Organizational structure of international cargo transportation

First, China's international freight organization system

(1) Owner

The consignor refers to an international trader specializing in import and export business, or an industry, trade and land trading company and a foreign-funded enterprise with import and export rights. In order to fulfill international trade contracts, they must organize the transportation of import and export commodities, in which they are shippers or consignees.

In China, there are mainly the following enterprises:

1. Specialized import and export companies and local foreign trade specialized companies.

2. Various industrial and agricultural trading companies.

3. Factories and collective enterprises with import and export rights.

4. Wholly foreign-owned, Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperation and joint ventures.

(2) the carrier

Carrier refers to a transport enterprise specializing in the transportation of passengers and goods by sea, railway, highway and air, such as shipping companies, railway or highway transport companies and airlines. They generally have a large number of vehicles to provide transportation services for the society.

In maritime transport, the ship operator acts as the carrier. Article 42 of China's Maritime Code points out: "The carrier refers to the person who enters into a contract of carriage of goods by sea with the shipper in his own name." "The actual carrier refers to the person who is entrusted by the carrier to engage in the transportation of goods or part of the transportation, including other people entrusted to engage in this transportation."

It can be seen that the carrier includes the owner of the ship and the operator who rents the ship to operate the ship by means of time charter or bareboat charter.

In China, there are mainly the following transportation enterprises:

1. Water transport enterprises

(1) China Ocean Shipping Group and its subsidiaries;

(2) China Shipping Group and its subsidiaries;

(3) local shipping companies;

(4) Yangtze River, Pearl River and Heilongjiang Shipping Company;

(5) Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperation and joint venture shipping companies;

(6) Wholly foreign-owned shipping companies;

(7) Sinotrans Group Shipping Company.

2. Railway transportation

A railway bureau, sub-bureau or company under the Ministry of Railways.

3. Road transport

Transport companies under the jurisdiction of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, as well as Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperation and joint ventures.

4. Air transport

(1) China International Airlines;

(2) Other airlines under the jurisdiction of CAAC;

(3) Local civil airlines;

(4) Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures and joint venture airlines;

(5) Foreign airlines.

(3) Transportation agent or shipping agent.

There are many kinds of transportation agents, mainly the following two:

1. Freight forwarder

Freight forwarding means according to the requirements of the principal; Freight forwarding agency. Some collect the goods from the shipper on behalf of the carrier, some consign the goods to the carrier on behalf of the shipper, and some have both. They belong to the nature of transportation intermediary and act as a bridge between carriers and shippers.

Freight forwarders in China mainly include the following enterprises:

(1) Sinotrans Group and its local companies;

(2) China Ocean Shipping Agency and its freight forwarding branches in various ports;

(3) COSCO Group Freight Company and its local branches;

(4) Chinese-foreign joint ventures and cooperative institutions;

(5) Branches of foreign freight forwarding companies in China;

(6) Other types of freight forwarding companies officially approved by MOFTEC: freight forwarding companies established by warehousing, road transportation, railway transportation, air transportation, import and export companies and shipping companies.

2. Shipping agent; Owner's agent)

A shipping agent refers to a person who is entrusted by the ship operator or owner to handle various businesses and procedures for his ship in Hong Kong. Shipping agents collect goods for customers in Hong Kong, handle cargo loading and unloading procedures at the loading and unloading port, keep the goods and deliver them to the consignee, replenish fuel, fresh water and food for ships, and act as agents for ship repair, ship inspection and container tracking management.

Shipping broker is an industry that negotiates business on behalf of intermediaries and promotes transactions. In maritime transportation, although the business of booking and loading of goods, consignment and transportation, ship leasing and trading are often directly negotiated by both parties, it has become a traditional habit to negotiate with shipping brokers as the medium. The role of ship brokers in China also belongs to the business scope of ship agents.

Shipping agents in China mainly include the following enterprises:

(1) China ocean shipping agency and its port subsidiaries;

(2) China Shipping Agency Company and its subsidiaries in various ports ";

(3) Other shipping agencies approved by the Ministry of Communications.

(4) Loading and unloading companies and tally companies

Loading and unloading tally industry is an industry that accepts the entrustment of ship owners or ship operators to load and unload, count, hand over, check the degree and cause of cargo damage and handle notarization for ships in ports.

1. Loading and unloading

Loading and unloading is an industry dealing with loading and unloading goods from ships. People who run this industry are called stevedores or stevedores. The stevedores are experienced in the packing, properties and loading and unloading methods of the goods that are often loaded and unloaded in their ports, and have a deep understanding of various types of ships. They can participate in the formulation of loading and unloading plan, and customers also trust their loading and unloading technology. However, because the quality of loading and unloading and stowage is closely related to the safety of ships and goods, such operations are carried out under the supervision and command of ships.

