Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Clear answers on quotes, transport modes, customs, costs and how we work.
Working with NLP
How the engagement starts and what you can expect from it.
What does NLP Global Freight do?
We arrange the international movement of goods. That covers selecting the mode and routing, booking capacity with carriers, preparing and checking the documentation, coordinating customs clearance through licensed brokers, and managing the collection and delivery legs at each end. We plan and control the movement across whichever carriers suit it, without owning aircraft, vessels or trucks.
Do you have a minimum shipment size?
No. LCL consolidation and air freight both handle small consignments economically, and we quote them the same way we quote a full container. Size only changes which option makes sense.
How do I get a quote?
Send the origin and destination, the commodity, the dimensions and gross weight of each piece, whether the cargo is stackable, the Incoterm and the date it needs to be delivered. With those, the quote is accurate. Dimensions matter most: air freight is priced on chargeable weight, which cannot be calculated without them.
What information do you need before you can book?
Shipper and consignee details, a commercial invoice and packing list, the Incoterm, the commodity description with its tariff classification, and any regulatory documentation the commodity requires. For US ocean imports we also need the Importer Security Filing data set, because that deadline falls 24 hours before the container is loaded overseas.
Who is my point of contact?
One named person carries the shipment end to end, with 24/7 operational coverage behind them for anything time-critical. A single owner keeps the handovers between carriers under control.
Modes and routing
Choosing the right mode and route for each shipment.
How do I choose between air, ocean and rail?
Work from the delivery date backwards and compare total landed cost. Ocean is cheapest per unit and slowest. Air is fastest and most expensive per kilogram. Rail sits between the two on the corridors where it runs, particularly China–Europe. The right answer also has to price in inventory holding cost and, for fast-depreciating goods, the value lost during a longer transit.
Is air freight always faster door to door?
Not by as much as the flight time suggests. Handling, screening, clearance and final-mile trucking commonly add two to four days either side of a six-hour flight. On short sea lanes and North American cross-border moves, expedited road can match air door to door at a fraction of the cost. We will tell you when that is the case.
When does a full container beat LCL?
As a working threshold, above roughly 13 to 15 cubic metres a 20-foot container usually wins on total landed cost, because LCL is billed per revenue tonne and adds destination CFS charges. Below that, consolidation is normally cheaper. Fragile or high-value cargo can justify a full container earlier, since it avoids being stripped and re-handled with other shippers' freight.
Can you handle door-to-door, or only port-to-port?
Both. Port-to-port suits shippers with their own arrangements at each end. Door-to-door means we handle collection, export formalities, the main leg, import clearance and final delivery as one movement with one set of milestones, which is where the coordination value mostly sits.
Customs and compliance
The filings and checks that keep cargo moving.
What is ISF 10+2 and when is it due?
The Importer Security Filing is a US requirement for ocean imports. It must be filed no later than 24 hours before the container is loaded at the foreign port, which is days before the sailing. A late or inaccurate filing can draw liquidated damages and a do-not-load hold, so we treat it as its own dated milestone.
Who is responsible if goods are misclassified?
Under US law the importer of record is responsible for the accuracy of the entry (classification, valuation and origin), regardless of who prepared it. We review classification against the actual goods and escalate genuinely ambiguous positions to a licensed broker for a formal determination.
Do you file the customs entry yourselves?
Customs entries in the United States are filed by a licensed customs broker. We prepare and check the documentation set and coordinate the clearance with brokers holding the licence in the relevant jurisdiction, so the filing sits with the correctly licensed party while you keep a single point of contact for the whole movement.
What does the Incoterm change?
It sets where risk transfers, who pays which costs, and, critically, which party is responsible for export and import clearance. EXW puts both on the buyer. DDP puts everything including destination duty on the seller, which usually requires a presence or fiscal representative in the destination country. Confirm that before agreeing DDP.
Can you handle dangerous goods?
Yes, through certified partners, with the classification confirmed from the safety data sheet before a booking is raised. The same substance is governed by different rulesets by air, sea and road, so a shipment that is compliant by sea can be non-conforming by air. Verification happens before dispatch, because dangerous goods are rejected at tender rather than delayed.
Cost and charges
How freight is charged, and how to keep costs predictable.
Why is my air freight invoice higher than the cargo weighs?
Airlines bill on chargeable weight: the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is length × width × height in centimetres divided by 6,000. Light, bulky cargo is billed on volume. We calculate both figures at quotation and quote against the higher one, so the invoice matches what you were told.
What are demurrage and detention, and how do I avoid them?
Demurrage accrues while a container sits inside the terminal past its free days. Detention accrues once it has left the terminal and has not been returned by its due date. They are separate charges from different parties. Avoiding them is a sequencing problem: clearance and the delivery appointment have to be planned against the free-time allowance, not against the arrival date.
Why do quotes vary so much between forwarders?
Usually because they cover different scopes. A low headline rate may exclude terminal handling, documentation, customs, drayage or destination charges that appear later as separate invoices. Compare on total landed cost with the inclusions listed, and check what free time is included. That single line often accounts for more variance than the freight rate.
Is cargo insurance included?
No, and carrier liability is not insurance. Carrier liability is capped by international convention at limits usually far below the value of the goods, and it only applies where the carrier is at fault. Cargo insurance covers the value of the goods on an all-risks basis. We arrange it on request and state the carrier liability limits clearly.
Visibility and service
How we keep you informed at every stage.
How do I know where my shipment is?
We report against the booking milestones (collection, export clearance, departure, transhipment, arrival, import release, delivery) using carrier and partner tracking systems, and we tell you as soon as a milestone moves. Exceptions are raised when they are discovered, with the available options attached.
What happens when something goes wrong?
You hear about it from us, at the point we know, with the option set and the cost implication of each option stated at the time. A delay reported when it is discovered leaves room to react; the same delay reported at the next scheduled update does not. Where the cause is ours, we say so plainly.
Do you provide support outside business hours?
Operational coverage runs 24/7, because vessels, flights and border crossings do not observe office hours. The New York office is staffed 09:00 to 18:00 Eastern, Monday to Friday, for commercial and planning matters.
Can you manage shipments between two countries that are not the US?
Yes. Cross-trade movements, where the goods never touch the country the forwarder is based in, are routine, and are coordinated through our partner network at origin and destination. The documentation set differs from a US import or export, so the requirements are confirmed at the outset for the specific pair of countries involved.