Best Freight Forwarding Services for Ecommerce (2026 Guide)

Many merchants turn to freight-forwarding services to overcome the challenges of sourcing products overseas. A skilled freight-forwarder acts as your logistics partner, connecting carriers, customs, and compliance so your orders reach customers on time and on budget.

Over the past year, rerouted ships in the Red Sea, shifting tariffs, and port congestion have reminded retailers that global shipping is never static. But the right forwarder can turn ever-changing trade rules and complex import procedures (not to mention natural disasters and military conflicts) into manageable risks, helping you anticipate delays, plan alternate routes, and protect your margins when shipping goods across borders.

Below, you’ll learn how freight-forwarding services work and how you can get the most out of partnering with one for your international shipments.

Best freight-forwarding services for ecommerce

Global rankings make it easier to see who moves the most freight, but scale isn’t the same as suitability.

According to Armstrong & Associates’ 2024 dataset (the most recent year for which complete data is available), the world’s top forwarders dominate by volume and revenue. But the best freight-forwarding service for an ecommerce brand depends on the specifics of its trade lanes, commodities, and digital expectations.

A small retailer moving less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments across two markets may benefit more from flexible service and responsive account management than a sprawling global network. A&A's list provides a benchmark for scale, but there’s more to selecting a freight-forwarding service than size alone.

That's why A&A's list is valuable—and why we also compared the largest players by their capabilities relevant to small and medium-size business (SMB) ecommerce: visibility tools, customs support, and fit for multichannel fulfillment.

Quick shortlist

Based on Armstrong & Associates 2024 rankings, these companies make up the largest freight-forwarders globally by logistics revenue, or capacity in ocean twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) or and air metric tons:

• Flexport (Shopify preferred): An American multinational corporation, Flexport focuses on supply chain management and logistics, including order management, delivery, insurance, freight forwarding, and customs brokerage. 
• Kuehne + Nagel: Offers extensive ocean and air freight coverage across every major trade lane, with digital quoting and emissions-tracking tools.
• DHL Supply Chain & Global Forwarding: Known for global reach and end-to-end air and ocean solutions with integrated customs services.
• DSV: Provides multimodal forwarding and contract logistics solutions supported by centralized digital tracking.
• DB Schenker: Operates strong Europe-Asia and transatlantic freight programs with customs and compliance expertise.
• Sinotrans: Major China-based forwarder specializing in intra-Asia lanes and export consolidation.
• Nippon Express: Serves manufacturing and consumer goods sectors with air freight and integrated warehousing.
• CEVA Logistics: Offers ocean and air forwarding supported by visibility dashboards and supply chain management tools.
• C.H. Robinson: Provides forwarding, brokerage, and transportation management with robust API connectivity.
• Expeditors: Focuses on process visibility and compliance, with customized global forwarding programs.
• KLN: Hong Kong–based provider offering freight, express, and ecommerce logistics across Asia, Europe, and North America.

While global forwarders like the ones on this list excel in scale and network reach, many ecommerce merchants may find boutique or regional providers offer stronger responsiveness, transparency, and personalized account management that’s a better fit for their needs. Smaller forwarders can also typically provide localized routing and faster communication loops for small-volume exporters.

At-a-glance comparison table

For complete revenue and volume data, see Armstrong & Associates’ 2024 dataset.

When you’re ready to connect forwarding data with fulfillment, Shopify’s logistics management resources explain how merchants can integrate shipment tracking, customs documentation, and order data within unified third-party logistics (3PL) workflows, turning freight visibility into a seamless customer-delivery experience.

What is a freight-forwarding service? 

A freight-forwarding service is a company that organizes your shipments by working with carriers. A freight-forwarding service does not move the goods but acts as an agent in the logistics network.

“Ecommerce companies that source [supplies or products] from overseas work with freight-forwarding services in deeply integrated ways to coordinate production and shipment of their products from a factory abroad to the markets in which they sell,” says Cory Sanderson, general manager at Flexport, a freight-forwarding service that also specializes in customs brokerage.

It’s the responsibility of the freight-forwarding service to work closely with their partners—including carriers that offer ocean, rail, road, and air freight—to negotiate the best possible prices for merchants. 

