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If you look up the word “consolidate” in the dictionary, it may say something like, “to combine into one; unite.” In shipping language, then, to consolidate cargo means to combine many small shipments into one container. Let’s look at an example: a company in Hong Kong which manufactures computer mice (Mice, Inc.) has just received a first time trial order from a new customer in Manila (Pad, Inc.). Pad, Inc. has asked that Mice, Inc. ship a 10 cubic meter shipment of computer mice by the end of this week (how many mice is that?). Mice, Inc. delivers this “Less-Than-Container Load” (LCL) shipment to APL. A standard 40’ container holds approximately 55 cubic meters. Since Mice, Inc. has delivered only 10 cubic meters, APL must find another 45 cubic meters of cargo also moving to Manila this week to make a Container Load. The goal is to maximize the full use (all 55 cubic meters) of every 40’ container moving from Hong Kong to Manila. Another type of consolidation might be for a very large company who manufactures many different products in a number of different countries in Asia, but not always manufacturing enough product in each country to fill a full container. This kind of consolidation is called Multi-Country Consolidation. In this case, APL’s sister company, American Consolidation Services (ACS), moves all the small shipments for that one company from each country in Asia (i.e., Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) to a major point like Kaohsiung, Taiwan. ACS then loads all the little shipments into one big shipment for that one customer. To learn more about consolidation, deconsolidation, and warehousing, check out the ACS Web site at: www.acslogistics.com. So, now that you know about consolidated cargo, you may be wondering what other types of cargo a shipping company transports? Most types of cargo shipped in a container can be divided into a few major categories: Refrigerated cargo is shipped in containers equipped with a special refrigeration unit. This unit regulates the temperature of the inside of a container just like your refrigerator at home. The temperature of the inside of the container can be set to the desired temperature for a desired duration. It can even be set cold enough to ship ice cream clear across the world! Some other refrigerated commodities include seafood, fruits, vegetables, and poultry. Dangerous & Hazardous (DnH) cargo includes any flammable or chemical based commodities. There are many restrictions placed on the carriage and stowage of DnH cargo. Military Household Goods is exactly what it sounds like — movement of household items for military personnel. This cargo must be carried by an American Flag carrier. The same is true for actual military cargo. In fact, the U.S. Government used approximately 10,000 APL containers for shipments to Kuwait during Desert Storm in 1992. Oversized cargo is any piece of cargo too big to fit in a standard 20’, 40’, 40’H or 45’ container. Oversized cargo is loaded onto a piece of special equipment, like an open top container for extra tall cargo or a flat rack for extra wide cargo. An example of this type of cargo may be large pieces of machinery or yachts. Most other types of cargo fall under the dry cargo category. This is the type of cargo that the Boomerang Box carries. Dry cargo basically includes any dry, non-military, non-DnH commodity that fits in a standard container. An example is apparel, footwear, toys, computers, and lumber. Please let us know if you have any other questions about types of cargo! |
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