Domestic freight forwarders and property brokers are subject to increasing scrutiny and regulation from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Department of Transportation and other agencies like the Department of Homeland Security. Domestic freight forwarders or international freight forwarders looking to get their FMCSA bonds require assistance with the application and bonding process as well as creating policies on how domestic cargo is transported.

Freight forwarders wishing to move ocean cargo must be licensed and bonded by the Federal Maritime Commission and maintain a tariff and file rates. Air freight forwarders, or Indirect Air Carriers, are strictly regulated by the Transportation Security Administration whose sole goal is to prevent the introduction of an unauthorized device into the air cargo chain that could bring down an aircraft.

Merit Trade Consulting assists both domestic and international freight forwarders in completing and filing applications, creating and maintaining compliance and process manuals and performing recordkeeping audits and checks for regulatory compliance. If your company is thinking about becoming a freight forwarder or knows that you have a point of exposure due to lack of a documented process, we can help.