Container vessel loading at an international port at sunset for a cross trade shipment
Cross Trade & Triangle Shipments

Cross trade shipping, without the detour

Move cargo directly from your supplier's country to your buyer's country — never touching South Africa — while we manage the carriers, documentation and customs from our Johannesburg hub.

Container ship carrying international cargo between two foreign ports
What Is Cross Trade

Goods that travel straight from origin to destination

Cross trade — also known as a triangle shipment or third-country shipment — is an international movement in which the cargo travels directly between two foreign countries, while the company arranging the trade sits somewhere else entirely. Your supplier ships from China, your customer receives in Germany, and you control the transaction from Johannesburg. The goods never enter South Africa.

For importers, exporters and trading houses, that means no double handling, no unnecessary port charges and no local duty exposure on cargo that was never destined for your own market. What it does require is precise coordination between origin and destination — carriers, agents, customs authorities and paperwork all working to the same clock.

That coordination is our job. Simple Global Shipping acts as your single accountable partner, combining our ocean freight, air freight and customs clearance expertise into one seamless cross trade operation across more than 120 countries.

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The Advantages

Benefits of cross trade shipping

Why international traders route their third-country cargo through a specialist forwarder rather than their home market.

01

Lower landed costs

Skip the detour through South Africa and you skip a second set of port, handling and storage charges — often the single biggest saving on a triangle shipment.

02

Faster transit times

Direct origin-to-destination routing removes weeks of unnecessary transhipment, getting your buyer's cargo to them on the shortest viable schedule.

03

Commercial confidentiality

Switch bills of lading and neutral documentation keep your supplier and your buyer apart, protecting the margin and the relationships you have built.

04

No double handling

Cargo is loaded once at origin and discharged once at destination. Less handling means less damage risk, fewer claims and lower insurance exposure.

05

Simplified compliance

Because the goods never enter South Africa, local import formalities fall away — we manage export and import compliance in the two countries that matter.

06

Scale without new offices

Trade between markets where you have no physical presence. Our agent network becomes your operational footprint at both ends of the lane.

Container vessel at sea carrying cross trade cargo between foreign ports
What We Handle

Our cross trade services

From a single container between two ports to a rolling programme of third-country shipments, we build the routing, issue the documents and keep every party moving to the same schedule.

  • Ocean cross trade — FCL & LCL on all major lanes
  • Air cross trade for time-critical third-country cargo
  • Switch bills of lading & neutral documentation
  • Export & import customs coordination at both ends
  • Consolidation, transhipment & container reworking
  • Origin collection & final-mile delivery to your buyer
  • Marine cargo insurance & full shipment visibility
See all our services
Sectors

Industries we serve

Cross trade programmes built around the commodities, compliance rules and timelines of your sector.

Mining & Minerals

Bulk and containerised mineral cargo moved between producing and processing markets.

Agriculture & Perishables

Reefer and temperature-controlled routing with the phytosanitary paperwork to match.

Automotive & Spare Parts

Components and aftermarket parts shipped straight from plant to distributor.

Industrial Machinery

Out-of-gauge and project cargo with lift plans, permits and specialised equipment.

Chemicals & Dangerous Goods

IATA and IMDG-compliant handling, declarations and packing for regulated cargo.

Retail & Consumer Goods

Season-driven volumes consolidated at origin and delivered on the shelf date.

Pharmaceutical & Healthcare

Validated cold-chain lanes, chain-of-custody control and audited documentation.

Energy & Renewables

Turbine, solar and heavy plant components routed between manufacturing hubs and sites.

International container port handling cross trade freight at dawn
120+Countries connected through 450+ vetted agents
Why Choose Us

Why traders choose Simple Global for cross trade

  1. 01

    A vetted agent at both ends

    Cross trade lives or dies on the quality of the origin and destination agent. Ours are audited, long-standing partners — not one-off bookings.

  2. 02

    Documentation done right, first time

    Switch bills, certificates of origin, letters of credit and neutral invoices — prepared by people who handle them daily, so nothing stalls at the border.

  3. 03

    One accountable coordinator

    A named specialist owns your shipment across both jurisdictions. One number to call, one person answerable for the outcome.

  4. 04

    Transparent, all-in pricing

    Origin charges, freight, destination charges and documentation quoted up front — you see the full landed cost before you commit.

  5. 05

    Nearly two decades of trade experience

    Since 2007 we have moved cargo by air, ocean and road, with a 98.7% on-time record across all modes.

How It Works

Our cross trade process

Four clear stages, two foreign jurisdictions, one accountable partner.

Freight specialists reviewing cross trade shipment documentation at a container yard01

Brief & quotation

Share the origin, destination, commodity, Incoterms and timeline. We return an all-in cross trade quote and optimal routing — usually within two hours.

Air freight and shipping containers at an international logistics hub02

Booking & origin collection

We book carrier capacity, appoint the origin agent and arrange collection, packing and export clearance in your supplier's country.

Customs specialist inspecting cargo during clearance03

Documentation & transit

Bills of lading — switched where required — certificates and neutral invoices are issued while your cargo sails or flies, tracked at every milestone.

Final-mile delivery by truck to the destination consignee04

Clearance & delivery

Our destination agent clears the cargo and delivers to your buyer, closing the file with proof of delivery and a full document pack.

Questions

Cross trade FAQs

The questions traders ask us most about third-country shipments.

Cross trade shipping — also called a triangle shipment or third-country shipment — is when goods move directly from the supplier's country to the buyer's country while the trader arranging the shipment sits in a third country. The cargo never enters the trader's home market, so it avoids unnecessary handling, storage and duty exposure.

No. In a cross trade shipment the cargo moves directly between the origin and destination countries. Simple Global Shipping coordinates the carriers, documentation and customs formalities from our Johannesburg hub — but the goods themselves never enter South Africa.

A switch bill of lading is a second set of original bills issued to replace the first set, most often to protect commercial confidentiality — for example, keeping your supplier's identity from your buyer, or reflecting a different shipper, port or description agreed in the sale contract.

We arrange compliant switch bills and neutral documentation through our agent network, always within the rules of the carrier and the trade lane.

We handle cross trade on all major global lanes — Asia to Africa, Asia to Europe, Europe to Africa, the Middle East to Africa and intra-Africa routes among them — supported by vetted agents in more than 120 countries. If you have an unusual pairing, ask us: we will route it or tell you honestly that we can't.

Yes. We arrange cross trade by ocean freight (FCL and LCL), by air freight for time-critical cargo, and as multimodal combinations with road pre-carriage and final-mile delivery in the destination country.

Once we have the commercial details, we usually return a full routing and all-in quotation within two hours. Booking, documentation and origin collection typically follow within a few working days, depending on the lane and carrier schedules.

Send us the origin and destination countries, the commodity, volume or weight, your Incoterms and target dates. Call +27 11 524 6284, email info@simpleglobal.co.za or complete the quote form on our contact page — a cross trade specialist will come back to you.

Ocean Freight Air Freight Customs Clearance Warehousing Freight Forwarding Our Global Network

Ready to move cargo between two foreign markets?

Send us your origin, destination and commodity — we'll come back with a competitive, all-in cross trade quotation and the fastest compliant routing.

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