fair trade

What fair trade does

fair trade GmbH Schiffahrt Handel & Logistik is an independent neutral NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) founded in 1992 and headquartered in Bremen, Germany, with a branch office in Hamburg. The company specializes in consolidated container shipping (Sammelcontainer) for both import and export, serving importers, exporters, and regular shippers with recurring needs on established global trade lanes. Active services cover North America (Vancouver via AT2 and AT3 services operated with Hapag-Lloyd, plus USA/Canada), South America (Itapoa, Brazil on a new 28-day direct Hamburg connection launched March 2024), East and West Africa (with dedicated surcharge schedules), the Mediterranean (Alexandria via partner Unifreight), and Asia (Manila direct LCL service). The company employs approximately 100 people and is led by co-owners, with no parent company, external institutional investors, or public listing.

The operating platform combines direct B2B sales engagement through the Bremen and Hamburg offices with a self-serve online booking system branded "Contex," which provides schedule viewing, online booking, tracking and tracing for both export and import shipments, and XML schedule data feeds for customer system integration. Supporting technology includes an internal ATB number tracking system, downloadable container dimension references, and ancillary cost disclosures. Revenue is generated entirely on a transaction-fee basis: quote-based freight charges for container shipping, plus route- and situation-specific surcharges (e.g., Emergency Operation Surcharge for USA/Canada, Contingency Adjustment Contribution for Red Sea/Suez Canal routes) and ancillary fees for documentation, tracking, and terminal handling. No mobile app, no public API, no AI or machine-learning features, and no third-party platform integrations are present in the disclosed footprint. Marketing runs primarily through the company website and periodic news/operational updates distributed to existing customers.

Name

fair trade

Legal name

fair trade GmbH Schiffahrt Handel & Logistik

Website

https://fairtrade-hamburg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

fair trade GmbH is an independent German NVOCC (founded 1992, Bremen) offering consolidated container (LCL) sea freight forwarding for importers and exporters across global trade lanes, combining online booking via its Contex platform with direct sales through its Bremen and Hamburg offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sea Freight Forwarding

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Export Customs Clearance (Export Declarations & AES/EEI) (TLACAFAB)

Keywords

• Sea freight forwarding
• Consolidated container shipping
• Import export logistics
• NVOCC services
• Maritime logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Freight Forwarding Services: NVOCC services charging freight rates for shipping containers globally. Revenue generated through freight charges, surcharges (including emergency operation surcharges, contingency adjustment contributions), and ancillary fees for services such as tracking, documentation, and terminal handling.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

fair trade GmbH is an independent neutral NVOCC that has organized Sammelcontainer (consolidated container) import and export shipments worldwide since 1992, offering weekly departures on key trade lanes with offices in Bremen and Hamburg. The company also provides complementary online booking via Contex, XML schedules, and shipment tracking and tracing for its forwarding customers.

Product overview

fair trade GmbH is an independent neutral NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) offering consolidated container shipping services for import and export worldwide. The company operates as a unified logistics platform with core services including Sammelcontainer (consolidated container shipping), Export Services (with online booking via Contex), and Import Services. Supporting features include Tracking & Tracing for both directions, XML schedule data access, and container dimension reference. The company was founded in 1992 in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 100 employees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sammelcontainer (Consolidated Container) Export Service
• Sammelcontainer (Consolidated Container) Import Service
• Online Booking (Contex)
• Shipment Tracking & Tracing

Quantifiable outcome

• Weekly departures on major routes including Hamburg-Itapoa (28 days transit), Vancouver AT3 service, Manila direct LCL service

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hapag-LloydcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Strategic partnership with Hapag-Lloyd for container shipping capacity. fair trade offers weekly AT3 service to Vancouver, Canada utilizing Hapag-Lloyd vessels, complementing the existing AT2 service. This partnership enables reliable weekly departures for Canadian shipping routes.
• UnifreightcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024Local agent partnership in Alexandria, Egypt. Unifreight serves as the only bonded warehouse operator capable of handling hazardous cargo in Alexandria, providing essential local logistics and handling services for fair trade shipments to/from Egypt.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Dachser: German logistics company with growing ocean freight forwarding and European overland network; comparable German-Mittelstand heritage but a substantially larger multimodal footprint.
• DB Schenker: German-headquartered global logistics provider offering ocean freight forwarding and LCL services; competes with fair trade for German export volumes while serving far larger enterprise customers.
• DSV: Global freight forwarder with significant ocean and LCL activities; competes for the same German exporter base but offers a much broader service portfolio.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Deutsche Post DHL's freight forwarding division — a large incumbent ocean and air forwarder with comparable product breadth but global scale well beyond fair trade's.
• Kuehne+Nagel: World's largest sea freight forwarder by volume; overlaps with fair trade on ocean LCL consolidation but operates at vastly greater scale and across all transport modes.

Emerging players

• Flexport: US-headquartered digital-first ocean freight forwarder modernizing LCL and FCL quoting and booking; competes with fair trade on technology-enabled service experience for mid-market shippers.

Direct peers

• iContainers: Online ocean freight forwarder specializing in FCL/LCL bookings from Europe; comparable size and customer segment to fair trade with a stronger self-service digital channel emphasis.
• Röhlig Logistics: Mid-sized German-owned ocean and air freight forwarder with Bremen roots and a comparable focus on independent, mid-market shippers and consolidated container services.
• Hellmann Worldwide Logistics: Osnabrück-headquartered global freight forwarder with strong ocean freight and LCL consolidation capabilities, comparable to fair trade in serving German Mittelstand exporters across multiple trade lanes.
• Fr. Meyer's Sohn: Family-owned German freight forwarder offering ocean and air forwarding with a similar customer profile of European exporters — directly comparable in size, ownership structure, and service mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fair-trade-schiffahrt-handel-logistik-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about fair trade