Freight-forwarders also help to determine the best routes, sometimes designing charter routes to optimize speed, cost, and reliability. The goods they ship may be raw materials to factories, finished goods to warehouses around the world, and even post-consumer shipments for recycling and disposal.

In addition to working with carriers, freight-forwarders act as a liaison between suppliers and manufacturers to help manage the customs process.

What’s the difference between freight, logistics, and 3PL? 

While freight and logistics have similarities, they’re not synonymous.

Before the ecommerce boom, logistics meant moving orders from factories or warehouses to brick-and-mortar stores. This process has since become more complicated, with logistics companies now shipping individual orders directly to customers using their own fleets of trucks, ships, or planes.

There are also third-party logistics (3PL) companies overseeing warehouse spaces on behalf of merchants, while also shipping goods and managing returns. Logistics companies operate both domestically and internationally, and many can help ecommerce merchants navigate cross-border customs processes.

A freight-forwarding service, on the other hand, is less likely to have its own assets such as trucks or boats and doesn’t carry out shipments. Instead, it works directly with a range of logistics companies to negotiate and find the best shipping routes and costs for their customers. Some freight-forwarders may require companies to meet a particular threshold of ocean or air shipments, while others work with companies of any size. 

Freight-forwarding services also handle paperwork related to international shipping, helping you navigate the complex and confusing world of customs and export declarations. 

Benefits of using a freight-forwarder 

Freight-forwarding agencies can help you in ways that impact your bottom line. Here are some of the benefits of working with freight-forwarding services:

Freight-forwarders can negotiate lower shipping rates

Unless you’re tendering hundreds of shipments a year, you’re unlikely to have the leverage to bargain directly with carriers. Freight-forwarders have the volume to negotiate, saving money they can pass along to you, the shipper. Since they’re working with multiple ecommerce merchants, they can also help consolidate freight so all the companies involved receive a better rate.

Freight-forwarders can help resolve supply chain snags

Working with multiple carriers gives freight-forwarders the ability to look into different transportation models and routes. When capacity is tight, preference is typically given to high-volume customers, which includes freight-forwarders and their clients. 

You’ll only need to manage one relationship

It takes time and resources to manage multiple or disjointed relationships with shipping companies, airlines, trucking companies, customs brokers, and insurance agents. Freight-forwarders take care of everything.

You will likely save time and money

Freight-forwarders specialize in the complex market of international shipping. By delegating the task to the experts, you’ll save time, money, and, most likely, headaches.

How the freight-forwarding process works 

When a company sources its products or materials from somewhere else, it can use freight-forwarding to manage the process. Cory gives the example of a US-based Flexport customer making reusable stainless steel products. The company’s products are sourced from a factory in China and then shipped to its main shipping warehouse in the US and to distributors in Europe.

While the process may sound relatively straightforward, Cory says many ecommerce companies underestimate how many parties touch a shipment over the course of an international move—which is why the expertise of freight-forwarders is invaluable. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Planning

The company builds out its sales and operations planning forecast. It converts this information into purchase orders (POs) for individual product stock keeping units (SKUs), including the type and quantity of each product, the target cargo ready date, and other parameters that help the factory plan production and shipping. As the products are completed and prepared for shipment, the factory books shipments against the PO in Flexport’s system.

2. Communication

The company provides documents to Flexport, including commercial invoices for customs clearance for Chinese export and US import, and anything else required by the exporting or importing countries or the ocean or air carrier responsible for handling the shipment.

Using a local team or partner (typically referred to as an “agent”), Flexport works with the company’s factory in China to coordinate pickup, work through export questions, and manage handoff to sea or air terminals. Flexport also handles the full process of tendering a shipment to an air or ocean carrier.

3. Tracking

Once the shipment is in transit, Flexport keeps track of it with the carrier and provides the company with updates and flags “exceptions” if something (such as a storm) causes a delay. Freight forwarders aren’t responsible for delays but work to resolve them.

4. Arrival and pickup

When the shipment arrives at its destination, it’s unloaded, then inspected and validated against the booking documents. The customs paperwork for the cargo is also checked by the authorities.

Flexport handles the arrangements with the sea or air terminal to get the shipment picked up. This may include providing trucking services to get it to the delivery location requested by the merchant, which could be warehouses or distribution centers.

