International Freight Forwarding
International freight forwarding: import, export, cross-border.
Consultative, lane- and mode-literate forwarding for a growing book of repeat business. Ocean FCL is our primary mode; air freight is offered for time-critical scope. Capacity is in-house on the lanes we run and partner-sourced elsewhere, decided per shipment, and customs entry goes through a partner customs broker. Forwarding stands on its own. When the move is part of a larger project, it’s engineered straight into the project scope.
Scope, up front
- Ocean FCL · primary
- Air · secondary
- Customs · partner broker
- LCL · not offered
Consultative, not a rate card
We advise the move, then book it. Not the reverse.
Most forwarders sell a service line: ocean rates, air rates, customs brokerage, warehousing. The shipper assembles those line items themselves. We work the other way around. The cargo, the Incoterms, the milestones, and the destination dictate the mode, the routing, the consolidation strategy, the document set, and the partner capacity we draw on. For a standalone shipment that’s consultative forwarding; inside a larger move it’s the forwarding scope engineered into the project. Same discipline, either way.
Forwarding decisions we make on every project
- Mode selection based on cargo specs and milestones: ocean FCL, breakbulk vessel, RoRo, or air
- Container or vessel selection: standard FCL, flat rack, open-top, project flat, breakbulk, or charter
- Sailing / departure selection: vessel schedules timed against the construction or commissioning milestone
- Routing: direct or transshipment, based on cargo handling tolerance and time budget
- In-house vs partner capacity: deployed per project, based on lane and scope
- Document set design: aligned to Incoterms and customs requirements at destination
- Customs entry coordination: through partner customs broker
- Origin and destination handling: packing, drayage, port, last-mile sequenced into the schedule
What we offer, explicitly
Scope is something we publish, not bury.
Project work fails when capabilities are oversold. Below is what LGX offers in-house, what we coordinate through a partner, and what we do not offer.
Full-container-load ocean freight from Asian origin ports to the U.S. Gulf Coast and to Canada (regular lanes), and other origin-destination pairs as part of project scopes.
For project cargo that doesn’t fit a container. Vessel selection per cargo specs; charter when required.
For wheeled or tracked cargo, on purpose-built RoRo vessels.
For time-critical scope, compact-spec project pieces, or replacement parts. We do not lead with air; we use it when the scope justifies it.
Handled by a partner customs broker working under LGX’s project coordination. The handoff is staged so entry is ready before arrival. LGX manages the timing and document handoff; we do not pretend to file the entry ourselves.
Application is in process with the FMC. Until granted, LGX does not present itself as an NVOCC. When granted, this page will be updated.
We do not consolidate LCL freight. Project scopes are not LCL-suited, and the buyer profile we serve does not benefit from it.
Detached from a larger project or forwarding scope.
See the partner line above. We will not list this as in-house.
Lanes we run regularly
Two lanes with the relationships already warm.
We forward import, export, and cross-border freight wherever a shipment needs to go. The lanes below are ones we run regularly, with port and partner relationships kept warm year-round. Everywhere else is quoted per shipment or project and run to the same standard, wherever it goes.
China → U.S. Gulf Coast
The lane most of our import work runs on: Chinese origin ports into Houston and the neighbouring Gulf ports, with drayage, heavy haul, and site delivery planned as the same move.
Gulf Coast lane →China → Canada
Chinese origin ports into Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and the eastern gateways, then inland to Alberta, BC, Ontario, and Quebec sites, with Canadian entry filed by a partner broker.
Canada lane →Import, export, and cross-border on any origin-destination pair are handled per shipment or project scope, nationally and internationally. See reach.
Ocean FCL · primary mode
FCL is the workhorse of the project.
Most of what we move travels FCL. Standard 20′ and 40′ containers cover the bulk of project freight: fabricated assemblies, packaged components, palletized capital equipment. When the cargo doesn’t fit, we move to flat racks, open-tops, project flats, or breakbulk vessels. That decision is made on the spec sheet, not the rate card.
