Freight Forwarder in Memphis, Tennessee
Whether your containers ride BNSF or UP in from the West Coast or your urgent orders fly into MEM, Platton books both as an import-focused Memphis freight forwarder. Memphis sits at the convergence of five Class I railroads (BNSF, CN, UP, NS, and CSX) and hosts the FedEx Superhub at MEM, one of the busiest cargo airports in the world. The combination makes Memphis a rare multimodal hub where air freight and intermodal rail can be combined on the same shipment record.
How Platton Moves Freight Through Memphis
From Los Angeles and Long Beach, trans-Pacific containers ride BNSF four to six days east to its Memphis Intermodal Facility. Platton handles the ocean and rail legs on one platform.
Freight Forwarder Services in Memphis
Memphis Intermodal: Five Class I Rails and MEM Air Cargo
Five Class I railroads serve Memphis: BNSF, CN, UP, NS, and CSX. Only Chicago has a richer mix in the United States. BNSF Memphis Intermodal Facility is the primary trans-Pacific gateway. MEM, the FedEx Superhub, gives Memphis one of the highest air cargo tonnages in the country, useful for pharma and time-critical inbound.
Memphis deliveries cross three states: docks in Shelby County, Tennessee, in Southaven and Olive Branch, Mississippi, and in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Air Freight Through Memphis International Airport (MEM)
Pharma and other urgent freight reaches MEM on the FedEx Superhub night cycle, and Platton books it from Asia and Europe.
Industries Platton Serves Through Memphis
E-commerce and air cargo via the FedEx Superhub
Automotive parts inbound for the Mid-South plant network
Pharmaceutical air freight
Apparel and consumer goods for Mid-South distribution
Electronics, with urgent units flown into MEM
Retail and wholesale stock for Memphis-area distribution centers
Why Importers Choose Platton as Their Memphis Freight Forwarder
Platton books the ocean intermodal leg on BNSF or UP for the bulk cycle and routes urgent units through MEM on the FedEx air consolidation. One Memphis quote prices the ocean-and-rail lane and the MEM air lane side by side, so you can decide how many units fly.
Every open Memphis order shows in one account on Platton's AI-driven cargo management platform, where cargo tracking tells you which containers are still at sea and which are already on the train to Memphis.
Member of WCA, JCtrans and NCBFAA
US offices in Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Savannah
Weekly sailings from Asia and Europe with Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Evergreen and Hapag-Lloyd
Live quotes with every charge named before you book
Drayage from 42 US ports and rail ramps, with 93% same-day port pickup
Memphis Freight Forwarders: Frequently Asked Questions
Los Angeles and Long Beach are the primary routing for trans-Pacific cargo bound for Memphis, with eastbound BNSF or UP intermodal rail to Memphis ramps. Houston works for Gulf-routed cargo where the rail leg into Memphis on UP or BNSF pencils out. Savannah works for cargo destined to Memphis via Mason Mega Rail on Norfolk Southern, particularly for Southeast-routed Asia or Europe cargo. New Orleans handles certain Mississippi corridor flows. Platton evaluates the right coastal gateway on a per-shipment basis comparing landed cost across LA-to-Memphis, Houston-to-Memphis, and Savannah-to-Memphis intermodal.
Plan on 22 to 30 days from the main Chinese load ports to Memphis by ship and train. About 14 to 18 of those days are the ocean crossing to Los Angeles or Long Beach and four to six are the BNSF or UP run east to Memphis, with port and rail dwell making up the rest. Drayage from the Memphis ramp to a warehouse in Shelby County or across the line in DeSoto County, Mississippi, adds another day. For replenishment cycles requiring speed, air freight through the FedEx Memphis Superhub runs three to five days door to door from most Asian origins on FedEx Express services.
Cargo for Memphis is released where it first enters the US. An ocean container gets its customs release at the coastal port that discharges it, whether Los Angeles, Long Beach, Houston, Savannah or New Orleans, and then travels to Memphis by rail or truck. Air cargo on the FedEx night cycle gets its release at MEM.
Yes. Amazon operates fulfillment centers across the Mid-South and Mississippi corridor, with FBA warehouses reachable by short drayage from the Memphis intermodal ramps and from MEM. Memphis works well as an FBA gateway for inventory destined to Mid-South facilities or for sellers using fast FedEx air consolidation for time-critical replenishment. Units that still need FNSKU labels or Amazon-ready cartons and pallets can go through Amazon FBA prep before the truck leaves the Memphis ramp or MEM. For sellers running both ocean and FedEx air on the same SKU mix, Memphis offers operational consolidation that other inland hubs cannot match.
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Platton Freight Forwarder Pages for Other Cities
Platton handles freight forwarding through every major US gateway. Explore other locations: