Small freight forwarders are dealing with the recession by being more pro-active in sales and differentiating themselves by service. The larger household names find it difficult to offer a personal service to the smaller shipper or importer and value the flexibility offered by independent transport companies. Most importers and exporters are trying to reduce their costs and are looking round the market more for competitive prices – this gives opportunities for the freight forwarder who, in better times, would not even have been asked to quote for the traffic.