Air Freight and Cargo
Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on Air Freight and Cargo
No business can operate without transportation for raw goods and products to their facility or transportation for shipping finished products to retailers or clients long distance. Without a doubt, the trucking industry is a great ally in accomplishing this feat, but most companies can't do without the services of effective and efficient air freight and cargo companies. In many cases, it is cheaper and more convenient to ship items air freight and allow the trucking companies to distribute your company's products from there. Air cargo companies typically have schedules and systems in place to provide a lot of options to their customers.
With a good air freight and cargo company you can expect most of your product transportation needs to be met. These companies offer space on well cared airplanes, flown by qualified pilots all over the country, and in some places the world. You can easily schedule pickup or delivery from your company's facility to go to or come from national or international business locations. Most of the cargo companies provide insurance coverage to ensure your company's items are delivered in good condition or the freight company takes care of the cost.
You will find resources from Business.com on the left of the page.
Air Freight and Cargo for Small Business
Move your business into high gear with consistent, quality air freight and air cargo servicesBy Greg Brown For any small business, the killer is usually time and distance (either of which -- you guessed it -- equals money). Parts, supplies and materials need air cargo transport to get to your small business, and finished products need to leave and get to customers.
Air freight transportation can do lot to solve the supply chain problem, and there are more air freight options than ever for small business. Air freight and air cargo are generally the same thing -- an airline that does logistics either exclusively or in conjunction with a passenger business, an air courier, or an air cargo company that operates only cargo planes.
In this guide, you will learn:
1. How to find an airline air freight company, aka common carrier shipping
2. When to consider an air courier
3. Hiring help with air cargo industry logistics and air freight transportation
4. Getting across borders with air cargo and air freight
5. How to price air cargo transport and air freight rates
By definition, air cargo transport is a wide business category
Nearly every passenger airline has a air cargo company division these days (all that extra baggage room means more money) and there are hundreds of air cargo companies as well. Booking common carrier shipping space is first a matter of finding a company going your route, then getting bids.
Try: See exhaustive lists of air cargo carriers at International Air Transport Association, International Air Cargo Association, Air Cargo World or by country at AZFreight.com. See, too, the air cargo listings at Business.com.
Air cargo is, increasingly, a job for global parcel shippers
Once up on time, express air courier services focused mostly on letters and contracts, expecting to one-up the post office on speed. As competitors have poured in (and the Postal Service got more serious), they have branched out into domestic and international air cargo. Air courier companies now handle bigger packages, do customs work and provide all manner of tracking, insurance and logistics services.
Try: Some of the major names in express package delivery that also have full-fledged air freight and air cargo transport service include DHL, UPS, TNT, Federal Express. Even (to a degree) the United States Postal Service has gotten into the act. See additional air freight and air cargo company choices at the Business.com directory on air courier companies.
Hiring help with air freight and air cargo jobs
If your supply chain is global or complex, or even if it's domestic and hard to manage, you can offload a lot of the air cargo transport management to professionals who do third-party logistics and to freight forwarders who work to get your goods coming or going on time, in time.
Try: Some of the better known providers of logistics support include Kuehne + Nagel, APL Logistics, Bax Global, Cardinal Logistics and Panalpina, as well as logistics divisions of major couriers like DHL, UPS, TNT, and Federal Express. See more on intermediaries in the air freight and air cargo business on the Business.com pages on air cargo industry third-party logistics and freight forwarders.
Sending cargo, air, land or ocean, often means crossing borders
The part of the air freight and air cargo equation that usually kills a supply chain -- and drains out profit -- is getting through stuff through Customs. Air freight transportation has definitely not gotten easier since heightened U.S. security restrictions after Sept. 11, either.
Try: There are thousands of individual Customs brokers (or companies, called Customs brokerages) doing the work of making sure your imports and exports meet U.S. federal laws regulating the air cargo industry and promulgated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. See a member directory at the National Customs Broker and Forwarders Association of America. Your courier or third-party logistics expert probably already has a regular Customs broker or provides the service. There's more information on customs brokers for air cargo transport at Business.com.
- Absolutely include a serious analysis of air cargo transport in any business plan that involves import-export. A weak analysis of air freight rates can sink a small business fast. Here's where common carrier shipping can make a difference on cost.
- Air cargo and air freight operations have the market divided up pretty well. First, sort out how much business you are likely to really offer a given provider, then match your needs to their products.
- Big couriers are really interested in small business, but an air cargo line specializing in your destination or product line can be a good choice too. Compare air freight rates first.
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