Global Shippers Forum

The Global Shippers Forum (GSF) is the international body representing shippers, the beneficial cargo owners who buy transport in international trade. It was created in 2006 as the successor to the Tripartite Shippers’ Group (formed 1994) and was incorporated as a UK non-governmental organization in June 2011. Its membership is national shippers’ associations and councils in more than 25 countries, including bodies in Europe, Canada, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. GSF lobbies at the IMO, the WTO, the WCO, and UNCTAD on liner competition, container weight verification, freight rates, and trade facilitation, giving cargo owners a counterweight to carrier interests.