UNSPSC 78142005: Ship brokerage services

Specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between marine service providers and charterers, or between buyers and sellers of vessels.

UNSPSC 78142005 Ship brokerage services is a Commodity code that shows little relevant recent activity. The recent opportunities posted under this code do not align with the maritime or shipping-focused scope that the code's name implies. Instead, state and local governments posting under this code are actually procuring employee benefit consulting and brokerage services, investment consulting for employee benefit trusts, arbitrage consulting for tax-exempt bond compliance, commercial real estate services, unclaimed property auditing and recovery services, and agency travel card programs. These procurements reflect a fundamental mismatch between the UNSPSC categorization and the work being solicited—the code appears to be misapplied across a broad range of financial advisory, consulting, and administrative services that fall outside maritime commerce entirely.

The issuing bodies span diverse jurisdictions including county governments (Henry County, Georgia; Okaloosa County, Florida; Williamson County, Texas), cities (Sarasota, Florida; Dallas, Texas; St. Petersburg, Florida; Milton, Florida), independent school districts (Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, Texas), state agencies (Washington Department of Revenue, Illinois State Board of Education), and higher-education institutions (George Mason University, Texas A&M University, University System of Georgia). Recent activity includes Henry County seeking employee benefit consulting and broker services under RFP 27-01 due August 11, 2026; the City of Sarasota requesting investment consulting for its OPEB Trust Fund under RFP #26-36HR due August 19, 2026; Williamson County, Texas soliciting benefit broker consulting services under RFP 26RFP50; Okaloosa County, Florida requesting arbitrage consulting services under ITQ ITQCOC6026 due July 15, 2026; and George Mason University seeking insurance broker and risk management consulting services under RFP GMU-ER0415-26 due May 19, 2026. Geographic distribution includes activity across the Southeast (Florida, Georgia), Texas, the Pacific Northwest (Washington), the Mid-Atlantic (Virginia), and the Midwest (Illinois), with no clear concentration. The recurring absence of maritime freight forwarding, shipping, or vessel-related procurement signals that this code is not being used as intended for state and local contracting and warrants verification of correct UNSPSC classification before business development investment.