The default for unit-load and palletized project freight.
When vertical clearance inside the container matters.
For OOG cargo that exceeds container width or height, secured to a flat rack platform with sea-fastening.
For overheight cargo that loads from above (top loading by crane).
When standard liner equipment can’t be secured for the move.
For loose project pieces, structural steel, pressure vessels, modular skids. Sea-fastened directly to the vessel.
For full-vessel project campaigns or heavy-lift cargo.
Every container or stowage choice is documented in the scope of work. We do not make these decisions silently and bill them later.
Air freight · when scope demands it
Air freight is offered. It is not what we lead with.
Air freight is the right answer for time-critical scope: a replacement part on a turnaround, a compact-spec capital piece against a hard milestone, a sensitive component routing. We arrange direct air freight and air-charter when the project demands it, and we are transparent about cost-versus-benefit so the buyer’s call is the right one. Air freight is not where most of our work lives. Ocean is. We say so.
Customs · coordinated, not in-house
Customs entry: a partner broker files it. LGX runs the handoff.
Customs entry is a regulated, licensed activity. LGX coordinates the handoff to a partner customs broker: assembling the document set, staging entry timing against the schedule, and integrating customs into the overall project scope. We do not file entries ourselves, and we don’t present this capability as in-house. The handoff is engineered, supervised, and accountable to the project. That’s the part that matters operationally.
- LGXAssemble the document setAligned to the Incoterms and the destination’s requirements.
- LGXStage the entry timingAgainst the schedule, so entry is ready before arrival.
- Partner brokerFile the entryUnder the partner broker’s licence, supervised by the project team.
Why route forwarding through LGX
What a project-led forwarder does differently.
The forwarding scope is engineered into the project scope.
You don’t have to manage a forwarder, a heavy-haul broker, a customs broker, and a crane company. Forwarding decisions are made inside the project plan and reviewed against the milestones. The scope reads coherently because one team wrote it.
Our own operations or a named partner, decided per project.
Capacity decisions are explicit. If the lane is one we run regularly, we deploy in-house operations. If a project requires a partner asset (a niche vessel, an air-charter aircraft, an origin agent in a specific port), we say so in the SOW. No black-box partnering.
National and international, not lane-fenced.
Humble, TX is home base, and a few lanes run often enough to keep relationships warm year-round. But the practice isn’t fenced to a region or corridor. Import, export, and cross-border are planned per shipment, wherever the freight needs to go.
Frequently asked
Questions buyers ask about our forwarding scope.
Are you an NVOCC?
NVOCC application is in process with the FMC. Until it is granted, LGX does not claim NVOCC status. This page will be updated when the license is issued.
Do you file customs entries?
No. Customs entry is handled by a partner customs broker. LGX coordinates the document set, timing, and handoff against the project schedule. The handoff is supervised and accountable to the project; the entry itself is filed under the partner broker’s license.
Do you handle LCL?
LCL is not offered. We focus on FCL and project-cargo modes (breakbulk, RoRo, charter, flat rack, open-top). LCL consolidation does not fit the buyer profile or the cargo profile we serve.
What regions and lanes do you cover?
We forward import, export, and cross-border freight nationally and internationally, wherever a shipment needs to go. We run some lanes regularly (for example China → U.S. Gulf Coast and China → Canada), which is proof we do this often, not the limit of where we work. Other origin-destination pairs are quoted per shipment or project. See Reach.
Air or ocean?
Ocean is our primary mode. We use air for time-critical, compact-spec, or hard-milestone scope. The decision sits in the scope of work, not buried in fine print.
Can you handle a one-off forwarding booking outside of a project scope?
Yes, for existing customers or as a pre-project test. We’re transparent that our work is set up around project scopes. If the booking grows into a project, the scope reframe is straightforward.
Have an origin, destination, and cargo spec?
Send us the brief. We’ll respond with a structured plan: mode, capacity, partner scope, and timing. Not just a rate.
Or call our forwarding team at 832 699 4540.