Frequently asked questions
Get answers to your frequently asked questions about NTG and our services
About NTG
NTG is a freight forwarding company established in 2011. NTG has experienced significant financial, geographical, and organisational expansion since inception. NTG has grown through organic development, including through start-ups in existing and new markets, supported by merger and acquisition activities. NTG has offices in most European countries, USA, and the Far East and provides worldwide forwarding solutions.
NTG Nordic Transport Group A/S was founded in 2011 by Jørgen Hansen, a seasoned entrepreneur in the transport sector with decades of experience. The aim was to create a leading European company via partnerships of excellent small- and mid-sized players in the industry. Based on Jørgen Hansen’s philosophy, NTG has expanded its international footprint.
Road freight
Road freight is the transfer of goods and merchandise from one place to the other by railway or roadways with the use of a vehicle – usually a truck or van. Road freight transport is among the most common ways of transporting goods because it is effective and less expensive than air freight.
The varying nature of the transported cargo and goods requires different types of road freight transport based on local infrastructure, weight and volume on each shipment and the distance that the cargo must travel by road. All this plays an important role when deciding on the type of vehicle used for road freight transport.
Larger shipments are transported by truck, whereas on short distances and light, small shipments a van or pickup truck will suffice. Choosing the right type of road transport for your goods is crucial for optimising costs, delivery times and a minimum of environmental impact, while also using the best delivery method.
Freight transportation in general refers to our major types of transportation by land (road), rail, ocean (sea), and air. Although these are the main categories of freight transportation, each method has their own processes that differ from one another. The freight transportation – the flow of shipment or goods between two destinations – is carried out by a freight forwarder. These are the people in the middle who are responsible for the facilitation of the shipping.
You can learn more about the major types of freight transportation under NTG’s services; Road Freight, Air Freight and Ocean Freight.
Road freight transportation can be divided into two major types called “Full Truck Load” (FTL) and “Less than Truck Load” (LTL).
In full loads the truck’s trailer carries only one shipment in a bulk. In this type of road freight transport the entire space is reserved for one dedicated shipment.
Part loads are cargo with a lighter weight. This type is efficient for domestic and international land freight shipments that is not more than 5 pallets. Most part loads follow a process where the shipment is collected first from point A – shipper’s loading site. The shipment is then delivered to the service provider or third-party warehouse and the shipment sorted and put together with other loads with the same destination.
Full Truck Load (FTL) is cheaper than part loads freight transportation (LTL). The shipments get to the destination quickly as there are no other stopovers in between. Less handling means fewer chances of goods getting damaged.
Products transported by road freight include FMCG, pharmaceutical and medical products, refrigerated food and perishable products, hazardous and non-hazardous solids and liquids, chemicals, dangerous goods, heavy equipment and machinery and construction materials.
Movement of cargo, goods, merchandise, and personnel from point A to B by road through trucks, vans or railway is called road freight transportation. Road freight plays a vital role in this logistic system when it comes to the distribution of goods.
Logistics is the science of planning, organising, and executing the procurement, maintenance, and distribution of goods all within a system created to achieve a specific goal. In logistics, the major fields of work that is required to be done include procurement logistics, production logistics, distribution logistics, and disposal logistics.
Ocean freight
Ocean freight can be transported in several ways. The most common is FCL – Full container load where you purchase one or more full containers to send on a ship. Or LCL – Less than container load, where your products share a container as you may not have a full container’s worth. Once they reach their destination, the container’s contents are divided once more.
Other types of ocean freight are RORO or Roll on roll off, where your products do not leave the vehicle, they are in but simply drives onto the ship, and then drives off at the other end. Dry bulk shipping is another type of ocean freight, used for some specific items, which are deposited into the hold of the ship instead of travelling in a container.
Ocean freight offers great advantages when you are looking to transport large quantities of goods – or if the destination country is far away. Ocean freight is both economically and environmentally superior to other forms of freight services. Over long distances it is the most carbon-efficient solution and very cost-effective compared to other methods. Also using ocean freight, you can manoeuvre heavy or large products with ease.
When it comes to the disadvantages of ocean freight, obviously one of the largest cons is time, as it is the slowest option for moving products. The price is also unsustainable for smaller amounts of goods. However, even with the option of LCL (Less than container load) other services such as Road Freight or Air Freight may still be better options depending on the product in question.
Air freight
Air freight is the transfer and shipment of goods and merchandise via an air carrier, which may be charter or commercial. These types of shipments travel out of both passenger and commercial aviation gateways to anywhere planes can fly and land.
