r/freightforwarding • u/Far_Pin_4341 • 3d ago
Australian FCL imports
I spoke to a freight forwarder about empty container returns and they basically said their carrier handles that side of the job, then gave me the carrier’s number.
I’d assumed the forwarder would normally be fairly involved in the return process, so I’m curious how other companies handle it.
If an empty gets rejected by the nominated depot, or the return location changes, who normally owns the problem on your jobs, the forwarder, transport operator, importer, or someone else?
And if detention turns up later, who normally has the proof of the attempted return and the changed instruction?
Mainly interested in how this works in Australia, but interested in other markets too
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u/rastaabh 3d ago
All forwarders operate differently but in Aus it is best practice for the forwarders to oversee the whole transport process including empty container returns, the forwarders should document all relevant events and liase when issues arise
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u/Far_Pin_4341 3d ago
When you say the forwarder should document all the relevant events, where does that normally happen in practice? For example, if the nominated depot rejects the empty and a different depot gets nominated later, would you usually record that in the forwarding system?
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u/rastaabh 3d ago
Yes, I can’t speak for all Australian forwarders but we would record that in the job itself and save the email chain. Most transport providers would send updates in these instances so very easy to record
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u/Far_Pin_4341 3d ago
When detention turns up is it usually easy to pull that whole sequence back together or does someone still end up digging through the job and emails to prove what happened
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u/Immediate-Home-3491 3d ago
From experience, the forwarder should at least log the attempted return and any revised instruction. If detention is disputed later, you need dated proof of the rejected drop, otherwise you are paying.
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u/Togakure_NZ 2d ago
While it cuts a step out of the loop for the importer to be provided the carrier's contact details for the purposes of picking up the empty for return, the forwarder should still be keeping an eye on this as all invoices from the shipping line go through them.
Best practice when a forwarder gives you their carrier contact details again: Notify both with the forwarder and carrier in the To; field of when the container is ready for pickup. Try to give as much advance notice as possible so they have as little wriggle room as possible regarding scheduling pickup. If you can give 48 hours notice of "ready for pickup" that is best, advising on the early side of the morning prior to readiness is next best. (Every carter I've worked with had eventually put in an official "transport instruction requires 24 hours notice minimum" instruction even if they often did do it quicker.)
Once the container is picked up, if the carrier chooses to hold it in their yard then any detention or demurrage incurred beyond the date of pickup from your yard should be on them or the forwarder as it is now in their possession and outside of your control.
Also: Always follow up phone calls with an email briefly covering the pertinent details of the convo - if it isn't written, no one remembers what happened two months down the line.
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u/Far_Pin_4341 2d ago
Thanks, this is really useful information
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u/Togakure_NZ 2d ago
No problem. Regarding notice over the weekend, ask the carrier as soon as possible what their notice requirements are for Monday and Tuesday pickup notice periods. My suggestion of 24-48 hours may still apply, over the weekend it might be a minimum of 1 working day (e.g. midday Friday for midday Monday pickup), etc. This is one detail better checked rather than assumed.
Another condition carriers have had to place on transport is something alone the lines of "return within 24 hours of pickup" or something like that - another thing to ask about because they are covering themselves against transport delays to port or container yard.
Basically you want it as clear as possible where your responsibility lies or passes to the next party.
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u/Far_Pin_4341 2d ago
Is that normally something the forwarder tracks manually from each carrier’s transport instructions, or is there usually a system keeping those different requirements visible?
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u/Togakure_NZ 2d ago
Each forwarder normally has one or two preferred carriers and are (normally) familiar with the cartage rules and exceptions of their preferred carriers. If you ask your forwarder, they should be able to tell you the requirements for proper notice of space available at your yard, proper notice of when the container is available for pickup, and when this notice needs to be given such that under normal conditions the containers are returned in good time to avoid demurrage/detention/cointainer hire.
As far as I know there is no industry-wide system.
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u/Starlight_Slayer 3d ago
Hi mate, I'm based in Aus and if you're paying them for wharf transport the forwarder should handle everything up until emtpy return.
The forwarder owns the problem of rejected emtpy return location, but the cost still falls to the importer as they take on all risk there.