A freight forwarding agent is a mediator of international carriage operations, he organizes the link between the different means of transport, aimed to insure continuity of the goods; however, he is not the owner of any of said means of transport.

The freight forwarding agent is a specialist in providing professional services to plan, coordinate, control and conduct every operation necessary to carry out national or international transfer of goods, as well as supplementary services such as insurance, inspection at the origin, local transfers, customs brokerage, etc., by any means of transport or communication line. We serve a relevant task as we solve cargo carriage problems posed by foreign trade.

INCOTERMS is the acronym for International Commercial Terms. They are prepared and promoted by the International Chamber of Commerce. Its codes include three letters comprising very commonly used standard commercial terms in international purchase-sale contracts. Internationally accepted definitions are provided as well as interpretation standards of the most common commercial terms.

INCOTERMS are included in a purchase-sale contract to inform and define respective obligations, procedures, and customs documents, as well as costs and risks involved in the delivery of goods from seller to buyer.

What INCOTERMS are not:

On their own:
- They do not create a contract.
- They do not substitute the law governing the contract.
- They do not define the price to be paid, currency or credit terms.
- They do not define transfer of title.

Applying INCOTERMS in purchase-sale contracts facilitates global commerce and helps the partners of different countries to better understand each other.

In a purchase-sale transaction, an INCOTERM defines the place of delivery of the goods, and how seller and buyer share the costs, document processing and risks.

You should consider certain aspects when deciding on which INCOTERM you are going to use. You should know whether you are interested in controlling part of the cost or engage main transportation to be more competitive, to reduce risks or for better security of the logistics chain.

INCOTERMS FOR EXPORT (recommended):
Multimodal FCA and maritime FAS and FOB are a good choice for the seller, who shall only be engaged in loading the goods, carrying them to an agreed point and processing customs formalities.

In the event the buyer requests seller to be in charge of procedures and costs, it is mostly appropriate to use CPT and CIP, because the exporter controls all the logistics chain of its goods until arrival to the agreed point of unloading without taking too many risks.

In the event the main carriage is by ship, an option could be CFR and CIF, here, the exporter is in charge of the procedures and costs until the goods arrive at the port of destination.

IMPORT INCOTERMS (more recommended)
For an international purchase transaction, mostly advantageous INCOTERMS are DAT, DAP and DDP, as the buyer is only engaged in customs formalities in the country of destination, of internal carriage to its facilities and unloading.

Should you want to import into Mexican territory, one of the main obligations is to be registered with the importers register. This register was created with the purpose of controlling foreign trade transactions in the country. Registration is a free and easy procedure that includes filling out an electronic application at SAT’s portal; therefore, in order to have your application approved you should be updated with your tax obligations and show customs authorities proof that you are registered with the Federal Taxpayers’ Registry.

This document enables an importer or exporter to designate the country or region where the goods originate from. Its main purpose is that the goods may adhere to preferential regimes and the application of the relevant tariffs at the country of destination.

It is a financial protection service insuring goods during their carriage (trip from A to B) against damage or loss sustained as a result of an accident or unforeseen events.

The goods go through a whole process, therefore, in order to prevent any economic loss, you should insure your cargo. Every carriage type poses its own risks and by insuring the goods from the beginning of the process is important as in any inconvenient situation due to delays, damage or loss, you shall have the peace of mind and will receive an indemnity in the terms of the insurance policy.

A container loading check is an international procedure consisting of inspecting containers at the countries of loading aimed to verify that your shipment meets Mexican regulations.

Main benefits of this procedure:

Express shipment clearance: The customs clearance time is reduced 24 to 48 hours in Mexico, this enable an immediate open door for the sale of the goods.

Previous and exact knowledge of the shipment:
This facilitates the customs clearance process in:
- Tariff classification.
- Preparing customs applications.
- Calculation of duties.
- Determining regulations.

Eliminating additional costs:
At a Mexican port for:
- Validating compliance with non-tariff regulations.
- Container loading check maneuvers.
- Warehouse.
- Delays.
- Relabeling goods.

