Categories > Internet/Tech
The Top 5 Freight Forwarder Companies in Portland
How We Picked
Quality of Service
We considered a freight forwarder’s quality of service because you must get the support you need for whatever concern comes up with your package. Things we considered are their delivery time, communication skills, and responsiveness.
Cost
We wanted to provide you with a list of top freight forwarder companies based on the company’s affordable pricing along with its quality service.
Range of Services
For a freight forwarder to cater to a lot more people, they should also be able to have different kinds of services. Considering this would also increase the chance that you will be able to find a company that can do exactly what you’re looking for.
Expertise
A freight forwarder company should be able to address different types of customer concerns and issues.
1. Expeditors
WEBSITE: https://www.expeditors.com
ADDRESS: 2508 N Marine Dr, Portland, OR
CONTACT DETAILS: +1 503-254-3707
OPERATING HOURS:
- Monday – Friday 8 AM – 5 PM
- Saturday and Sunday Closed
Google reviews | 3.9/5 |
Total reviews | 4.5/5 |
Score consistency | 4/5 |
Quality of service | 4.67/5 |
Delivery time | 5/5 |
Communication skills | 5/5 |
Responsiveness | 4/5 |
Cost(A higher score means better value) | 4/5 |
Range of services | 4/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Knowledge | 5/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Pros
- Quick service
- Started in 1979
- Great staff
Cons
- Long wait times
One of the reasons we added Expeditors to our list of top freight forwarder companies in Portland is their quick service.
A lot of the people we interviewed who have been clients of this company spoke to us about how prompt the staff is when accommodating their needs. This is impressive considering how big of a company they are and the number of goods that they are in charge of per day.
We think this is one of the reasons why they’ve lasted for decades in this industry (they’ve been around since 1979!).
While the service is fast, other people also complained of long wait times. It seems that there are days when this is unavoidable, so we think it’s still best to manage your expectations when you go there.
Another thing worth highlighting about this freight forwarding company is that they have great staff.
It’s because the staff members are quite obviously knowledgeable about their work and they also serve with a nice attitude.
It’s important to note that a lot of the customers we interviewed mentioned this. That said, their service seems truly remarkable.
They also use the latest software to optimize their services and supply chains. That’s why you’ll be able to easily access a secure online platform where your customers can see and track bookings, receive purchase dates, and manage order fulfillment.
2. Ceva Freight Management
WEBSITE: https://www.cevalogistics.com/en
ADDRESS: 8830 NE Alderwood Rd, Portland, OR
CONTACT DETAILS: +1 503-528-3500
Google reviews | 3.8/5 |
Total reviews | 4/5 |
Score consistency | 4/5 |
Quality of service | 3.5/5 |
Delivery time | 3/5 |
Communication skills | 5/5 |
Responsiveness | 2.5/5 |
Cost(A higher score means better value) | 3.5/5 |
Range of services | 5/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Knowledge | 5/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Pros
- Accommodating team
- Has different types of services
- Informative website
Cons
- Lack of responsiveness
- Some complaints about slow delivery
If you need a lot of information before moving forward with a freight forwarder company, you’ll be pleased to know that Ceva Freight Management provides a lot of it on their website.
This is one of the things we love about them because we like that transparency in a company. It’s far more convenient than having to contact them and wait for a response each time you have a query.
At any rate, Ceva is pretty interesting too in that it works with clients from a very wide range of industries. These include automotive, consumer & retail, e-commerce, healthcare, industrial & aerospace, and more.
They also have different types of service categories such as air, ocean, and ground freight. Various services are also available in each category.
For example, when it comes to ocean freight, they have a full container load (FCL), less than container load (LCL), freight management services, and client consolidation. This helps optimize operations and client quotations.
As for the team that handles shipment, a lot of people we talked to said that they were quite accommodating, with staff even helping them unload heavy boxes. This isn’t unheard-of, of course, but it’s always nice to hear.
While there were a lot of great things to highlight about Ceva Freight Management, there are also certain things they could improve on.
One is their lack of responsiveness. We heard this quite a few times when we were interviewing clients, so we think this happens more than it should.
Also, there were a few complaints about the slow delivery. Unlike the lack of responsiveness, however, not a lot of people mentioned it, so it may be less of a concern for most customers.
3. SEKO Logistics Portland
WEBSITE: https://www.sekologistics.com/us/
ADDRESS: 17949 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR
CONTACT DETAILS: +1 503-255-8935
OPERATING HOURS:
- Monday – Friday 8 AM – 5 PM
- Saturday and Sunday Closed
Google reviews | 3.5/5 |
Total reviews | 3/5 |
Score consistency | 3/5 |
Quality of service | 3.83/5 |
Delivery time | 5/5 |
Communication skills | 4/5 |
Responsiveness | 2.5/5 |
Cost(A higher score means better value) | 4/5 |
Range of services | 4/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Knowledge | 5/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Pros
- Easy to book a call
- 40-year air freight management experience
- Great 24/7 support
Cons
- Can be quite unresponsive
You rarely go wrong with a company that has decades of experience. That’s why if you’re looking for a freight forwarding service with decades of air freight management experience, SEKO Logistics Portland might be one of the most suitable options.
