Shipping containers are just large size cuboid-shaped boxes that you might have noticed in huge numbers either on the deck of the ships or being hauled by a long whistling train or traveling alone at the back of the truck. Looking at them, some of you might wonder what would be inside the box? The safety and care with which they are being carried bring to us more curiosity to figure out what could be moving inside it.
Well, ever since the invention of shipping containers, they have been used to carry numerous types of products. The answer to- ‘What all can we transport in a shipping container’ could be winded up in a single word- ‘everything’. Why was it necessary to invent something like this? Before the birth of shipping containers, trade between countries was extremely arduous, impractical, unsafe, and restricted due to several reasons. Goods were packed in sacks, drums, buckets, barrels, and had to be loaded and unloaded manually (using hand). Loading of 100,000 individual packets of cargo would take up to 2 to 3 days. Not only this, the cargo after leaving the port wasn’t enough safe. Sacks, buckets, barrels, drums could not withstand the harsh weather. Encountering extreme climatic condition most of the cargoes would get destroyed during the transition. The goods that were left after the attack of pirates and robbers then finally used to reach the port of destination. Remembering all this, history pays a big tribute to McLean Malcolm for his visionary idea that led to the invention of the shipping containers. Ever since then, the container became one of the important components to keep the trade profitable and prosperous between the countries. Initially, the container could only carry certain types of goods. Later the discovery of different types of containers led to the seamless transportation of almost all types of goods. Today, the container has the capability to carry everything you see around you. From the flowerpots, TVs, bed, sofa, fruits, dairy products, meat, blood, oil machines, to automobiles, they leave no area untouched- and that what makes them versatile. To make it simpler, here I am categorizing my answers 1. Dry Cargoes: Dry cargo includes many things- from machines, grains, furniture, to wood but still not all dry cargoes are carried in a similar kind of box. Big size dry cargo is mostly carried in dry van, side door, double door, or open-top while small size goods like grains, sand, coffee beans are carried in bulkers. Bulker is a type of container that has hatches on its top for injection and holes at the bottom for unloading. 2. Perishable Goods: Perishable goods like dairy products, meat, fish, medicines, organ, blood were very challenging to transport until the invention of refrigerated containers (reefers). Reefers are just like a big sized fridge. They are of the size of standard shipping containers, but they have a temperature control device attached to them enabling them to maintain temperature for longer days. Temperature-sensitive goods like fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy are transported via reefers. 3. Heavy Size Cargo: Heavy size goods like machinery, industrial equipment, construction materials, automobiles are best transportable on either flat rack or platform containers. They are specifically designed for such goods because most of the goods protrude the standard dimension of the shipping boxes. 4. Liquid Cargoes: Transporting liquid cargoes demands extreme care especially during the transition. A type of container called tankers is used to transport almost all types of fluid materials- from oil, petroleum, water to hazardous chemicals. Even gaseous cargoes are also shipped via tankers. The only thing that could not be transported via shipping containers was human beings. But with time, the man proved it wrong by bringing the idea of constructing prefab houses from shipping containers. Now even people have started to live inside the container-built house which are portable and mobile.
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The ancient Silk Road that existed 2000 years ago was known to be the major trade route of the world connecting the East and the West. However, its significance and uses went obsolete with technological changes and declining transportation cost as the industry have shifted more towards air and sea freight.