Flexport’s destination team can resolve issues that arise, receive updates on delivery arrival, and even make changes in transit. Flexport can also handle tasks like labeling or other prep if it's going into a distribution center with complex inbound requirements. 

How freight-forwarding pricing works

Calculating freight rates, or costs for shipping freight, depends on a number of factors, primarily across five key areas: carrier charges, container or pallet costs, handling and documentation fees, insurance, and compliance expenses. Understanding these categories helps merchants forecast total landed cost and evaluate quotes consistently across providers.

Carrier costs

Carrier rates are usually the largest part of a freight quote. 

Airlines, ocean carriers, and trucking lines price shipments by freight class, mode, route, and available capacity. Ocean freight is charged per container or cubic meter, while air freight uses chargeable weight—the greater of volume or actual mass.

Seasonal fuel surcharges, congestion fees, and airport security screening add variability to this cost, even though most forwarders bundle it into a single rate. Knowing how these inputs work helps merchants choose between speed and cost with clearer expectations.

Container/pallet costs

How efficiently a shipment fills its space can raise or lower the total cost.

In ocean freight, a full-container-load (FCL) shipment reserves an entire container, offering control and faster transit. Less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments share space and add consolidation and deconsolidation charges at origin and destination.

Air freight follows a similar principle through pallets and unit-load devices (ULDs). Accurate dimensions, tight packaging, and realistic weight data help reduce wasted capacity and prevent unexpected charges. 

And in ground shipping, costs vary between full-truckload (FTL) shipments and less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, which share space with other merchants' freight.

Freight-forwarder handling/documentation fees

Forwarders charge service fees for the coordination that makes global shipping possible. These costs cover booking carriers, preparing bills of lading (BOLs), arranging export declarations, and organizing drayage or warehouse transfers. Some forwarders present them as a single-origin or destination-service line item, while others itemize each task.

When comparing quotes, merchants should ask whether handling fees are bundled or separate to avoid surprises later.

Insurance

Cargo coverage determines how much protection you have if goods are lost or damaged. Carriers are legally obligated to have insurance, but typically include limited-liability coverage by default, and often pay a small amount per kilogram or pound.

You can purchase additional insurance to protect your shipment, such as all-risk cargo insurance, which expands protection to include theft, handling damage, or weather events, covering up to the shipment’s declared value. For SMB retailers shipping high-value or fragile products, paying slightly more for all-risk coverage usually provides better financial security and simpler claims.

Compliance costs to expect

Regulatory filings and security programs add smaller, variable costs that ensure shipments move legally and safely.

EEI/AES filing

For US exports, the Electronic Export Information (EEI) must be filed through the Automated Export System (AES) using the ACE AESDirect portal. The US Principal Party in Interest (USPPI)—typically the exporter—or its authorized agent submits this data to obtain an Internal Transaction Number (ITN) before departure. Forwarders often charge a small service fee to file on a shipper’s behalf.

Air cargo screening/CCSP

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requires 100% screening of cargo on passenger aircraft. Entities certified under the Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) or Known Shipper Program can perform screening upstream, helping avoid airport bottlenecks.

There is no TSA-imposed “importer fee,” but carriers and forwarders may pass along screening and handling costs.

Special goods and documentation

Controlled exports, hazardous materials (hazmat), and shipments requiring legalization or certificates of origin add extra fees. These cover compliance with export-control laws and regulations in destination countries. Merchants shipping these kinds of goods should confirm requirements early to prevent delays or penalties.

How to choose the best freight-forwarding service

If you already ship internationally or are thinking about scaling into international markets, then it’s time to consider a freight-forwarding service. The right partner fits your trade lanes, product mix, and tech maturity so your logistics can scale without bottlenecks. A forwarder that understands your freight shipping profile can handle multiple shipments at once, reduce dwell times, control landed costs, and help your ecommerce business grow more predictably.

Key criteria 

When evaluating forwarders, you need a logistics expert who can take work off your plate. Focus on these criteria; they indicate operational reliability and partnership potential.

