Chinese New Year is early this year (25th January) so make sure you have all your shipments in order asap to ensure your goods are safely at their destination before the country shuts down.

Importing for the first time can be daunting - even with the wealth of advice and guidance available on the internet. It is easier than ever to import from abroad, and we are receiving many more enquiries from customers who would like to import from USA, China, Canada India and many other countries in Asia.

A ship broker plays a very important role in the transport of goods by sea, and the broker’s main role is to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible, bringing all the parties involved together and resolving any issues as they occur.

If you’re exporting or importing goods to or from Scotland, Grangemouth and Greenock are the two main container ports on your doorstep. From these two ports you can import and export cargo worldwide!

As a business importing goods from China, India or the rest of Asia, when is the best time to order your stock? Placing an order in May or June may sound ludicrous, but when you factor in these time constraints, getting organised now is a very good idea!

T.Ward have been working with the Turing Trust since 2014. The first shipment we did was an LCL (Less than Container Load) shipment of 10 pallets to Tema in Ghana. We then started to export FCL (full containers) from 2015 onwards and have since done shipments to Ghana, Malawi and Liberia.

Paraiba Beachwear create beachwear inspired by travelling, adventure and Mexico. The company was founded by two friends from London but is actually based in Mexico. They came to us when they were looking for a shipping agent to help them ship their clothing products from Mexico to the UK.

For over 15 years, T.Ward have been shipping precious cargoes of handmade furniture for students, many of whom are sending their works home at the end of the year. The furniture is often too bulky to be carried as luggage, and has to be exported to the student’s home country.

The eBay and Amazon success stories have led to a surge in small businesses importing goods for sale in the UK, and opportunistic sellers looking for ways to make money have been getting their hands on anything from textiles to e-cigs, cables and packaging supplies at low cost and selling them on through online businesses.

BIFA is the trade association for any UK-registered companies who are involved in the international movement of freight. Not just sea freight - BIFA is there for companies using any type of transport to move freight around the world; air, road, rail and sea. Some members of BIFA are also involved with customs clearance and cross border controls.

We recently arranged the transportation of some original artwork for the Biscuit Factory in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. This involved transporting two paintings safely from the gallery in Northern England to the buyer in Toronto, Canada via our tried and trusted courier air freight service.