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Content reviewed October 2026. FMC OTI license 016162.
What we handle at the US end of your shipments
You sell the shipment and keep the customer; we look after the US side of it, from the ISF to the delivery.
- ISF. Filed for your ocean shipments before the 24-hour deadline, with any update after filing.
- Arrival and release. Arrival notices to your consignee, carrier release, delivery orders and the freight and charges collection you agree with us.
- Customs clearance. Entries filed through our licensed customs brokers for your consignees, or coordination with the consignee’s own broker.
- Drayage and trucking. Container drayage from the terminal or rail ramp, then LTL or full-truckload delivery, arranged through contracted motor carriers.
- Transloading and storage. Container to 53′ trailer, splitting one container for several receivers, and storage at partner warehouses near the ports.
- Air imports. Recovery at US airports, customs through our licensed brokers and door delivery.
Where we work
Our own US offices are in Los Angeles, for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and in New Jersey, for the Port of New York and New Jersey. Shipments into Savannah, Houston, Charleston, Norfolk, Oakland and the inland rail ramps are handled by the same teams with partner truckers and warehouses at each port.
Outside the US we have our own offices in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia, so on those lanes we usually work as one company at both ends. Partners elsewhere are the agents we look for.
How working with Airlift works
- Pre-alert. Send the house and master bills, the commercial invoice, the packing list and the ISF data for ocean cargo before loading.
- We take it from arrival. We contact your consignee, arrange the customs entry, release and delivery, and keep you copied on each step.
- Settlement. Charges are settled with you or collected from the consignee, as agreed for each shipment or under a partner agreement.
Credentials you can check
- FMC OTI license 016162. NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder, d/b/a Airlift Container Line, on the Federal Maritime Commission’s list.
- FMCSA property broker. USDOT 2355713, MC-798584, for the trucking we arrange.
- WCA World. Member since 2019, Los Angeles and New Jersey offices.
- In business since 1999. Customs entries filed through licensed customs brokers; Airlift USA does not itself hold a customs broker license.
How to become a partner
Tell us about your company in the form below. Our US team reviews each inquiry and replies with the next steps.
- Company. Name, country, offices and website.
- Networks. The networks you belong to, such as WCA World, and your licenses.
- Lanes and volumes. Origins, US ports and the containers, LCL or air volume you ship to the US in a month.
- What you need. Which of the services above you want us to handle at destination.
Partner with Airlift in the US
Tell us your company, country, networks, the lanes and volumes you ship to the US, and what you need us to handle at destination. Our US team replies with the next steps.
FAQ
A destination agent handles the US end of a shipment that an overseas forwarder sold: the ISF for ocean cargo, the arrival notice to the consignee, the carrier release and delivery order, the customs entry, and the trucking to the final door. Airlift does all of these, with customs entries filed through licensed customs brokers and trucking arranged through contracted motor carriers.
Yes. Send us the ISF data with the pre-alert before the cargo is loaded at origin, and we file it as the importer’s agent, with any update before arrival. The deadline is 24 hours before loading at the foreign port.
No. Airlift USA files entries through its licensed customs broker network and coordinates with a consignee’s own broker when the consignee has one. Airlift is an FMC-licensed NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder (OTI license 016162) and an FMCSA-licensed property broker.
Los Angeles, Long Beach and the New York and New Jersey port area from our own offices, and Savannah, Houston, Charleston, Norfolk, Oakland and the inland rail ramps through partner truckers and warehouses. Air imports are recovered at the main US airports.
WCA World since 2019, for the Los Angeles and New Jersey offices, plus the NCBFAA, the International Association of Movers and the Los Angeles Air Cargo Association.