Is the freight forwarding industry making a fortune in silence?

When Mr. Zhang modified the warehouse expansion plan for the 5th time last month, he suddenly realized that the originally freight forwarding industry has now become the most popular entrepreneurial option in his WeChat Moments. The latest data from the General Administration of Customs shows that the number of import and export customs declarations completed through agencies in the first two quarters of this year has surged by 37% year-on-year. This field, once regarded as a "sunset industry," is now staging an astonishing turnaround.

The Wild Growth of Cross-border E-commerce is the most direct catalyst. Ms. Li's daily necessities store has increased from 3 containers per month last year to now requiring the reservation of the entire barge space. Such cases are repeated every day in Shenzhen Qianhai Free Trade Zone. "80% of our customers are small and medium-sized enterprises that are doing import and export for the first time," the marketing director of Zhongshitong revealed. "They can't even distinguish between FOB and CIF, but they are all eager to sell their goods overseas."

• The business volume of Southeast Asian routes has doubled driven by emerging platforms such as TikTok Shop in 2023
• The demand for customs clearance agency in Japan and South Korea has increased by 215% after the entry into force of the RCEP
• The agency fee income for small packages weighing less than 3 kilograms has increased by 40% due to the drop-shipping model

Traditional freight forwarding companies are facing unprecedented transformation pressures. The financial report of a leading enterprise shows that its digital service income has exceeded the traditional customs declaration business for the first time, and the intelligent booking system has processed 67% of the orders. However, more service providers like Zhongshitong choose to take a different path and build a moat through full-chain solutions:

From overseas warehouse distribution, tax refund financing to product compliance certification, customers now expect a "turnkey" service. This transformation has increased the average order value of the industry by 2.8 times, but it has also eliminated middlemen who survive only on information differences.

There are hidden secrets behind the apparent prosperity. Three months after Mr. Wang invested 2 million to establish a freight forwarding company, he found that:

• The deposit for overseas customs clearance agencies often starts at 500,000 yuan
• Core route slots with shipping companies require a deposit of tens of millions of yuan
• The preparation period for Customs AEO certification requires at least 6 months

The global network and credit limits accumulated by established enterprises such as Zhongshitong are forming insurmountable industry barriers. A new platform that burned money for subsidies to acquire 3,000 customers eventually lost 82% of them within half a year due to the inability to solve the problem of goods being detained by the Brazilian customs.

When the industry is at the forefront, the real competition has just begun. Enterprises with overseas local teams show a crushing advantage when handling the declaration of the EU carbon tariff; while companies that master AI customs declaration technology are compressing the average processing time from 48 hours to 7 minutes. The trophy of this competition will eventually belong to those players who can master both global compliance and digital infrastructure.

Has your company's freight forwarding recently started to frequently promote new services? Maybe it's time to re-examine this seemingly traditional but hidden industry. Welcome to share the new phenomena of import and export agency you have encountered in the comment section. We will draw three readers to give away the 2023 Cross-border Logistics Pitfall Avoidance Guide.