Crossing the border can be a stressful experience whether it’s with your family or a freight shipment. To reduce the stress and speed along the process it is best to have everything prepared before the stop. It also helps to avoid some common pitfalls that businesses often run into when sending their shipment across the border. Keep these three things in mind to avoid any hang-ups for your next shipment.
Customs agents will often require documentation for large shipments that are crossing the border. For obvious reasons they would like to know everything that is being imported and exported. To make their job easier and prevent any headaches for yourself and the driver, the correct documentation should be on hand for the border guards. Without these documents the amount of questions can be long and overwhelming if there are no clear answers. Here are some documents that could come in hand when cross Canadian customs or American customs:
If you are unfamiliar with these documents or need help filling them out, give us a call and we can help connect you with a broker to assist you with your documentation.
Some products and materials are not allowed to be shipped across certain provinces and states. Even more importantly, you may require special documentation for this cargo to cross the border such as hazardous or dangerous material. The best way to be prepared and covered for all these situations is to have the right experts behind you. With our help and the help of a customs broker your route can be planned and prepared for. This will reduce the chance of any fines or stops.
In the event that your freight shipment is selected for review the best way to be prepared is to have everything properly packaged and labeled. This will take the guess work out of the border guards’ job and prevent them from delaying the shipment further or even taking apart packaging to find the answers.
We have been doing cross border shipping for years and we have seen and heard about the stories from freight shipments gone wrong. We want to make your experience as easy as possible and will work with your to make that happen. To learn more about what we can do for you contact us at 1-604-757-2441. We can help answer your questions and even connect your with a customs broker if that is what you require.