Expeditors Freight

A freight expeditor is a person or company that takes ownership of a time-critical shipment and gets it delivered by the fastest workable means. The expeditor chooses the mode, books the flight, aircraft or vehicle, dispatches pickup, monitors each milestone and reroutes the freight if something goes wrong. Expeditors are common in industries where delays are expensive, such as automotive, aerospace, medical and manufacturing. The term describes the role and the service, and it is also used in the names of several companies.

An expeditor manages an urgent shipment from the first call to delivery. Typical tasks include gathering the shipment details, choosing between options such as hand carry, next flight out, air charter or a dedicated truck, booking the service, dispatching pickup and watching cutoffs. During the move, the expeditor tracks milestones, updates the shipper and steps in when a flight is delayed or a truck breaks down. At the end, the expeditor confirms delivery and provides proof of delivery. An expeditor also keeps the shipper's contacts informed, so nobody at the delivery end is surprised when the freight arrives.

A freight forwarder typically arranges international shipments: booking space with airlines and ocean carriers, consolidating freight from several shippers and handling export and import documents. A freight expeditor focuses on getting one urgent shipment delivered as fast as possible, often domestically, and may switch between air and ground to do it. Some companies do both. The simplest rule is that planned international freight suits a forwarder, while urgent domestic freight suits an expeditor. Shippers who move both kinds of freight often use a forwarder for international lanes and an expeditor for urgent domestic loads.

A non-asset, or asset-light, logistics company does not own the trucks, aircraft or ships that move the freight. Instead, it arranges transportation with carriers that do. Freight brokers and most freight forwarders are non-asset companies. The advantage for shippers is flexibility: a non-asset company can choose among many carriers and modes for each shipment rather than filling its own equipment. The trade-off is that it depends on carriers' availability, which is why good relationships and fast sourcing matter. When expeditors freight a shipment on a non-asset basis, they can pick the best available vehicle or flight rather than whatever their own fleet has free.

An asset-based carrier owns or leases the equipment that moves freight, such as trucks and trailers or aircraft, and employs or contracts the drivers or crews. It moves freight on its own network and schedules. Asset-based carriers offer direct control over their equipment, which helps on steady lanes. They are less flexible when a shipment needs a different mode or a vehicle they do not have. Many shippers use asset-based carriers for regular freight and expeditors or brokers for urgent or unusual loads.

Expedited freight is any shipment moved faster than standard service, usually because a deadline is close or a delay would be costly. It can travel by air, through services such as next flight out, hand carry and air charter, or by ground in a dedicated van or truck that drives straight to the destination. Expedited freight usually costs more than standard freight, because the shipment gets priority, a dedicated vehicle or both. It is common for production parts, aircraft parts and medical supplies.

A PRO number, short for progressive number, is a tracking number a truck carrier assigns to a shipment. It is printed on the shipping paperwork and labels, and it is used to track the shipment, schedule deliveries and match invoices. Each carrier issues its own PRO numbers, so a shipment that moves by truck to an airport and by air afterward may have a PRO number for the truck leg and an air waybill number for the flight. Giving the PRO number when asking about a truck leg gets the fastest answer from the carrier.

An air waybill number is the unique number on the air waybill, the shipping document and contract for an air shipment. The first three digits identify the airline, and the rest identify the shipment. It is used to track the freight through acceptance, departure, arrival and pickup. When a forwarder consolidates freight, the forwarder issues a house air waybill for each shipper under the airline's master air waybill, and both numbers can be used to find the freight. Airlines and expeditors use the air waybill number to find the freight in their systems at every stage.

A bill of lading number identifies the bill of lading, the document that serves as the contract and receipt for a truck or ocean shipment. It lists the shipper, consignee, pieces, weight and description of the goods. The number is used to reference the shipment in paperwork, claims and billing. For expedited shipments that combine trucks and flights, the bill of lading covers the road legs, while the air waybill covers the flight. Keeping the bill of lading number with the shipment records makes claims and billing questions easier to resolve later.

AOG stands for aircraft on ground. AOG freight is a part or piece of equipment needed to return a grounded aircraft to service. Because a grounded aircraft costs its operator money every hour and may disrupt schedules, AOG shipments are among the most urgent in freight. They often move by hand carry or next flight out, and sometimes by air charter. Expeditors who handle AOG freight work around the clock, because aircraft can be grounded at any hour. Planning ahead for AOG risk, such as knowing who to call after hours, shortens the response when it happens.

Expedited shipments are tracked through the reference numbers of each leg, such as the air waybill number for the flight and the PRO or bill of lading number for truck legs, along with GPS or driver updates on dedicated vehicles. Because several systems can be involved, many shippers rely on the expeditor to watch the milestones and report them. A good update covers pickup, departure, arrival and delivery, with an early call if anything changes. Proof of delivery confirms who received the freight and when.