Eliminating customs fines or penalties:
It prevents from shipments that do not comply with the regulations and from extra costs.

Theft and missing products prevented.
By verifying exact loaded amounts and the use of special seals, you will prevent the risk of theft and missing units.

Products whose nature can cause great damage and even compromise the lives of people and the environment during their production, storage and transport. The UN classifies dangerous goods into nine classes: explosives, gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidizing substances and organic peroxides, toxic and infectious substances, radioactive substances, corrosive substances and various dangerous substances. For the international transport of this type of merchandise, it is necessary to comply with regulations established by the responsible organizations for each type of transport: IMDG (International Maritime Organization), ADR Agreement on the international transport of dangerous goods by road or the IATA Regulations on the transport of dangerous goods by air.

The IMO is the International Maritime Organization, an organization that requires cargo to be accompanied by a dangerous cargo declaration (DGD) and it is used in maritime transport to inform the shipping line that dangerous goods are being transported.

A BL (Bill of Lading) is a document that justifies the existence of a transport contract in a maritime operation between a port of departure and a port of destination, justifies the cargo, the place of origin and the place of destination, it is essential to carry out any type of international maritime exchange.

This BL is used as a receipt for goods loaded onto the ship and the conditions they are. It provides a record that there is a carriage contract; therefore, title on the goods is vested in the person who holds this document as, without this document, the goods cannot be taken out of the port of destination.

Yes, you can, by analyzing the type of goods and the urgency of the shipment. In the event of general cargo that may be carried by sea, Henco offers you consolidated cargo services, which is employed when the goods are not enough to fill up a container, the space is shared with this and other clients or importers, and you will only pay for the space you share.

- Dry cargo containers: 1 x 20’ DC / 1x40’ DC / 1x40’ HC
These containers are available and prepared for any normal dry cargo. E.g. pallets, bags, boxes. The dimensions of the 40’HC container are the same as those of the 40’DC container, is only 15 cm higher.
- Open top containers: 1x20’ OT / 1x40’ OT
These containers have a removable roof and are used to transport heavy or large loads, which can be loaded and unloaded in an easily way by the convertible top. E.g. heavy machinery, marble plates, rollers, etc.
- Flat Rack Containers: 1x20’ FR / 1x20’ FR
These containers have fixed or removable sides. They are used to carry excess dimension cargo. E.g. machinery.
- Refrigerated containers: 1x20’ RF / 1x40’ RF
These containers have their own cold generation equipment and transport goods at a constant or sub-zero temperature. E.g. meat, fish, fruits, etc.
- Insulated containers
These containers do not have cold generating equipment and carry loads at a constant temperature. E.g. apples, fruit, wine, etc.
- Tank containers
There are several applications and designs of these containers. They are coated for the transport of corrosive chemicals, or for the transport of oils and wines.

Ports in the Pacific Ocean: Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Ensenada and Guaymas. Ports in the Gulf of Mexico: Veracruz, Altamira, Tampico and Progreso.

Demurrage is a charge applied for the use of equipment (not space), after free time granted by the shipping company has expired. Storage is a charge applied for the use of space at the containers’ terminal, after free time has expired.

Air freight calculation is made as a function of the cargo gross weight, or of the weight-volume, whichever is greater.

First off, calculate cargo volume; the formula is length x width x height in centimeters. The result is divided by the factor 6,000 cm3, to obtain the “weight volume”. The latter is compared against the gross weight of the cargo to determine which is greater.

For example, if a shipment weighs 25.4 kg, and length is 70 cm, width is 35 cm, and height is 100 cm, freight calculation is as follows: 70 cm x 35 cm x 100 cm divided by 6,000 cm3, which results in a weight-volume of 40.8 kg. By comparing the weight volume (40.8 kg) against the gross weight (24.4 kg), you will see that the weight-volume is greater and, therefore, this ought to be taken to calculate the air freight. Nonetheless, you will have to round up the weight-volume to the highest half-kilo: 41 kg, which shall be multiplied by the unit air freight that is applicable to the shipment.