International Cargo Transport-Modes of Transport

Modes of Transport
Transport allows goods to be conveyed from one place to another.Without transport, international trade would not be possible. Carriage of goods can take place by sea,rail,air,road,inland waterway,parcel post,container and multimodal transport.

*Sea Transport (Ocean Transport)
Ocean freight is the most widely used mode of transportation in international trade,with advantage of easy passage,large capacity and low cost.However,it is slow,vulnerable to bad weather and less punctual if compared with road or air transport.

1.Kinds of vessels
There are different types of cargo vessels designed to suit the needs of shipping different cargoes.
1.1General cargo vessels:to carry various types of cargoes
1.2.Oil tankers:resposible for the transport(movement) of the world's oil
1.3.container vessels:designed to carry from 200 to over 4000 standard containers of 20 feet in length
1.4.Oil/Bulk/Ore(OBO) vessels:multi-purpose ship designed for switching between bulk shipment of oil and bulk grain,fertilizer and ore.
1.5.Ro/Ro vessels:designed for loaded trailers or any vehicles to be driven onto the vessel to facilitate faster loading and unloading
1.6.LASH(Lighter Aboard ship):designed to carry lighters on which cargoes are loaded,idealfor shallow waterways
1.7.Refrigerated ship:for carrying perishable cargoes
1.8.Timber ship:with spacious holds and heavy lifts for carrying timber or wood logs

According to the ways of operation, merchant vessels can be divided into liners（班轮） and tramps(不定期轮).Comparatively speaking,liners prove to be a more economical means of inernational cargo distribution
A liner is a vessel that operates over a regular route,stops at fixed ports according to an adventised schedule.Its freight is relatively fixed with loading and unloading charges included.It is suitable for the cargo of small quantity.
A tramp does not follow regular routes or fixed schedule,but travels when cargoes are available,ideal for cargoes of a complete shipload.Its freight is determined by market.Tramps can be divided into voyage charter and time time charter.A voyage charter is the hire of a ship for a particular voyage that can be further divided into single voyage charter ,consecutive voyage charter and so on.A time charter is the charter of a ship for a definite period of time.

2.Role of shipping and forwarding agents
To many companies,particularly the small organizations or those new to exporting,shipping and forwarding agents will be of tremendous value.They are experts in their field with an up-to-date and specialized knowledge of all the various methods of transport and relative freight and carriage rates.Their business keeps them in close touch with the constantly changing conditions at ports and the requirements of customs authorities. Another advantage is that the consolidation or groupage of a number of cargoes from different exports into one consignment makes transportaton more economical.Many such agents also operate road transpor and can often include in their services the collection of the goods from the exporter's warehouse.Apart from charging their customer any direct costs encountered,such as transport,bills of lading,customs entry,etc.,they will usually levy a service fee based on a percentage of the freight charge.

3.Whether the exporter is arranging the shipment directly with ship owners or utilizing the service of an agent ,the following procedures will be encountered:
*The selection of a vessel and shipping line (route)of the required port of destination
*The procuring of space on board of a specific vessel
*The consideraton and calculation of the particular freight rates involved
*Payment of freight
*Preparation of the bills of lading
*Dispatch of the consignment to the docks
*Utilization of appropriate standard shipping order form.

4.Freight rate
In practice,most shipping companies calculate freight rates on a weight or measurement basis.The following rules are applicable in relation to the calculation of freight.
*For items marked with "W",the freight thereon is to be calculated per metric ton on weight.
*For items marked with "M",the freight is to be calculated per cubic meter on measurement of the cargo (measurement ton).
*For items marked with "Ad Val.",the freight is to be calculated on the basis of the price or value of the cargo concerned.
*For items marked with "W/M",the freight is to be calculate on the basis of either weight ton or measurement tom,subject to the higher rate.
*For items marked with "W/M or Ad val",the highest rate is applicable.
*where different articles are contained in one package,the higher rate of freight is applicable,while the same kind of commodity in different packing is subject to different rates.

In addition to the basic freights rates,there are all kinds of surcharges that can not be ignored,such as Extra Charges on Heavy Lifts,Extra Charges on over lengths,Additional on Optional Discharging Port,Direct Additional,Transshipment Additional,Port Additional and so on.

*Container Transport
Containerization is a method of distributing merchandises in a unitized form,suitable for ocean,rail and multimodal transport.It is the most modern form of physical international distribution and overall is highly efficient in terms of reliability, cost,quality of service,advanced technology and so on.

