On this page
Airlift USA Inc. is a family-run freight forwarder and licensed NVOCC (FMC OTI licence 016162, doing business as Airlift Container Line), founded in 1999, with offices in Westlake Village, California and North Brunswick, New Jersey. We forward ocean freight (FCL and LCL) and air freight between the United States and Asia, file the Importer Security Filing for ocean imports, arrange trucking and warehousing at the US end, and coordinate US customs clearance through our licensed customs-broker network. We are not a customs broker, and we say so.
Most forwarders describe the same services. The differences that matter are who is at each end of the lane, whose name is on the bill of lading, and whether the quote says 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 every office →As an FMC-licensed NVOCC (licence 016162) Airlift issues its own house bills of lading under an FMC tariff and NVOCC bond, and contracts directly with the ocean carriers. Your contract of carriage is with Airlift, not with an agent reselling someone else's booking.
Look the licence up on the FMC OTI list →Asia to the United States is our focus. 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, with a published guide for each lane and return lanes to India, China and Vietnam.
Freight forwarder for India to USA shipping →The reply to your enquiry states the rate, the routing and what is included, with its validity. It can be read line by line against origin pickup and handling, ocean freight, carrier surcharges, destination handling, inland delivery and documentation and customs-clearance service, the same six lines our quote-scope worksheet uses, so you can compare it with any other quotation on the same footing.
Compare two ocean freight quotes →Airlift USA does not hold a US customs broker licence. Entries are filed through our licensed customs-broker network under a power of attorney from you as importer of record. Airlift files the ISF as the NVOCC, checks the entry documents, coordinates the duty estimate and any CBP exam with the broker, and arranges the trucking after release, so one team holds the 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, so an urgent or high-value consignment can move by air through the same team and the same enquiry as your ocean freight.
Air freight forwarding →Three steps, in this order.
Prefer to talk first? Book a free 30-minute call with a freight expert and bring your route, cargo and timing questions. Talk to a freight expert →
A quote needs three things: the lane, the cargo and when it ships. The rest sharpens the price.
Each item links to the register or directory that publishes it, so you can check it yourself before you send 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.
Add the origin, the destination, the cargo and the container or weight. We reply with the rate, the routing and the services included; customs entries are filed through our licensed customs-broker network.
A freight forwarder arranges the movement of your goods: it books space with ocean carriers or airlines, collects the cargo, prepares the transport documents, files the Importer Security Filing for ocean imports, coordinates the customs entry with a licensed broker, and arranges trucking and warehousing at destination. Airlift USA does all of this as a licensed NVOCC, which means it also issues its own house bill of lading and contracts directly with the carriers rather than reselling another forwarder's booking.
Both. Airlift USA Inc. holds FMC Ocean Transportation Intermediary licence 016162 as an NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder, doing business as Airlift Container Line, with the NVOCC bond and FMC tariff that licence requires. You can look the licence 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.
Asia to the United States. India to the US ports of 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 there are return lanes 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 enquiry as ocean freight, so if you are weighing the two for one shipment, say so in the brief and the reply covers both.
Airlift USA does not hold a US customs broker licence 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. What Airlift does is 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 the trucking once the goods are released, so one team holds the shipment file from booking to delivery.
Send the origin, the destination, the cargo, the container or weight and the ready date through the form on this page. The reply states the rate, the routing and what is included, with its validity. Compare it line by line on origin pickup and handling, ocean freight, carrier surcharges, destination handling, inland delivery and documentation and customs-clearance service, so that a cheaper number is not just a shorter list.
For ocean freight, search the Federal Maritime Commission's OTI list: every licensed NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder is listed with its licence number and bond. For air cargo, an Indirect Air Carrier operates under a TSA security programme and an IATA agent appears in the CargoLink directory. Airlift USA links to each of its own entries in the credentials block on this page.
The guides and tools behind the quote, if you want to work the numbers first.