Freight forwarders provide a vital link in the movement of goods throughout the supply chain. To be a most valuable player on a shipper's team, these service providers must exhibit a number of stellar attributes.

As a basic requirement, shippers look for freight forwarders that can move their goods swiftly. "I'd want them to expedite my freight," commented one traffic director. "I expect it to move fairly quickly. Everything we do is timely."

In addition, shippers esteem forwarders that are able to track freight over the Internet and maintain constant communication with them. "The biggest benefit is being able to 'Internet track' your load," wrote a company president who participated in our survey. Another respondent echoed those sentiments, noting that top-notch freight forwarders "follow up on shipments once they [get] picked up at the dock and keep me informed of the shipment status."

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MVP forwarders must also be problem solvers, according to our readers. They have to have "knowledge of [my] industry and the ability to fix problems when they arise," wrote one respondent. Freight forwarders should also have a big-picture outlook, giving them the ability to provide solutions to supply chain problems, said another survey participant.

Finally, respondents said, a quality freight forwarder should respond immediately when called into action. "When we call them up, they have to be here," wrote a shipping manager when asked to describe the characteristics of a top-quality forwarder. It's not easy to find the best service providers, the manager continued. "We talk to companies who say they'll be there and don't show up."

This year, only seven freight forwarders earned distinction in the eyes of LM readers. That's a significant drop from last year, when 12 companies won awards. Five of this year's seven winning forwarders also earned top spots last year.

Repeat winners included UPS SonicAir, Team Worldwide (Team Air Express), Expeditors International, Lynden Air Freight, and BAX Global. They were joined by FedEx Trade Networks and Schenker USA.

This year, the overall weighted score for freight forwarders slipped a little bit, falling from last year's 33.42 to 33.12. Ratings dropped in three categories. The number for on-time performance fell from 10.26 to 9.73, and the value rating slid from 7.56 to 7.44. The score for equipment and operations was off last year's mark as well, declining from 4.21 to 3.70.

Two other service indicators, customer service and information technology, did better, however. The ranking for customer service improved from 7.14 to 7.35, while information technology climbed from 4.25 to 4.90.