Rates and service quality most important factors to shippers

Korean shippers placed rates in first place when they picked up shipping liners, and service quality on top in choosing forwarders. These results showed when the KSC surveyed 600 trading companies for the month of November.

To take advantage of shipping liners, shippers used to take account of rates (46.2%) first, then convenience of cargo transportation (29.9%), service levels (19.7%), and credibility and company size (4.2%). For forwarders to close deals, they took service levels (45.7%) to be first instead of rates (32.8%), then convenience of cargo transportation (15.0%), and credibility and company size (6.5%). Convenience of cargo movements refers to how fast shipping deadlines are met, how often they carry, how long it takes to harbor, and how easy it is to get vessel slots. Service quality represents Bills of Lading (B/L) offered, and extra-services such as news, information and kindness.

The KSC analyzed that when shippers deal with shipping lines they seemed to consider rates most of all because they handled lots of cargoes. The shippers that go through forwarders usually put service quality on top for smooth cargo transportation in their business to not make trouble with smaller cargo volumes. "On this survey basis, forwarders showed offerings of similar rates levels to shippers. In connection with these results, forwarders are required to keep pace with shippers' needs through tightening service quality and necessity." said a KSA official.