There are two types of air freight services – general and special air cargo. General cargo air freight consists of high-value cargo like electronics, jewellery, and pharmaceuticals. Even though air shipping is more expensive than road and sea freight, it is still the best and fastest way of transporting high margin and fragile goods.
Special cargo air freight are the preferred type for transporting under special conditions such as air conditions, temperature control and special casing, usually in cases of livestock or hazardous goods.
Air freight is the transportation of cargo by an air carrier. Air freight – the transportation of goods by air carrier – is very prevalent because it is much faster than road or sea freight. Also, it is a very reliable and tailored mode of transportation.
There are several factors that determine the cost of air freight such as distance, weight, size, classification, and fuel costs. At NTG, we calculate the costs for air freight based on the type of cargo being transported. Air freight can range from per kilogram.
Please contact our customer service to get a tailored quote.
Express freight
Express freight is used for urgent and faster delivery, which also means that the freight and delivery rates are usually higher than more ordinary forms of freight. The use of express vs. ordinary freight is normally determined based on the required delivery timelines and the value of the products.
Please reach out to our customer service to learn more.
The cost of express freight is usually higher due to its nature of urgency and faster delivery. Several factors determine the cost of express freight such as distance, weight, size, classification, and fuel costs. Since the express freight needs of clients are often quite different, NTG calculates the costs and creates a tailored quote for express freight based on the specific assignment and type of cargo being transported.
Please contact our customer service to get a tailored quote.
Project transport
Project logistics, also known as project transport, project forwarding or project cargo, is the transportation of large, complex, or high-value pieces of equipment, including break bulk shipments, that can move by road (land), sea, or air.
The process of project logistics involves single or multiple shipments with the help of cranes, trucks, ships, rail, and planes. Project logistics also tends to have a specific timeframe or specified delivery date that makes these shipments some of the most complex and detailed projects in the entire logistics industry.
Please reach out to our customer service to learn more.
Break bulk is the system of transporting goods in pieces separately, rather than being shipped in a container. Goods shipped in crates, boxes, bags, drums, barrels without the use of container are referred to as break bulk cargoes. These types of cargoes are usually large in sizes and dimensions.
Some examples of break bulk cargoes are oil and gas equipment, wind turbines, boats, cranes, turbine blades, yachts oversized vehicles, large engines, construction equipment, ship propellers, generators and so on. These goods are also known as Non-Containerised Cargo (NCC).
Please reach out to our customer service to learn more.
Project cargo, also known as project transport or project forwarding involves large and complex transportation – as well as transportation of high-value pieces of equipment. This also includes break bulk shipments, that can move by road (land), sea, or air.
Project cargo often have a specific timeframe or delivery date that makes these shipments among the most complex and detailed projects in the entire logistics industry. The process of project cargo (project transport) involves single or multiple shipments with the help of cranes, trucks, ships, rail, and planes.
Please reach out to our customer service to learn more.
Customs
All goods shipped internationally must pass through customs before they are allowed to enter or exit a country. This includes anything sent by sea, air, or land. Once cleared, the shipper is provided with a document that confirms that all customs duties have been paid and that the shipment of goods may proceed. A forwarding company like NTG will usually handle the customs clearance process, but you may also choose to hire a customs broker.
The customs clearance is a legal document, so it needs to be in order. Mistakes (with or without criminal background) will be punished by law. Depending on the reasons why your package is held, NTG will help you solve the issue as soon as possible.
Special transport
Almost every industry needs specialised shipping, from manufacturing and construction to oil and gas mining. In road transport, the size of the goods that require special transport exceeds the standard and legal weight limits.
When it comes to special transport services, NTG includes a wide variety of tailored services depending on the specific need of each customer. Within our special transport services, we cover many quite different areas such as furniture transport, international removals, or temperature-controlled transport. In such cases, NTG’s special transport services could be the right choice for you.
NTG’s special transport services help with transportation of fragile and perishable goods such as fresh produce, personal effects and much more.
Warehouse logistics
When a product is received at the warehouse it is stored in a “putaway bay” and transferred to an allocated storage location. Whenever a sales order is received, the product is located in the warehouse and shipped to the consumer. This is the physical flow of goods.
Warehousing is the process of storing physical inventory for sale or distribution. Many different businesses use warehouses for temporarily storing products in bulk before shipping them to either other locations – or individually directly to consumers.
Many e-commerce businesses for instance purchase products in bulk from their suppliers, who ship them to their warehouses for storage. When a customer then places an order from the e-commerce site, the business — or its third-party provider such as NTG — picks and packs the product from the warehouse and ships it directly to the customer.
Please reach out to our customer service to learn more.