In 2013, China launched an ambitious project to once again connect itself from Europe across land and sea- under the slogan- One Belt, One Road (OBOR). This great Silk Road will link China with Iran and Russia while crossing through Central Asia. The track emerges from China’s Xian province and ends up in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This new Silk Road is not a new discovery. Although goods were moved between China and Europe through the Trans-Siberian route since 1973 the cold war did not allowed for the smooth movement. Currently, there are two routes from northern china that heads towards Europe terminal stations like Hamburg or Duisburg via Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan. And the route also connects China’s west side residing 30 million populations to the northern routes. Nevertheless, the new Silk Road referred to as the BRI- Belt and Road Initiative by China’s President Xi Jinping aims at boosting an interconnected route between china and Europe. According to a recent report, it is anticipated that the total investment can reach up to 1.3 trillion US dollars by the year 2027 where more than 150 countries and international organizations have made commitments to contribute by investing some amount of capital. From a political perspective, china’s economy is expected to boost enormously on the global stage. And From a logistical perspective, the infrastructure and interconnected network will emerge on a completely new scale in upcoming years. The New Silk Road will be a paradigm shift in world trade. But the question arises, how worth is this new Silk Road over the sea and air freight. The data says, a total of 2,400 trains carried 145,000 TEU between China and Europe in 2017 which is equivalent to the containers carried by seven large vessels. The figure is anticipated to spike to 670,000 TEU in the coming decade. From China’s Perspective: Some postulate that China wants to upraise its economic power and others compares the project to the Marshall Plan. But perhaps the motive could be simple that China just wants to get rid of its bottlenecks or overwhelming capacity issue. No doubt, this longest linking rail route will significantly boost China’s economy and will also reduce social tension between the coast and provinces. The new Silk Road is meant to reach far beyond improved logistics. IrakliGaribashvili, the Georgian Prime Minister called the new silk road ‘a corridor of global prosperity and cooperation’. President Xi Jinping said the project aims to have of five principle pillars-
Advantages to Europe: According to the World Bank, the pace at which china’s economy is growing in the past few decades, in total, it is still roughly half the size of the European Union’s economy. Therefore, One Belt, One Road project is imperative for the economic growth of European continent. No doubt, China and Europe have been the two main economic poles for centuries. Europe being the china’s largest trading partner and China being the second-largest trade partner of Europe holds the maximum control over the world trade route connecting these two poles. Thus, trade between them dominates the other region. The New Silk Road aims to serve all parties- small or large and will open wide doors for freight forwarders to expand their businesses. In the long run, everyone is going to be benefited from the project. One of the main motives of the project is to link the East Asian economic circle with China with Europe. Under the framework, Europe is hugely going to build new international economic corridors- like the ‘new Eurasian Land Bridge’ aimed to decrease trade cost and promote flexible and smooth trade practices. What do experts say? Some experts believe that the volume of cargo transportation through the network will not witness much growth and will remain small as compared to ocean freight. They describe that various reasons are responsible for this. Cost: The transportation cost of standard shipping containers from Hamburg to Shanghai is high when transported by rail and very low when transported by ship. The gap is so big for rail transport to be competitive against the sea freight. Although, the transit time by rail is much less than that through ship but the high cost through railway is unaffordable for many shippers. Support: China greatly subsidizes the international rail connection that enables the rail freight to offer competitive prices. Once the subsidies are declined or terminated, the competitiveness of rail transportation will not remain the same effective. The recent report says the Chinese subsidies for rail freight traffic to Europe has now been put in place ceilings and will end by 2021. There has been no formal announcement but the anticipation says that Eurasian rail traffic should now stand on its own feet. Speed: Rail is indeed the fastest mode of transportation than the sea but when compared to air freight it doesn’t give competitive speed advantage. Many times, shippers who require urgent transition would opt for air freight even if the cost goes beyond. Thus, freight rail stands at the midway of air and sea freight. What benefits the Silk Road holds within? Reduced Transit Time: Sea transportation has been one of the most preferred modes of shipment for carrying heavy and bulky cargoes between China and Europe. But the initiative of the new Silk Road project seems to alter this notion. While a vessel takes approx 35 transit days, through rail it takes just 18 transit days to reach the port of UK from china. Almost half the total time took by Maritime. Thus, rail stands to be the best suitable mode of transportation by freight forwarders if time-sensitive cargo needs to be shipped. Lower Transportation Cost: The unpleasant and incessant financial crisis has put the air freight option at an unaffordable stage. Although shippers have sea freight as another best option it lacks in speed. All of these fragmented a luxurious market niche for rail freight. Freight forwarders are now seen registering an increasing number of inquiries into the new Silk Road route as an alternative to the slower maritime and costly air services. Customers are therefore strongly asking shipping companies to include the China-Europe rail in their catalog. Environment-Friendly: After the implementation of IMO 2020 regulation, various shippers in order to escape from the high cost of less sulfur content fuel or installation of bunker scrubber impose high freight rates on customers. As compared to air and sea, rail stands at the bottom in polluting the environment. Some container service companies like LOTUS Containers have already adopted the China-Europe rail route as a part of supporting greener modes of transportation. Also, the route aims at saving 75% of the carbon footprint of the ocean route and reduces several congestions existing in and around the seaports. The supply chain is one of the most pivotal parts of businesses of all kinds whether it be small, medium or large scale business. A proper supply chain management ensures that the products are supplied to you without any damage. Shipping goods in a proper condition is imperative for customer satisfaction as well as the business itself. Every day tons and tons of goods are being loaded in shipping containers and transported from one place to another via several intermodal transportation services. The overall activities of transporting goods from manufacturers to the end-consumers need lots of care and effort during the journey. Many freight forwarders avoid this need simply by overlooking some important points that should be kept into consideration to prevent any damage to your product.