• Lanes and commodity expertise: Ask for recent on-lane performance metrics or references for your key routes and product category. A forwarder fluent in your trade lanes minimizes customs delays and route risk.
• Customs brokerage coverage: Confirm whether the forwarder provides in-house brokerage or relies on third parties. Single-point brokerage simplifies compliance and communication.
• Visibility technology (EDI/API integration): Request a demo of their tracking portal or API connections. Direct integrations via your existing systems reduce manual data entry and help synchronize order and inventory systems.
• Service-level agreements (SLAs): Review quote turnaround times, escalation paths, and exception handling. Well-defined SLAs make performance measurable and predictable.
• Financial stability and memberships: Check affiliations with recognized industry networks like FIATA, WCA, or C-TPAT certification. Financially stable forwarders are better equipped to secure carrier space and honor commitments.
• Representative responsiveness: Note response times during the quote phase. A responsive rep now may signal reliable support later when shipments face disruption.
• Liability and insurance transparency: Request a sample certificate or policy details before booking. Clear coverage terms protect you from unexpected claim gaps.
• SMB volume flexibility: Ask if they support less-than-container-load or consolidated air shipments for smaller orders. Forwarders with tiered programs help smaller merchants access enterprise-level efficiency.

These criteria help match forwarders to your operational maturity, balancing service sophistication with your company’s current logistics complexity.

RFP questions to ask a forwarder 

Once you shortlist candidates through the request-for-proposal (RFP) process, use these questions to confirm fit before signing an agreement. Each one targets a real-world variable that can affect reliability or cost:

• Which trade lanes and commodities do you handle most frequently for clients like us?

Why it matters:Matching a forwarder’s experience to your routes improves pricing leverage and customs fluency.

• Do you manage customs brokerage in-house, and if not, how do you coordinate with third parties?

Why it matters:Clear responsibility prevents documentation gaps that delay shipments.

• What tracking or API integrations are available for syncing shipment milestones with our ERP or ecommerce systems?

Why it matters: Seamless visibility keeps your order data current across platforms.

• How fast do you turn around quotes and resolve exceptions during transit?

Why it matters: Defined SLAs protect against downtime and unacknowledged issues.

• What memberships or certifications verify your compliance and network reliability (e.g., FIATA, C-TPAT, WCA)?

Why it matters:Independent affiliations show financial and operational credibility.

• How do you handle EEI filings, TSA cargo screening, or other compliance steps—and what are the pass-through versus service fees?

Why it matters:Transparency here avoids running into hidden costs later in the process.

• What mitigation strategies do you use for disruptions such as Red Sea rerouting or port congestion?

Why it matters: Knowing a forwarder’s playbook for volatility shows how proactive they’ll be when routes shift.

• Can you provide examples of SMB clients and how you scaled service as their volumes grew?

Why it matters: Demonstrated flexibility signals they can evolve alongside your business.

These questions move the conversation from rates to reliability, because your goal isn't just to find a forwarder—it’s to identify a logistics partner who can scale with you.

Shopify Markets and international selling 

Once your freight-forwarding and customs brokerage processes are in place, the next step is managing how those goods reach international customers. Shopify Markets manages localization and duties and unifies pricing, currency conversion, taxes, and import duties in a single dashboard. It turns cross-border logistics into a seamless customer experience, so all shipments and storefronts stay aligned as your business expands globally.

2026 market watch: What may affect routes, ETAs, and rates

Having the right logistics partner is one thing, but being ready for what’s next is another. In 2026, shifts in global freight routes and rate structures mean you should ask the right questions now so delays, premium pricing, and blind spots don’t surprise you.

This year:

• Ships continue to bypass the Red Sea and Suez corridor; as one supplier put it, “There is no way I'm putting any of my merchandise on a boat that's going to go through the Red Sea for some time to come,” after repeated vessel threats and detours. 
• Tariff volatility combined with conflict and geopolitics are reshuffling trade lanes and creating uneven rate pressure, especially for long‐haul flows from Asia to the US and Europe.
• Port and labour issues remain wild cards. For example, reduced capacity at major chokepoints and extended berth times increase dwell risk in key origin/destination pairs.

What can you do about continuing uncertainty?

1. Ask your forwarder about alternate routings and transit time buffers for your key lanes.
2. Confirm how insurance premiums have shifted in higher-risk corridors and whether your quote accounts for that.
3. Build in extra lead time for key shipments, especially if they cross high-risk zones or move through highly congested ports.

Turn awareness of these market signals into action, and your shipping plan becomes more resilient while helping you avoid getting caught off-guard by the next disruption.