight Forwarders
- Steps To Becoming A Freight Forwarder
- How to get started
- How and Where to Get Trained
- What Courses You Should Take
- How To Setup Your Business
- Legal Factors
- Freight Forwarder Licenses
- Steps to FMCSA Registration
- Insurance Requirements
- Running a Freight Forwarding Business
- Trading Condition and Limiting Liability
- How To Promote & Grow Your Business
- The Elements of Price Quote
- Links to all forms and applications
But one word of caution, please don’t think reading this book will be enough to get started as a freight forwarder, it takes some training either on the job (like I did) or formal school or online training to get started in this business. In this book, I shared some of the resources that are available for you to get started.
If you are thinking about getting into this business, trust me when I say this, there is not a better time than now to get started. Do your research, get educated, get started.
Good luck!
In 1995, three years after graduating high school and enrolled in MGCCC (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College) to study business, but after two semesters, I lost my motivation and drive to finish school. Around that time I got a job at a mid-size freight brokerage company in New Orleans as a data entry clerk. I was getting paid $7.50 an hour and had a desk and a chair, much better than doing landscaping work that I did for two long years. Once I started, I started liking the industry and started learning the ropes. By 2001, I had two promotions, and I was working as an associate broker, dealing mostly with clients in the mid-west regions. Fast forward two more years, I was transferred to their new business wing of freight forwarding division as the lead manager. In just 18 months I shaped their freight forwarding company and took it to a new level where the revenue increase was 217% over previous two years. By then I knew this was what I was meant to do, and around the end of 2008, I gave my notice and left my job right before Christmas. In March of 2009, I opened up my own freight brokerage and forwarding company. Since I knew both ends of this business, I knew having both wings I can entertain a large client base. Lo behold, in June of 2014, I got an offer from a large logistics brokerage company that showed interest in buying my business, it was an offer I just could not refuse, we closed the deal in just three months. The only drawback to the deal was where I had to sign a non-compete agreement with them, which meant I could not open, operate or work for any other freight brokerage or logistics related company for next five years. But the agreement never said I couldn't write a book about it. So here I am.