1.Features of container transport can be summarized as follows:
1.1. It offers a door to door service under FCL/FCL (Full Container Load/Full Container Load),door to container freight station (cfs) service under FCL/LCL (Full Container Load/Less than Container Load),cfs to cfs service under LCL/LCL,or cfs to door service under LCL/FCL conditions.
Note:
FCL: Full container Load 整装 (at exporter's place or shipment port） or 整交 （at carrier's place or destination port）
LCL: Less than Container Load 散装 （at exporter's place or shipment port）or 散交 (at carrier's place or destination port)
DOOR:门
CFS：container freight station 站
1.2. It can be handled quickly and easily by standardized equipment and can thus save labors and loading and unloading charges
1.3. The low risk of cargo damage and pilferage enables more favorable cargo premiums to be obtained,compared with break-bulk cargo shiment.
1.4. Less packing is required for containerized consignment. In some cases, particularly with specialized ISO ( International Standars Orginization) containers such as refrigerated one or tanks,no packing is required.This procuces substantial cost savings in the internaitonal transit and raise the service quality.
1.5.Faster transits,coupled with more reliable maritime schedules, and ultimately increased service frequency,produce savings in warehouse accommodation need, lessen risks of obsolescent stock and speed up capital turnover.

A substantial volume of world trad is moved in maritime ISO container. The range of container types continues to increase and this is aid the expansionof of business. Furthermore,as port modernization proceeds,the size of container vessels capable of being handled at container berths is on the increase.New ports are also being developed by some countries to facilitate the development of their trade.These on-going developments have lowered transportation costs and permit more competitive rates.

2. There are several options for container freight calculation:
*Rates can be generally formulated based on container capacity and the origin and destination of the merchandise.This is irrespective of commodities inside the container.
*Another kind of rate will embrace the inland transportation cost,applying to full container load (FCL).
*A further kind of container rate is based on the commodities inside the container.Hence the rate will vary by the commoditiy in the container.
*A very substantial volume of goods that is conveyed in container is less than container load ( LCL).A consignment comprising various LCL cargo is assenbled and loaded into a contaner,with each individual LCL attracting a separate rate.

When calculating the W/M shipping option rate,the volumetric rate will apply when the goods are of a low weight but high volume.Conversely,the actual weight rate will prevail when the goods is of a high weight but small volume. Usually,the freight rate is higher than FCL.The small importers or exporters are urged to use the LCL container service when possible as it offers regularity of service coupled with competitive rates and reliable transits.

*Rail Tansport
Rail tansport is a major mode of transport in terms of capacity,only second to ocean transport. It is capable of achieving relatively high speed and is most economical especially if it provides the complete trainload for a shipper on a regular basis.Besides, it is less prone to interruption by poor weather .But it is confined to railroad and therefore less flexible.
Rail transport can be divided into international combined rail transport and domestic rail transport. The most important document for rail transport is consignment note.Once the forwarding railway staton has accepted the goods for carriage along with the consignment note,the contract of carriage comes into existence.

*Air Transport
Air transport is one of the youngest forms of distribution.The most obvious advantage of air freight is quick ransit.Quick,reliable tansit eliminate need for extensive warehouse accommodation and reduce risk of stockpiling,obsolescence,deterioration and capital tied up in warehouse and stock provision.Low risk of damage and pilferage with consequent very competitive insurance premium is another advantage. Air freight is ideal for consumer-type cargoes such as fresh flowers and fruits which deteriorate easily,fashionable articles that have a short selling life,seasonal goods or merchandises of high value to low weight ratio.However, air tansport is subject to a high operating cost and initial cost of aircraft when compared with overall capacity.Average aircraft capacity is only 2000~2500kg.
Air transport services are divided into three categories:scheduled airlines, charter carries,and consolidated consignments by freight forwarders
*Scheduled Airlines operate on a scheduled service ,over a fixed airline and between two airports.They are suitable for conveying fresh,emergent and seasonal goods.
*Chartered carriers are the hire of an aircraft by a shipper or several shippers to deliver cargoes. They are ideal for carrying cargoes of large quantities or carrying cargoes of different shippers to the same destination.
*Consolidated consignments mean that the air freight forwarder usually assembles a number of individual shipments into one consignment and dispatches them on one air waybill.A consolidated shipment made up by several shipments can be dispatched to one common destination.Many shippers prefer this kind of shipment as the freight rate is 7-10% lower than that of a scheduled airline pulished by IATA.
Airline rates are normally based on actual weight for heavy cargo or measurement weight for large volume carego.The shipper of air freight will encounter several different types of freight classification,such as General Cargo,Classified Rates,Specified Commondity rate and so on.The characteristics of air freight are:the freight is charged for airport to airport (single trip) only,and it is the freight only, excluding other charges such as customs fees and storage fees.