Freight Forwarder in New Jersey

Direct ocean services from North European load ports including Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, and Le Havre to the Port of New York and New Jersey typically run 12 to 18 days port-to-port. Mediterranean origins such as Algeciras, Genoa, and Valencia extend that window to 14 to 20 days on direct strings. After vessel arrival, customs clearance on shipments with clean documentation adds another one to three days before container release for drayage. Platton pre-files the customs entry while the vessel is at sea to compress port dwell, and tracks ExpressRail and over-the-road drayage options against the actual berth assignment at the relevant PNYNJ terminal. Suez routings carry cargo from north China and across the Indian Ocean to PNYNJ in a similar transit window, depending on Red Sea conditions and carrier service.

Customs entry at the PNYNJ port of entry typically clears within one to three days of vessel arrival for shipments with clean documentation, the ISF on file, and no partner government agency holds. Pre-filing while the vessel is in transit can release the container at berth. PNYNJ also sees concentrated FDA review on food and beverage imports and CPSC review on consumer goods, which adds days when holds are issued. Because the terminal complex spans Elizabeth, Newark, Bayonne, Staten Island, and Brooklyn, the right drayage dispatch depends on which terminal the vessel actually calls at, and Platton confirms berth assignment before quoting transit to the destination.

Platton handles drayage from every major container terminal across the PNYNJ complex. On the New Jersey side that includes APM Terminals Elizabeth, Maher Terminals (also in Elizabeth), Port Newark Container Terminal (PNCT) in Newark, and GCT Bayonne on the Bayonne peninsula. On the New York side that includes GCT New York on Staten Island and Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn. The NJ-side terminals carry the majority of containerized volume, but whichever facility the steamship line calls at, Platton dispatches drayage the day customs releases the container, including chassis sourcing against the local pool and gate appointment management.

Yes. ExpressRail is the on-dock rail system serving PNYNJ, with loaders at ExpressRail Elizabeth, ExpressRail Newark, and ExpressRail Staten Island feeding the CSX and Norfolk Southern networks. Because containers are loaded onto rail directly on the terminal rather than trucked to a separate off-dock ramp, ExpressRail eliminates an additional drayage leg and the cost and dwell that goes with it. Platton books ExpressRail moves for containers destined inland to the Northeast, New England, the Ohio Valley, and Midwest markets including Chicago, where ExpressRail competes effectively with long-haul truck on combined transit and cost.

Yes. The PNYNJ region anchors the densest Amazon fulfillment network on the East Coast, with FBA warehouses spread across northern New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and the Hudson Valley. FBA-bound containers are a routine inbound flow off Maher, APM Elizabeth, and PNCT. Platton handles ocean-to-FBA on the standard workflow: FNSKU labeling, pallet prep where required, ASN scheduling against the destination warehouse, and direct delivery from drayage. For sellers sourcing from Europe or Asia via Suez, NY/NJ is typically the lowest landed cost FBA gateway for inventory destined to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic fulfillment network.