Freight Forwarding

Industry Overview

Freight Forwarders manage the movement of goods on behalf of individuals or companies. They are responsible for arranging cargo to be delivered by rail, road, air or sea in the most timely and cost efficient manner possible. Some companies specialise in domestic freight whilst others focus on international freight. In some cases they act solely as an agent whereas other forwarders have a transport component attached to their business. In WA, the majority of operations are based in the metropolitan area out of the major transport hubs: Fremantle Port, Perth Airport, Cockburn, Kewdale and Welshpool.

Customs Agents or Customs Brokers look after the processing of goods coming in and out of the country’s ports and airports. Third party services are offered to importers, wholesalers and retailers who are subject to compliance with customs and quarantine requirements. The bulk of the services provided in this field are segmented into 85 per cent for imports and 15 per cent for export clearance. When combined this service offering is worth an estimated $3.2 billion.

Although WA only accounts for 9.4 per cent of business locations nationwide, it is Australia’s largest merchandise exporter accounting for 46 per cent of total earnings ($113 billion). With regard to imports, the third largest import for WA after gold and petroleum is industrial equipment and machinery valued at over $3 billion for the mining industry. Annual growth is expected to rise by four per cent from 2012 to 2017. Machinery, transport equipment and parts account for 40 per cent of the total market share. With the growth figures indicated, there will be a need for additional personnel to offset the workloads.