Let’s dive deep into some helpful measures to avoid freight damage Proper Packaging: Not all goods are of the same size, same weight or same type. The properties of freight vary and similarly the way of packaging also varies. To fulfill your top priority of shipping goods profoundly to your customer, you must enquire what special packaging does your freight requires. The packaging is done in different ways- from using simple carton boxes, pallets, shrink wrap, bind or staple to large wooden crates. Knowing what packaging suits your freight is of uttermost importance. You must avoid a few mistakes while packaging Single Risk Packaging: Wrapping your consignment is good but it can only protect it from scuff and dust, it cannot avoid the damage from crush, vibration or any kind of crashes. To safeguard your product, you should not only wrap it but also pack it inside stiff boxes, etc. Leave Space: While packing goods inside boxes, one must leave adequate space between the goods and inner walls of the boxes. The vacant space then must be filled with thermacol, airbags, foams, etc to avoid breakage. Avoid Recycled Packaging: Some packing materials like cartons or polystyrene are not suitable to use the second time for packaging. Instead of protecting your freight, it may cause extra damage. Proper Palletizing: One must be very cautious while considering the type of pallets on which the cargoes are to be loaded. It’s not the pallet type that ensures safety but the way in which goods are stacked over also matters a lot for cargoes' safety. Pallets differ in size, types, materials, stackability, structural integrity, etc that make it either fit or unfit for your cargo type. Wrapping your goods with at least 5 layers of plastics and shrinking them by a heat gun or sending them through a shrink tunnel makes the packing durable and strong enough to stand firmly on pallets. The boxes should be laid on pallets like bricks; the pyramid structure should be avoided in arranging boxes. Heavy and bulky loads must be placed below the light-weighted materials. Proper Labeling: The chances of freight damage can be reduced by labeling each box with every necessary detail used between the destinations. The shipping label is a type of identification label sharing important information to describe and classify the cargoes inside the boxes. It helps shippers to make important decisions during the entire supply chain. Proper labeling of packaged cargoes helps to avoid extra handling and reduces manpower efforts. Shippers would not need to open each box and know what’s inside and then process accordingly. Effective Containerization: Shipping containers are extensively being used by the freight forwarding companies to transport loads of goods in a safe and protected manner from more than 50 years. Obviously, containerization provides safety to the goods but only if it is loaded keeping few things in mind. The goods must be distributed evenly on the floor with no vacant space to maintain its center of gravity. Before loading, you must investigate whether the cargo containers are properly cleaned or not. The essence of previously loaded materials may destroy your freight or may give rise to the birth of certain bacteria and fungus. Proper Loading: Proper loading of goods in containers and then containers on a ship is a requisite to avoid freight damage between transits. By applying given below points one can succeed in having effective loading.
Proper Handling Practices: Proper handling practice can be achieved by improvising two important factors of the supply chain- First- machinery & equipment and Second- human resource. Using proper equipment that can easily and systematically handle freight is a must to ensure customer satisfaction regarding his freight. Before practicing it for loading or unloading, make sure material handling equipment like cranes, forklifts, trucks, pallet jacks, conveyors, strapping machines, etc are at proper working conditions. Apart from the machinery or tools, employees and staff should also be provided with adequate training to reduce in-time mistakes. For example- the forklift operators should know well about the weighing capacity of the forklift. Unaware of the machinery knowledge may damage machines and freight both causing great loss to the company itself. Proper Warehousing: Proper warehousing plays a key role in ensuring your freight safety. You must verify from your shipping company that the warehousing facility they are handling is good or not. A good warehousing company will identify the atmosphere required by your freight and will keep your freight accordingly. You must ensure about cleanliness, spaciousness, security, place, electricity, etc as it will give an idea that whether the particular warehouse is safe for your type of freight or not. Associate With The Right Freight Partner: Even if you keep in mind all the above-discussed points, but you ignore the importance of selecting the right shipping company the chances are high the above-applied things won’t work for you. It’s always advisable to think multiple times before coming into a contractual agreement with a freight forwarder. The right freight partner works with the motive to deliver excellence in each service to its customers. LOTUS Containers, serving clients from all across the world from decades is one amongst profound shipping Container companies, known to deliver A+ services for your freight storage and transportation both. |
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