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What are the shipping characteristics of containers?
Container transport (container freight transport), refers to the container this large container as a carrier, the collection of goods assembled into a container unit, so that in the modern circulation area with large-scale loading and unloading machinery and large vehicles for loading and unloading, handling operations and complete the transportation task, so as to better achieve the goods "door to door "A new type of transportation, high efficiency and high benefit mode of transportation.
First, high efficiency and benefit
Container transportation high economic efficiency is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
(1) simplify packaging, significant savings in packaging costs. In order to avoid damage to the goods in transit, there must be strong packaging, and the container has a strong, sealed characteristics, which itself is an excellent packaging. The use of containers can simplify the packaging, and some even without packaging, the realization of food transport without packaging, can greatly save packaging costs.
(2) reduce cargo loss and improve the quality of cargo transportation. As the container is a solid sealed box, the container itself is a solid packaging. After the goods are boxed and sealed, no need to unboxing on the way back to the cargo, a voice in the end, even after long-distance transportation or many times to change, it is not easy to damage the goods in the box. Container transportation can reduce the theft, moisture, dirt and other causes of cargo loss and cargo difference, and through the reduction of cargo loss and cargo difference rate, reduce the waste of social wealth, but also has great social benefits.
(3) reduce operating costs, reduce transportation costs, because the container loading and unloading is basically not affected by bad weather, the ship non-productive berthing time is shortened, but also due to high loading and unloading efficiency, loading and unloading time is shortened, the shipping company, can improve the navigation rate, reduce the cost of ship transportation; the port, can improve the berth throughput capacity, so as to improve the throughput, and increase revenue.
Second, high efficiency The traditional mode of transportation has many loading and unloading points, high labor intensity, low loading and unloading efficiency, slow ship turnover, and other shortcomings. Container transportation has completely changed this situation.
(1) Ordinary cargo ship loading and unloading, generally about 35t per hour, and container loading and unloading, up to 400t per hour, loading and unloading efficiency has increased dramatically. At the same time, due to the container loading and unloading mechanization is very high, so the number of loading and unloading workers required for each shift is very small, and the average labor productivity of each worker is greatly improved.
(2) Due to the high efficiency of container loading and unloading, small impact by the climate, the ship in the port stay time is greatly shortened, so the ship voyage time is shortened, the ship turnover is accelerated, the voyage rate is greatly improved, the ship productivity is improved, thus improving the ship transportation capacity, in the absence of an increase in the number of ships, can be achieved with more capacity, increase the income of shipping companies, so the high efficiency leads to high efficiency and profitability.
Third, high investment Although container shipping is a highly efficient mode of transportation, it is also a highly capital-intensive industry.
(1) The shipping company must make huge investment in ships and containers. According to relevant information, container ships per cubic foot of the construction cost of ordinary cargo ships for about 3.7 ~ 4 times. The investment in containers is quite large, and the high investment required to carry out container transportation makes the total cost of the shipping company's fixed costs account for a considerable proportion of the total cost, up to more than two-thirds.
(2) Investment in ports for container transport is also quite high. Terminal facilities for specialized container berths include quaysides and quay fronts, freight yards, cargo terminals, maintenance workshops, control towers, gatehouses, as well as container loading and unloading machinery, etc., which cost a huge amount of money.
(3) In order to carry out intermodal container transportation, but also need to have the corresponding interstate facilities and inland freight stations, etc., in order to support the construction, which will need to build, expand, renovate, update the existing roads, railways, bridges, culverts, etc., the investment in this area is even more alarming. It can be seen that there is not enough money to carry out container transport, the realization of containerization is difficult, it must be based on the national capacity to do what they can, and finally achieve containerization.
Fourth, high cooperation Container transportation involves a variety of aspects, links, impact, is a complex transportation system engineering. Container transportation system, including shipping, land transportation, air transportation, ports, freight stations and container transportation related to customs, commodity inspection, shipping agencies, freight forwarders and other units and departments. If they do not properly coordinate with each other, it will affect the function of the whole transportation system, if a link failure, will affect the overall situation, and even lead to transport production stops and interruptions.
Therefore, the whole transportation system requires a high degree of cooperation between various links and departments.
Multimodal transportation - such as container transportation in different modes of transportation between the change, do not need to carry the goods in the box and only need to change the container, which improves the efficiency of the change operation, suitable for different modes of transportation between the common transportation. In the change of transshipment, customs and relevant regulatory units only need to add seals or seal transit clearance, thus improving transport efficiency.
In addition, because international container transportation and multimodal transportation is a capital-intensive, technology-intensive and management requirements of the industry, is a complex transportation systems engineering, which requires managers, technicians, business personnel have a high quality in order to do the job, in order to give full play to the superiority of international container transportation.