Choosing a forwarder and a quote
How do I choose a freight forwarder for my imports?
The short answer
Freight Benchmarks found that the share of US import container shipments paying at least one delay fee ran from 7.3% at San Juan to 74.4% at Minneapolis / St. Paul (shipments first invoiced July 2024 to June 2026). How a forwarder handles free time, chassis and trucking where you land matters as much as the ocean rate, so check its FMC license and customs brokerage, then compare quotes on the fees after arrival.
Cite this figure: Share of US import container shipments at the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico that paid at least one delay fee, the lowest of the published ports
Freight Benchmarks (2026). Share of US import container shipments at the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico that paid at least one delay fee, the lowest of the published ports: 7.3%. Share of 460 US import container shipments at the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico; 95% range 4.6% to 11.5%. Shipments first invoiced July 2024 to June 2026; data version 2026-10-22. https://freightbenchmarks.com/answers/how-to-choose-a-freight-forwarder/#fig-ports-min-any-delay-fee-incidence-pct (CC BY 4.0)
Cite this figure: Share of US import container shipments at the Minneapolis–St. Paul rail hub that paid at least one delay fee, the highest of the published ports
Freight Benchmarks (2026). Share of US import container shipments at the Minneapolis–St. Paul rail hub that paid at least one delay fee, the highest of the published ports: 74.4%. Share of 536 US import container shipments at the Minneapolis–St. Paul rail hub; 95% range 66.8% to 80.8%. Shipments first invoiced July 2024 to June 2026; data version 2026-10-22. https://freightbenchmarks.com/answers/how-to-choose-a-freight-forwarder/#fig-ports-max-any-delay-fee-incidence-pct (CC BY 4.0)
Cite this figure: Shipments with at least one extra charge
Freight Benchmarks (2026). Shipments with at least one extra charge: 43.6%. Share of 8,298 US import container shipments across all published ports. Shipments first invoiced July 2024 to June 2026; data version 2026-10-22. https://freightbenchmarks.com/answers/how-to-choose-a-freight-forwarder/#fig-national-share-with-any-accessorial-pct (CC BY 4.0)
Check the licenses first
An FMC license. A US-based company that arranges ocean shipping as a non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVOCC) or an ocean freight forwarder needs a Federal Maritime Commission license as an ocean transportation intermediary, backed by a bond; foreign-based NVOCCs can register with the FMC instead. The FMC publishes its lists on its licensing pages, so check the company’s exact name.
A customs broker. Someone has to file your customs entry and pay duties on your behalf, usually a licensed customs broker. Ask whether a forwarder you are considering is a licensed broker itself or works with one, and who will ask you for the power of attorney to act for you with US Customs.
Insurance. Ask what cargo insurance it offers and what its liability is if goods are lost or damaged without it.
Ask how it handles the days after arrival
Most of what goes wrong on an import goes wrong after the ship docks. Ask how a forwarder tracks your container’s last free day and tells you about it, who books the pickup appointment, when it decides on a pre-pull, how many chassis days the trucking rate includes, and what it charges for chassis splits, storage and driver waiting time. Ask how it handles empty returns and demurrage disputes. Experience at your port or rail hub counts, because the fees there are local.
Compare quotes on the whole cost
A low ocean rate can hide expensive terms after arrival. In Freight Benchmarks’ invoice data, 43.6% of shipments paid at least one extra charge and 34.8% paid at least one delay fee, and both figures vary by port. Put the quotes side by side, line by line, with the free time and every accessorial rate. A quote that won’t state them is telling you something.
Questions worth asking
- Who will handle my shipments day to day, and how fast do you reply?
- Which carriers and routings do you use on my lane, and how much free time do they give?
- Do you bill pass-through charges such as demurrage at cost, or with a handling fee?
- How do you handle a demurrage or detention dispute?
- Can I talk to an importer you serve on this lane?
Freight Benchmarks doesn’t rank or recommend forwarders. If you ask us for a quote, we pass your request to one licensed forwarder partner, which pays us a referral fee if you become its customer. How partners are vetted is on how we make money.
What to do
- Look up any forwarder you are considering on the FMC’s list of licensed ocean transportation intermediaries, and ask who files your customs entries.
- Ask how it tracks free time and the last free day, and how it decides on pre-pulls.
- Get every accessorial rate in writing, then compare quotes line by line; see what a good freight quote should include.
- Ask for references from importers on your lane and at your port.
- Check how your port compares on the port pages before you weigh one quote against another.
Questions
What licenses should a freight forwarder have?
A US-based forwarder handling ocean shipments needs a Federal Maritime Commission license as an ocean transportation intermediary, either an NVOCC or an ocean freight forwarder, with the bond the license requires; the FMC publishes the list. To clear your goods, you also need a licensed customs broker, in house or a partner.
What should I ask a freight forwarder before hiring one?
Ask who clears customs, how it tracks free time and the last free day, how many chassis days its trucking rate includes, what it charges for chassis splits, storage and waiting time, whether pass-through charges are billed at cost, and how it handles demurrage disputes.
Is the cheapest freight quote the best one?
Not if it leaves out what happens after arrival. In Freight Benchmarks' invoice data, 43.6% of US import container shipments paid at least one extra charge. Compare quotes on the full set of fees and terms, not only the ocean rate.
Do I need a customs broker as well as a freight forwarder?
To import commercial goods, someone has to file the customs entry, usually a licensed customs broker. Many forwarders are licensed brokers or work with one. Ask whether one company handles both, and who will act for you with US Customs.
Sources
- Federal Maritime Commission: licensing and certification of ocean transportation intermediaries
- US Customs and Border Protection: customs brokers
- Freight Benchmarks: how we make money and how partners are vetted
- Freight Benchmarks figures: Anonymized line-item forwarder invoices billed to US importers, contributed through the Freight Benchmarks data partner program, in which every partner is a licensed US freight forwarder and customs broker. Aggregates only. See the methodology.
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Tell us the lane. One licensed forwarder partner that serves it, an FMC-licensed forwarder and a licensed customs broker, quotes ocean freight, customs clearance and delivery, with every fee and free-time term in writing.
- Drayage, chassis and port fees listed line by line
- Free time and demurrage terms in writing before you book
- A reply within one business day
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