Forwarder, broker, carrier — who does what
These three get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. The distinction matters, because it determines who is accountable when something stalls.
- Carrier
- Owns and operates the ships, aircraft or trucks. Sells space. Has no involvement in your documents, your duty position or what happens to the cargo once it is discharged.
- Freight forwarder
- Arranges the movement end to end — books the carrier, organises collection at origin, prepares and checks documentation, coordinates clearance, arranges final delivery. Does not operate the vessels.
- Customs broker
- Licensed to lodge declarations with the Bureau of Customs, and signs for the tariff classification and declared value. A distinct licence from forwarding.
- Where MACE sits
- We are a freight forwarder with licensed customs brokers on staff, so both functions sit under one roof and one point of accountability. We are also a member of FIATA, the international federation of freight forwarders’ associations.
Your Incoterm decides where our work begins
The single most useful thing to understand before you agree a purchase. It is a commercial decision with logistics consequences, and it is usually made before anyone asks a forwarder.
- EXW — Ex Works
- The supplier makes the goods available at their premises and nothing more. Collection, export formalities, freight, clearance and delivery are all yours to arrange. Maximum control, maximum coordination — and the option that most often surprises first-time importers.
- FOB — Free On Board
- The supplier delivers the goods loaded at the origin port. You take on ocean freight, import clearance and delivery. The most common arrangement on the China–Philippines lane, and generally the most transparent.
- CIF — Cost, Insurance and Freight
- The supplier covers freight and insurance to the destination port. Convenient, but you inherit whatever carrier and destination charges they agreed, and those charges land on you at arrival.
- DDP — Delivered Duty Paid
- The supplier covers essentially everything including duty. Simple on paper, but you lose visibility of the duty position and of what is actually being declared on your behalf.
If you are unsure which term serves you best on a particular purchase, ask before you sign the order rather than after. It is a five-minute conversation that regularly saves more than the freight.
What to ask before appointing a forwarder
- Is customs brokerage in-house or subcontracted? Subcontracted clearance means a handover, and handovers are where shipments stall.
- What accreditation do they hold? FIATA membership and Bureau of Customs accreditation are the baseline worth checking.
- Does the quotation run through to delivery? A freight rate that stops at the port is not a landed cost, and the gap between the two is where unpleasant surprises live.
- Who is my named contact? A shared inbox is not accountability. You want a person who knows your cargo.
- How will I know where my cargo is? If the answer is “email us and we will check”, you will spend your week chasing updates.
- What happens when something goes wrong? Every shipment eventually hits a problem. What matters is whether you hear about it from your forwarder or from your customer.
The full chain, under one team
Sea freight
FCL and LCL on established Asia–Philippines lanes, booked direct with carriers. More on sea freight.
Air freight
Scheduled air cargo for time-critical shipments, priced on chargeable weight. More on air freight.
Customs brokerage
Licensed brokers on staff handling classification, entry lodgement and permits. More on brokerage.
Trucking and delivery
Port collection and last-mile delivery across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. More on trucking.
Warehousing
Storage, handling and distribution after clearance. More on warehousing.
Project and special cargo
Oversized and out-of-gauge shipments, with the permits that oversize road movement requires. More on project cargo.
Where we run most
China to the Philippines
Transit times by origin port, choosing between FCL, LCL and air, and the Form E that decides your duty.
Read moreFCL container shipping
Container capacities you can plan against, and how free time, demurrage and detention actually work.
Read morePhilippine customs clearance
The Bureau of Customs process end to end, how duty and VAT compute, and why shipments get held.
Read moreFrequently asked
A forwarder arranges the movement of your cargo rather than operating the ships and aircraft themselves. That means booking space with carriers, arranging collection at origin, preparing and checking the documents the shipment travels on, coordinating customs clearance at both ends, and organising inland delivery. The value is in the coordination: a shipment touches a supplier, a trucker, a terminal, a carrier, a customs authority and a final consignee, and someone has to own the whole chain.
A freight forwarder arranges transport. A customs broker is licensed to lodge import and export declarations with the Bureau of Customs and signs for the classification and value declared. They are separate functions and separate licences. Many forwarders subcontract the brokerage; where the two sit in the same company, as they do with us, the documents are checked once by people who will also have to clear the cargo.
That is decided by the Incoterm you agreed with your supplier, not by the forwarder. Under EXW the cargo is yours at the supplier's door and everything after that is arranged on your behalf. Under FOB it becomes yours once loaded at origin. Under CIF the seller covers freight to the destination port but not clearance or delivery. Under DDP the seller covers essentially everything. Agreeing the Incoterm without understanding what it obliges you to arrange is one of the more common and expensive mistakes in importing.
Whether customs brokerage is handled in-house or subcontracted. Whether they hold recognised industry accreditation. Whether the quotation is itemised through to delivery or stops at the port. Who your named point of contact is when something goes wrong at eleven at night. And how you will find out where your cargo is without having to send an email and wait.
No. China is the lane we run most, but we handle cargo from origins across Asia and beyond into Philippine destinations, and we handle exports. If you have a lane in mind, ask — the answer is usually yes.
Talk to a forwarder who answers the question
Tell us what you are moving and where it needs to go. You will get an itemised quotation through to delivery and a named coordinator who owns it from there.