When booking cargo at foreign ports, you might encounter a situation where you selected Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as your destination port, but the pre-allocation documents show Long Beach (LGB) instead. Is this acceptable?
In practice, this discrepancy usually poses no significant problems. The two ports are located just dozens of kilometers apart, and the key factor is whether the transit port code is correct. Even if the client's customs declaration documents are based on LAX, as long as the national customs information is accurate, operations can typically proceed without issues.
Similar situations occasionally occur with electronic data interchange (EDI) and terminal displays. For example, Port Klang's EDI code appears as MYPKG while the terminal displays MYPKL. In such cases, ensuring the correct country is reported in documentation helps avoid cumbersome review processes.
Therefore, proper planning of your cargo's port routing—and maintaining consistency in all documentation—will significantly streamline the customs clearance process. Shipping professionals emphasize that while port proximity helps in these scenarios, attention to detail in coding and documentation remains paramount for smooth logistics operations.
