Home topics small-business-resources growth-import-export Growth | Import | Export Growth | Import | Export Freight issues and solutions for exporters Joe Parkes September 4, 2008 Export freight is one thing, but when you factor in our own freight infrastructure , too, it’s a whole new ball game. Joe Parkes examines the issues, takes note of possible freight solutions on the horizon, and checks that all the paperwork exporters need is in order to get your exports to market. An ancient Chinese proverb declares that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For Australian exporters that single step usually involves moving products from the factory, the orchard, the farm or the processing plant, to a ship or plane bound for markets overseas. It’s not a simple process. To begin with, the exporter has to organise appropriate packaging, essential paperwork and insurance cover, product testing and export permits, and then decide whether to use truck, rail or air to move the goods to port. Does the exporter try to handle it all himself or pass it to a logistics supplier? Does he try to cope with imponderables like transport failures, booking foul-ups and accidents, or would using a freight distribution centre be a better idea? Stuart St Clair, CEO of the trucking industry’s peak body, the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), advises exporters to talk first to Customs agents who deal with freight movements. He also suggests searching the internet to find transport companies with specialist freight capabilities. “Some