Road freight on imports and exports

Representing more than 90% of import and export operations in Brazil, sea freight is a modal that offers an excellent cost-benefit ratio. However, due to the current crisis that the Foreign Trade is going through, freight via containers has reached record values ​​and its feasibility for certain types of cargo has already come into question.

In addition to this large portion of maritime freight, air transport also represents an important portion of all merchandise entering and leaving Brazil, being widely used for smaller, urgent, and higher value-added cargo.

And the road freight carried out by trucks?

Widely used in internal/domestic logistics, the road modal or “Road Freight” can also be very effective in imports and exports between countries with common borders, such as Brazil and its neighbors in Mercosur (Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and other countries in the South America, especially for the transport of corn, soy, wine, fruit, and cars.

However, it is necessary to pay attention to some requirements for the export in this type of modal to be successful. Here are some important steps:

• Find a carrier with permission to transport cargo across borders.
• When contacting the carrier, clearly inform the type of goods, weight, size, invoice value, origin, and destination.
• Decide the type of vehicle (car, bongo, truck, container trailer) that will be used and make sure the carrier is able to load and unload the goods (depending on its complexity).
• Decide who will pay for customs clearance: the importer or the exporter?
• Where will customs clearance be done? Inform the carrier where to cross the border to make the shipment. If the exporter is responsible for choosing and paying for customs clearance, he himself chooses the most convenient route.
• Issue the Electronic Bill of Lading (CTE) containing information about the total freight value, which is a paramount document.
• There are two types of ICMS tax: one charged over the product at customs clearance according to the value of the cargo and the other is due on road transport.

Another advantage of such type of operation is the fact that the importer does not need to transship its good most of the time, as door-to-door logistics are easily carried out in the same vehicle. Therefore, it can be advantageous to consider the road modal when negotiating with neighboring countries, which can certainly lead to a reduction in time and costs.

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