News & Insights
Industry news, guides, and best practices from the CargoLinked team.
Vessel Sharing Agreements and Slot Chartering Explained
Alliance news tells you who is partnering with whom. It rarely explains the mechanism: how carriers legally pool vessels, why a filed agreement gets antitrust immunity, and why the carrier on your bill of lading may not be the one that operated the ship. That last point decides where a cargo claim actually goes.
Freight Fraud: Fictitious Pickups and Double Brokering
A load vanishes because it was handed to a convincing imposter, not because it was hijacked at gunpoint. Fictitious pickup, double brokering and carrier identity theft are distinct problems with distinct defences, and a May 2026 Supreme Court decision just changed who is liable when the vetting fails.
First Sale for Export: Lowering Your Customs Valuation
When goods move factory to middleman to importer, US customs law lets you pay duty on the earlier, lower price instead of what you actually paid, if you can prove it. Here is how first sale for export actually works, what CBP demands as proof, and why Congress is trying to abolish it this year.
RoRo vs Container Shipping for Vehicles and Machinery
RoRo and container shipping are priced differently, measured differently and regulated differently, and the choice is usually decided by height, weight and rating basis rather than by preference. Here are the real deck and door numbers, what the 2026 fire safety and dangerous goods rules actually changed, and the export and import compliance that catches vehicle shippers out.
Handling a Cargo Claim Against Your Forwarding Business
A cargo claim lands on your desk and the clock starts on three separate deadlines, only one of which is the customer claim against you. Here is what a forwarder should do first, which notice periods genuinely bar a claim, what the current liability limits are, and how forwarders lose the right to pass a claim up the chain.
ATA Carnets and Temporary Imports Explained
An ATA carnet moves goods across a border temporarily without paying duty or posting a local deposit. The rules changed in 2026: digital carnets went live in 30 territories on 1 June, and Mexico now demands pre-registration. Here is what a carnet covers, what it costs, and when it is the wrong tool.
Peak Season Surcharges: When They Apply and How to Budget for Them
Peak season surcharges are not fixed, published fees like most other line items on a freight invoice. Knowing when they typically apply and how they get announced is what lets you budget around them.
Freight Forwarder Rate Negotiation With Carriers: What Actually Moves the Needle
A forwarder's margin depends as much on the rate it negotiates with carriers as on what it charges the client. Volume alone rarely wins a better rate; predictability and payment reliability matter just as much.
Should You Specialize? Niche Freight Forwarding vs General Cargo
Specializing narrows your addressable market and deepens your margin on it. Staying general keeps the funnel wide but puts you in direct price competition with everyone else who is also general.
Air Freight ULD Types: Which Unit Load Device Fits Your Cargo
Air cargo is built up on unit load devices before it ever reaches the aircraft. Choosing or accepting the wrong ULD type wastes chargeable space and can hold a shipment off a flight entirely.
Consignee, Notify Party and Ultimate Consignee: Who Is Who on a Shipment
A bill of lading names several parties who are not the buyer, and getting one of these fields wrong can hold cargo at destination even when everything else about the shipment is correct.
Freight Forwarder Client Onboarding: What a New Shipper Actually Needs From You
The first month with a new client sets the pattern for the whole relationship. A clear onboarding checklist prevents the small early mistakes that make a client start comparing you to competitors again.