When we had the chance to interview their clients, most of them commended SEKO’s support service. We couldn’t help but agree on this one based on our experience.
This is because the staff can be quite helpful with customer concerns like lost or delayed packages.
Moreover, their support is 24/7 so you can reach them anytime. Sometimes, you might have to wait a little bit as they try to learn more about your issue, but we think it’s understandable.
While there were a lot who liked their customer support, we’ve also received feedback from other clients saying that they could be quite unresponsive when it comes to other concerns.
Sometimes they fail to notify customers of delivery status, which has caused some problems with the parties involved.
It’s a good thing that we only heard this a few times from a few people. Most feedback was quite good, which made us decide to recommend them.
Another thing worth highlighting about SEKO is that it’s quite easy to book a call with them. All you need to do is pick an available date and time on their website and write down the type of business you want to do.
You can also opt for either voice or video calls.
4. RXO
WEBSITE: https://rxo.com
ADDRESS: 2610 N Marine Dr Bldg. B, Portland, OR
CONTACT DETAILS: +1 800-883-4593
OPERATING HOURS: Monday – Sunday 8 AM – 5 PM
Google reviews | 4.7/5 |
Total reviews | 5/5 |
Score consistency | 4.5/5 |
Quality of service | 4.5/5 |
Delivery time | 5/5 |
Communication skills | 3.5/5 |
Responsiveness | 5/5 |
Cost(A higher score means better value) | 5/5 |
Range of services | 5/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Knowledge | 5/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Pros
- Ranked #1 in their Fortune 500 category for 5 years
- Delivers on time
- Excellent track record
Cons
- Communication skills can be improved
If you’re looking for a freight forwarder company that has good credentials, RXO Ranked #1 in the Fortune 500 in 2017-2021 in the category of transportation and logistics. It’s hard to beat that in terms of prestige.
That being said, we still wanted to get to know why RXO is a wise choice from different clients’ perspectives.
That’s why we took some time off our desks to go out to the streets and interview several people who had experience taking their business here.
The feedback from their clients was overwhelmingly positive. Most of them commented that their deliveries were always on time with RXO.
One of the common problems when it comes to freight forwarder companies is late deliveries, so this is definitely a strong point in RXO’s favor. Additionally, clients would even receive constant updates about where their items are and if it’s out for delivery.
Their track record in terms of personal customer service also seems to be very good. We received a lot of feedback about those who delivered the items, saying they were efficient and professional.
This should be expected, but we thought it was worth highlighting because there were a lot of clients who mentioned the same thing. With how many of our respondents noted it, it’s hard to ignore.
However, there were also those people who weren’t quite happy with their choice when they went to RXO.
They said that the company’s communication skills could be improved. This is communication when it comes to different departments at RXO.
We added this because it has caused a few miscommunications with the deliveries because of internal incidents.
5. Forward Air Inc
WEBSITE: https://www.forwardair.com
ADDRESS: 8736 NE Alderwood Rd bldg d, Portland, OR
CONTACT DETAILS: +1 503-281-0209
OPERATING HOURS: Monday – Sunday 9 AM – 10 PM
Google reviews | 3.5/5 |
Total reviews | 4/5 |
Score consistency | 3.5/5 |
Quality of service | 3.83/5 |
Delivery time | 4/5 |
Communication skills | 4/5 |
Responsiveness | 3.5/5 |
Cost(A higher score means better value) | 4/5 |
Range of services | 4/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Knowledge | 5/5 |
Expertise | 5/5 |
Pros
- Helpful workers
- Easy to get a quote
- 24/7 customer service
Cons
- Long wait time
One of the reasons we added Forward Air Inc to our list is that they have a strong reputation for providing helpful workers to clients.
In our and other customers’ experiences, for example, they were quite helpful with loading stuff on the freight. They also gave out every bit of important information like loading time, paperwork, and such.
Also of note is that we found it quite easy to get a quote from them. Moreover, the quotations were quite close to complete accuracy because they would also ask you about the shipment size and weight.
We appreciate this because it managed our expectations well during the actual shipment process.
Some of the clients we interviewed also agreed on this. They also said that they were able to adjust certain things to meet their budget.
If you have any concerns or inquiries, another advantage to choosing Forward Air Inc is that they have 24/7 customer service. This made us feel like the company took care of us as customers by offering a channel that we can get help from any time.
If there’s something that Forward Air Inc needs to address to further improve, it would be the long wait time.
A lot of the people we talked to experienced hours of wait time when it comes to loading boxes on the freight. This could also depend on the time or season, of course.