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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is requesting information regarding the availability of companies to:

1. Provide air carrier freight forwarding services for the transport of navel orangeworm (NOW) moths in shipping containers from Phoenix, AZ to Bakersfield, CA. This service will be required for up to seven days a week. The shipping season is between approximately February 1st through as late as October 31st. Due to difficulties in maintaining required temperature for longer periods of time, transport is limited to direct flights only. Currently, there is only one direct commercial flight between the two locations that meets the requirement.

2. Provide services to return empty moth shipping containers from Bakersfield, CA to Phoenix, AZ. This may be accomplished through either air freight or by ground shipping. USDA APHIS is seeking information in this sources sought notice to determine the best option.

This is an ongoing requirement. The expected contract award will be for a base and four option years.

The primary objective of issuing this sources sought notice is to seek information from vendors with the capability to provide the air carrier freight forwarding services identified in Attachment A – Statement of Work.

If you are an interested vendor, please provide the following information: 1) Business name and point of contact; 2) DUNS/UEI number and CAGE code; 3) business size and type; and 4) a brief statement of capability included but not limited to:

A. Pricing information. How you would propose pricing over the five years? We are especially interested in the pricing difference for the return of the shipping containers between air and ground shipment.

B. What work would be performed by your company vs. subcontractor(s)

C. Past performance information on contracts of similar size and scope

Interested vendors should only provide the data requested. No proprietary, classified, confidential or sensitive information should be included in your response. If it's necessary, it should be marked accordingly. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary information in any resultant solicitation(s). Interested sources who submit data are responsible for appropriately marking information if it is proprietary in nature.

This is not a request for proposals, but instead market research to determine interested vendors and shipping options prior to issuing a solicitation. The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 488510. Pricing information provided will be used to determine pricing methodology and shipping options only. A determination by the Government on the method of competing this requirement has not been established. The Government will not award a contract based on this Sources Sought Notice or the information received, nor will it reimburse participants for the information they provide. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based on this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Responses to this notice are due no later than 10:00 AM CT on Monday, November 21, 2022, to the attention of Larry Nelson, Contract Specialist, via e-mail to Larry.D.Nelson@usda.gov. All questions regarding this notice must also be directed to the point of contact in this notice.