Breaking Barriers in Global Trade: How Lineage Simplifies Import/Export

A Strategic Network Built for Global Trade

When it comes to global trade, location matters. Lineage’s global warehousing footprint includes strategic, port-adjacent facilities that act as launch pads for imports and exports. By positioning cold storage and bonded warehousing operations near major ports, we help customers bypass inland congestion, speed up clearance and improve time-to-market for customers’ products.

Our bonded warehouses, with increased capacity across 13 U.S. facilities and more than 60 worldwide, provide flexibility for storing goods duty-free until they’re ready to hit the market. This expansion helps importers balance storage, shipping and regulatory demands while maintaining compliance, quality and cash flow. That means you can wait until the timing is right—financially and strategically—to move product to market. For global shippers dealing with tariff uncertainty, that flexibility can be a game-changer.

Customs Brokerage

Our Lineage Customs Brokerage (LCB) team can clear all commodities—not just food—at ports across the U.S. With Customs Clearance capabilities in the UK and EU, Lineage helps customers navigate imports and exports globally. Regardless of where your goods land, we can help handle the entries for clearance.

Working with a single, knowledgeable partner helps simplify trade operations and reduce risk. For example, strategic tariff planning and Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification help customers avoid potentially costly misclassifications, meaning they're only paying what’s required. Our entry reviews help catch errors before they become delays, and binding rulings provide long-term clarity and consistency—especially helpful for high-volume or complex supply chains.

The team of experts navigates the regulatory landscape by working with Partner Government Agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). We provide everything from HTS classification and tariff planning to entry reviews and binding rulings.

Freight Forwarding

Freight forwarding is the organization of import and export shipments on behalf of the shippers. Freight forwarders act as intermediaries between the customer and transportation services. It involves booking transportation, preparing required documents, managing customs requirements and helping ensure cargo is delivered on time and in compliance with all applicable regulations. A freight forwarder acts as your logistics quarterback, connecting the dots between ports, carriers, customs agents and inland transport providers.

As both a licensed Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) and freight forwarder, Lineage can coordinate the entire journey of your shipment—from origin pickup and ocean freight to customs clearance, drayage and delivery.

Our teams operate out of the U.S., UK, Netherlands, Poland and South Africa, with a network of trusted partner agents in other global markets. We’re currently focusing on strengthening transatlantic routes, including eastbound (U.S. to Europe) and westbound (Europe to U.S.) lanes. That means better reach, better control and better service—wherever your cargo goes.

These freight forwarding capabilities are supported by Lineage’s broader Import and Export Excellence Team, which brings together more than 20 specialists focused on documentation, compliance and process optimization to help ensure shipments move smoothly from origin to destination.

Drayage

Drayage refers to the short-distance transport of shipping containers between ports, warehouses and rail yards. It's a critical first or last step in the global logistics chain—and timing is everything. Lineage offers drayage services at major U.S. and international ports, helping customers manage the first and last mile of container moves—whether that means picking up full containers on import or delivering loaded exports back to the port after returning empties.

Our strategically located operations allow for quick port turnarounds and reduced detention charges. Combined with integration across our cold storage, customs and forwarding services, Lineage drayage services help ensure your cargo doesn't sit still when it should be moving.

Bonded Warehousing & Transportation

Bonded services go beyond duty deferral. They offer breathing room—the ability to pause, pivot or re-export goods based on market demand or geopolitical shifts. With increased bonded warehouse capacity across 13 U.S. sites and 60+ global facilities, plus in-bond transportation services, Lineage gives customers the flexibility to respond to market and tariff changes in real time without overcommitting resources.

Lineage’s expanded blast freezing network, backed by new investments, strengthens export throughput for seafood, proteins and agricultural goods leaving key global ports.

Our bonded fleet enables in-bond transfers, allowing cargo to move between bonded facilities or Free Trade Zones (FTZs) without triggering immediate duty payments. This flexibility is especially valuable when customers need to delay entry into domestic commerce, reallocate inventory or adapt to sudden changes in market access.

Documentation & Regulatory Expertise

Paperwork delays can trickle down throughout the supply chain, resulting in shipment delays and unplanned fees and penalties. That’s why our team supports every stage of documentation, including commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, bills of lading and export declarations.

We also provide proactive guidance to prevent clearance delays and can step in even if we didn’t handle the original entry. For customers facing regulatory audits or classification reviews, having Lineage on your side makes all the difference.

These services are part of Lineage’s integrated import and export ecosystem, connecting bonded warehousing, customs brokerage, freight forwarding and drayage under one coordinated network.

Visibility Through Lineage Tech: Real-Time Global Trade Insights

Visibility is everything in international logistics. Lineage’s customer-facing portal offers real-time insight into customs statuses, shipment movement and documentation progress. This tool all but eliminates guesswork, minimizes back-and-forth emails and accelerates compliance workflows.

It’s not just a portal. It’s your dashboard for global trade.

The Lineage Difference

What sets Lineage apart is a global footprint and integrated solutions. With 13 bonded warehouses across the U.S., 42 USDA-approved I-House facilities and over 60 bonded sites worldwide, Lineage’s import and export network is built for scale, compliance and speed. While many brokers, forwarders and warehousing providers operate in silos, we bring it all together: customs, cold storage, bonded facilities, drayage, international freight, over the road transportation, documentation and real-time visibility.

Our experts collaborate across service lines to deliver a single, unified experience. And with our deep cold chain expertise, we add a critical layer of protection for temperature-sensitive goods. From port to pallet, documentation to delivery—we’re in sync so your supply chain stays in motion.