cross trade

In logistics, a cross-border transport is referred to as a cross trade, in which the sender’s registered office, the place of dispatch and the place of receipt are in different countries. Example: a company based in Germany wants to send goods from a location in China to a destination in the USA or an Australian shipper wants to send goods from Germany to the USA. Other states are often affected as transfer countries by the transport. In addition, even more complicated cross trades take place than pure “triangular trades”.
Cross trades can be carried out using various means of transport (sea vessels, planes, trucks). Combined transport often takes place within the framework of a multi-link transport chain in which different means of transport are used. Cross-trade transports are playing an increasingly important role in international freight transport because the cross-border division of labor in the context of globalization makes the flow of goods across borders increasingly differentiated, complex and intensive.
Cross trade transports place increased demands on the logistical planning, organization and implementation, since more partners tend to be involved in the transport and regulations regarding customs clearance, taxation and processing have to be observed to a greater extent than with “bilateral” transport processes, in which only two countries are touched. Cross trades often take place away from common transport routes and it is more often about “special transports”. This also places special demands on logistics because standard solutions cannot be used.