On this page
At origin. Depending on the Incoterms rule agreed with your supplier (EXW or FOB, for example), the forwarder collects the cargo at the factory and handles export clearance, or takes over once the goods reach the port. Our own offices across India and in Ho Chi Minh City, Dhaka and Phnom Penh do this on those lanes; elsewhere we work through our partner network.
The freight. As an NVOCC, Airlift books space with the ocean carriers under its own FMC tariff and issues its own house bill of lading, for a full container (FCL) or a share of one (LCL). For air cargo, Airlift is a TSA-compliant Indirect Air Carrier and an IATA-certified air cargo agent.
Before loading: the ISF. For ocean imports, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must receive the Importer Security Filing at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on the vessel bound for the US. The importer is responsible for it; Airlift files it as the NVOCC.
On arrival: the customs entry. The entry is filed by a licensed customs broker under a power of attorney from you, the importer of record, with a customs bond on file for a formal entry. Airlift USA is not a customs broker: we assemble the entry documents and coordinate the entry, the duty estimate and any CBP exam through our licensed customs-broker network.
To your door. After release, the forwarder arranges drayage from the port, any transloading or warehousing, and trucking to your warehouse. Airlift arranges US trucking as a non-asset property broker licensed by the FMCSA.
Most forwarders list the same services. For an importer, what sets one apart is who handles your cargo at each end, whose name is on the bill of lading, who files what with CBP, and whether the quote spells out what it covers.
19 offices of our own: Los Angeles and New Jersey in the United States, fourteen branches of the Airlift group across India, and Ho Chi Minh City, Dhaka and Phnom Penh. On these lanes, the people who book and clear your cargo at origin and the people who release and deliver it at destination work for the same company. Elsewhere, we work through our partner network.
See all our offices →As an FMC-licensed NVOCC (license 016162), Airlift issues its own house bills of lading under an FMC tariff and NVOCC bond, and contracts directly with the ocean carriers. The bill of lading is your contract of carriage, and yours is with Airlift, not with an agent reselling someone else's booking.
Look up our license on the FMC OTI list →India to New York, Los Angeles, Savannah and Houston, from Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Chennai, is among the lanes we book most. China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia to the US follow, plus return lanes to India, China and Vietnam. Each lane has a published guide.
Freight forwarder for India to USA shipping →Our quote states the rate, the routing, what is included and how long the price is valid. It can be read line by line against the six lines our quote-scope worksheet uses (origin pickup and handling, ocean freight, carrier surcharges, destination handling, inland delivery and documentation and customs-clearance service), so you can compare it with any other quote like for like.
Compare two ocean freight quotes →Airlift USA does not hold a US customs broker license. Your entries are filed through our licensed customs-broker network under a power of attorney from you as importer of record. We file the ISF as the NVOCC, check the entry documents, coordinate the duty estimate and any CBP exam with the broker, and arrange trucking after release, so one team holds your file from booking to delivery.
How US customs clearance works →Airlift USA is a TSA-compliant Indirect Air Carrier and an IATA-certified air cargo agent. An urgent or high-value shipment can go by air through the same team and the same inquiry as your ocean freight.
Air freight forwarding →From your first message to a written quote:
Prefer to talk first? Book a free 30-minute call with a freight expert about your route, cargo and timing. Talk to a freight expert →
To price a shipment we need three things: the route, the cargo and when it ships. The rest makes the price more accurate.
Any company can call itself a freight forwarder. These are the registers and the questions that tell a licensed forwarder from a reseller, whichever company you choose.
Each of Airlift USA's own registrations is linked in the next section.
Each item links to the register or directory that lists it, so you can check us yourself before you share cargo details.
WCA World member since 2019 (Los Angeles and New Jersey offices), International Association of Movers, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, Los Angeles Air Cargo Association; Indirect Air Carrier (TSA-compliant) and IATA-certified air cargo agent.
See every fact, with what we do and do not do, on the Airlift USA credentials page.
Terms on this page:Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC)Importer Security Filing (ISF)IncotermsEx Works (EXW)Free on Board (FOB)House Bill of Lading
Tell us the origin, the destination, the cargo and the container size or weight. We reply with the rate, the routing and the services included. Customs entries are filed through our licensed customs-broker network.
It runs the shipment from your supplier to your door: it books space with ocean carriers or airlines, arranges pickup and origin handling to match your Incoterms rule, prepares the transport documents, files the Importer Security Filing (ISF) for ocean imports, coordinates the customs entry with a licensed broker, and arranges drayage, warehousing and trucking after release. Airlift USA does all of this as a licensed NVOCC, so we also issue our own house bill of lading and contract directly with the carriers instead of reselling another forwarder's booking.
You do not have to use a forwarder at all: an importer can book with a carrier and have a customs broker file the entry. But a company in the US that sells you ocean transportation as an NVOCC or ocean freight forwarder must hold a license from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), and an NVOCC must also keep a bond and publish a tariff. Check the FMC's OTI list before you hand over cargo. Airlift USA holds license 016162.
Both. Airlift USA Inc. holds FMC Ocean Transportation Intermediary license 016162 as an NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder, doing business as Airlift Container Line, with the NVOCC bond and FMC tariff that license requires. You can look it up on the FMC OTI list under the NVOCC tab. For air cargo, Airlift is an Indirect Air Carrier under TSA and an IATA-certified air cargo agent.
No. A customs broker is licensed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to file entries for importers; a freight forwarder or NVOCC arranges the transport. Airlift USA does not hold a US customs broker license and does not file entries itself. Entries are filed through our licensed customs-broker network under a power of attorney from you, the importer of record. We file the ISF as the NVOCC, assemble and check the entry documents, coordinate the duty estimate and any CBP exam with the broker, and arrange trucking once the goods are released, so one team holds the shipment file from booking to delivery.
The ISF importer, usually the buyer or owner of the goods, is responsible for the filing, and an agent can file it for them. CBP must receive it at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on the vessel bound for the US. On ocean shipments Airlift books, Airlift files the ISF as the NVOCC from the details you and your supplier send. Air shipments do not need one.
Asia to the United States. India to New York, Los Angeles, Savannah and Houston, from Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Chennai, is among the lanes Airlift books most. China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia to the US follow, and we also ship from the US to India, China and Vietnam. Each lane has a published guide with its ports, planning ranges and customs notes.
Yes. Airlift USA is a TSA-compliant Indirect Air Carrier and an IATA-certified air cargo agent, listed in the IATA CargoLink directory. Air freight is quoted through the same inquiry as ocean freight: if you are weighing both for one shipment, say so and the reply covers both.
Use the form on this page to send the origin, destination, cargo, container size or weight, and ready date. The reply states the rate, the routing, what is included and how long the price is valid. Compare it with other quotes line by line on origin pickup and handling, ocean freight, carrier surcharges, destination handling, inland delivery and documentation and customs-clearance service, so a cheaper number is not just a shorter list.
For ocean freight, search the Federal Maritime Commission's OTI list, which shows every licensed NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder with its license number and bond. For air cargo, an Indirect Air Carrier operates under a TSA security program, and IATA agents appear in the CargoLink directory. For the customs entry, ask which licensed customs broker will file it. The credentials section on this page links to each of Airlift USA's own entries.
Route guides and tools, if you want to check the numbers before you ask for a quote.