Another Bloody Lesson!!!

On the morning of June 27, Beijing time, multiple Amazon sellers reported a new scandal in the freight forwarding market. A company named “Zhejiang Xinheng International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd.” is allegedly involved, with the person in charge absconding with funds, leaving numerous victims and fellow freight forwarders at the company’s doorstep!

According to reports, this problematic freight forwarder had 17 containers detained in the U.S., with goods valued at approximately 200 million RMB (about 27 million USD).

Following the incident, some clients received ransom notices from upstream partners. After already paying a shipping fee of $0.8/kg, they were asked to pay an additional $2.7/kg ransom fee.

The freight forwarder’s strategy was to accept sellers’ goods at low prices and then ship them out at high prices to other master freight forwarders.

The legal representative of the company stated that Zhang Heng (the actual person in charge) absconded with about $2 million! Finding him might offer a chance to resolve the issue.

However, fellow freight forwarders noted that this company also owed large amounts of unpaid shipping fees to many upstream partners, which is why many clients received high ransom notices.

After the scandal broke, some freight forwarders attributed it to “low prices and long payment terms,” while others lamented: “Freight rates have doubled, pressure has doubled, and when you can’t take it, you just run away…”

Netizens once again warned sellers and cargo owners: Low prices in the market may seem to save a few cents, but losses can range from tens of thousands to millions. Always choose reliable freight forwarders! Be vigilant!

According to public records from the enterprise information query website “Qichacha,” the freight forwarder involved in the scandal was established in August 2021, with a registered capital of 10 million RMB. Its business scope includes international cargo transportation agency, road cargo transport station operations, and maritime international cargo transportation agency. Before this scandal, the Yiwu Market Supervision Administration in Zhejiang Province had already marked the company as “abnormal operation” on April 27.

Going forward, whether for cargo owners or freight forwarding companies, it’s crucial to be vigilant and enhance risk management awareness when selecting logistics service providers or partners. The market risks are increasing, and in the current market, reliability is more important than low freight rates! Otherwise, as in this case, you pay once for cheap shipping, then again for high ransom fees, losing both money and goods!