国际货物运输是国家与国家、国家与地区之间的运输，与国内货物运输相比，它具有以下几个主要特点：
1.国际货物运输涉及到国际关系问题，是一项政策性很强的涉外活动
国际货物运输是国际贸易的一个组成部分，在组织货物运输的过程中，需要经常同国外发生直接或间接的广泛的业务联系，这种联系不仅是经济上的，也常常会涉及到国际间的政治问题，是一项政策性很强的涉外活动。因此，国际货物运输既是一项经济活动，也是一项重要的外事活动，这就要求我们不仅要用经济观点去办理各项业务，而且要有政策观念，按照我国的对外政策的要求从事国际运输业务。
2.国际货物运输是中间环节很多的长途运输
国际货物运输是国家与国家、国家与地区之间的运输，一般来说，运输的距离都比较长，往往需要使用多种运输工具，通过多次装卸搬运，要经过许多中间环节，如转船、变换运输方式等，经由不同的地区和国家，要适应各国不同的法规和规定。如果其中任何一个环节发生问题，就会影响整个的运输过程，这就要求我们作好组织、环环紧扣，避免在某环节上出现脱节现象，给运输带来损失。
3.国际货物运输涉及面广，情况复杂多变
国际货物运输涉及到国内外许多部门，需要与不同国家和地区的货主、交通运输、商检机构、保险公司、银行或其他金融机构、海关、港口以及各种中间代理商等打交道。同时，由于各个国家和地区的法律、政策规定不一，贸易、运输习惯和经营做法不同，金融货币制度的差异，加之政治、经济和自然条件的变化，都会对国际货物运输产生较大的影响。
4.国际货物运输的时间性强
按时装运进出口货物，及时将货物运至目的地，对履行进出口贸易合同，满足商品竞争市场的需求，提高市场竞争能力，及时结汇，都有着重大意义。特别是一些鲜活商品、季节性商品和敏感性强的商品，更要求迅速运输，不失时机地组织供应，才有利于提高出口商品的竞争能力，有利于巩固和扩大销售市场。因此，国际货物运输必须加强时间观念，争时间、抢速度，以快取胜。
Although some manufacturers have been aware of the use ofthird-party logistics companiescan bring a lot of good things, butin practical applications are often divided into several steps,atthe same time choose a number of logistics service providers aspartners in order to avoid thebusiness by a logistics serviceproviders brought about by dependence.Fourth, China's third-partylogistics companies in the development of the problemsencounteredAsuccessful logistics company, the operator must have a largerscale, the establishment ofeffective regional coverage area, with astrong command and control center with the high standard
of integrated technical, financial resources and businessstrategy.
China's third-party logistics companies in the development ofthe problems encountered canbe summarized as follows:
1, operating model
At present, most of the world's largest logistics companies takethe head office and branchsystem, centralized headistics operation to take to the implementation ofverticalbusiness management. The establishment of a modernlogistics enterprise must have a strong,flexible command andcontrol center to control the entire logistics operations andcoordination.
Real must be a modern logistics center, a profit center,business organizations, the framework, theinstitutional form ofevery match with a center. China's logistics enterprises in theoperating modeof the problems of foreign logistics enterprises inthe management model should be from thedomestic logisticsenterprises.
2, the lack of storage or transport capacity
The primary function of logistics is to create time and spaceutility theft. For now China'sthird-party logistics enterprises,some companies focus on storage, lack of transport capacity;othercompanies is a lot of transport vehicles and warehouses throughoutthe country little byrenting warehouses to complete the community'scommitment to customers.
3, network problems
There are a few large companies have the logistics of the entirevehicle cargo storage networkor networks, but the network coveragearea is not perfect. Customers in the choice of logisticspartner,are very concerned about network coverage and network of regionalbranches of thedensity problem. The building of the network shouldbe of great importance to logisticsenterprises.
4, information technology
The world's largest logistics enterprises have "three-classnetwork", that is, orders forinformation flow, resources, globalsupply chain network, the global Resource Network users andcomputerinformation network. With the management of advanced computertechnology, thesecustomers are also the logistics of the productionof high value-added products business, thedomestic logisticsenterprises must increase investment in information systems canchange theirmarket position.
由于在国际货物运输中环节多，运输距离长，涉及的面广，情况复杂多变，加之时间性又很强，在运输沿途国际形势的变化、社会的动乱，各种自然灾害和意外事故的发生，以及战乱、封锁禁运或海盗活动等，都可能直接或间接地影响到国际货物运输，以至于造成严重后果，因此，国际货物运输的风险较大。为了转嫁运输过程中的风险损失，各种进出口货物和运输工具，都需要办理运输保险。