China port loading and unloading industry currently has the following companies:

(1) Port (or loading and unloading) companies under the various port authorities;

(2) the local loading and unloading company of each port;

(3) Sinotrans Group System Port Company;

(four) the loading and unloading company of the owner's wharf;

(5) Sino-foreign joint ventures and joint venture port companies.

2. Tally Clerk (inspector)

Tally is an industry that counts the number of goods and proves the delivery of goods when the ship is loading or unloading. Tally tally is usually entrusted by the shipping company or the cargo owner respectively, that is, the tallyman standing on the ship side and the tallyman standing on the cargo owner side complete it together. Only when tallymen representing both parties confirm together can the correctness of goods handover be proved.

This proof of correct handover is highly notarized, and tallymen should not only have comprehensive knowledge and skilled methods, but also have honest and fair quality.

Tally in our country is mainly carried out by China Ocean Shipping Tally Company and its branches in various ports, while shipowners often do it through agents in Hong Kong.

There are countless organizations engaged in international cargo transportation in the world, and the nature of their work is also different. However, it is mainly the above four institutions that are closely related in business. In addition, international cargo transportation is closely related to customs, commodity inspection, health inspection, animal and plant inspection, ports * (maritime bureau and port authority), insurance companies, banks and foreign exchange administration, packaging, warehousing and other institutions, which together constitute the international cargo transportation organization system.

Second, China's international cargo transport management agencies.

(a) comprehensive institutions under the the State Council.

1. the State Council Port Leading Group

The State Council is directly responsible for coordinating the national land, sea and air transportation, and is a comprehensive organization coordinating with relevant consignors, customs, border inspection, commodity inspection, health inspection and animal and plant inspection.

The Port Office under the Group is a permanent office (referred to as the State Council Port Office for short), which is responsible for coordinating the relationship between various departments and formulating and balancing the national annual foreign trade transportation plan. In all major ports in China, there are corresponding port committees to exercise corresponding functions.

2. the State Council Economic and Trade Office

As a comprehensive organization, it is responsible for the balance and coordination of some bulk cargo transportation work.

(two) the management mechanism of the transportation department

1. Organization of the Ministry of Communications

(1) Water Transport Department of the Ministry of Communications: mainly responsible for the examination and approval of shipping, shipping agency, container transportation, station and other enterprises; Responsible for formulating relevant traffic laws and regulations; Balance and coordination of transportation plans of ports in China; Macro management of port safety supervision.

(2) Port Safety Supervision Bureau of each port: mainly responsible for the safety supervision, joint inspection, crew assessment and supervision of the import and export of dangerous goods at each port.

(3) Local traffic management departments: provincial and municipal traffic departments and bureaus, mainly responsible for the management and supervision of highway transportation and local shipping.

2. Ministry of Railways organs

(1) Transportation Bureau: mainly responsible for national railway transportation management and international freight transportation, such as the formulation of freight plan, monthly car demand plan, examination and approval of car loading and unloading plan, passenger and freight transportation and vehicle dispatching.

(2) Freight Bureau: responsible for the formulation and revision of passenger and cargo transport regulations, passenger and cargo prices and freight rate odometers, cargo management and loading and unloading operations; Safe transportation of goods and handling of freight accidents.

(3) Foreign Affairs Bureau: mainly responsible for international railway transport, such as special conferences, border railway conferences and transportation work conferences; Supervise the implementation of international combined transport laws and regulations, bilateral railway agreements and protocols, and handle the daily foreign-related work at border stations.

(4) Railway bureaus under the Ministry of Railways: responsible for the implementation of transportation plans and rules and regulations of each railway bureau, as well as the normal management of subordinate branches and stations within the management scope.

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Examining and approving the right of civil aviation companies and freight forwarding enterprises to operate civil aviation nationwide, and formulating laws and regulations and aviation management.

(3) Foreign trade and economic cooperation institutions

In the foreign trade system, there is a relatively large foreign trade transportation organization, which mainly includes the following components:

1. Foreign Trade Freight Coordination Department of MOFTEC

It is the centralized leading department of foreign trade transportation in the foreign trade and economic cooperation system, and is responsible for the examination, approval, management and certification of national freight forwarding enterprises; Responsible for the preparation and implementation of foreign trade transportation plan, drafting and signing of foreign transportation agreement, etc.

2. Storage and transportation institutions of local foreign economic and trade commissions

Mainly responsible for the organization, management and coordination of foreign trade transportation in this region. Such as the preliminary report of freight forwarding enterprises and the daily management of freight forwarding enterprises under their jurisdiction, the preparation, release and implementation of foreign trade transportation plans in this region.

3. Foreign trade transportation agents in Hong Kong or foreign ports.

Mainly handle the transshipment, combined transport and shipping agency of import and export goods in China.