Container shipments
Here are some more terms that apply to cargo shipments:
- Shipper : The person or company that sends the cargo.
- Consignee : The person or company that receives the cargo.
Full container load (FCL)
- One shipper has cargo in this container.
- One consignee will receive all the cargo in this container.
- FCL (Full Container Load) This term applies to a container in which there is cargo from ONE shipper, and destined for ONE consignee
Less than container load (LCL)
- Cargo from more than one shipper is in this container
- Cargo for more than one consignee is in this container
- LCL (Less than Container Load) A container in which there is cargo from more than one shipper and/or destined for more than one consignee.
Container shipments: Slide 1 of 17
Container shipments
- Shipper The person or company that sends the cargo.
- Consignee The person or company that receives the cargo.
Container shipments: Slide 2 of 17
Full container load (FCL)
- One shipper
- One consignee
- FCL (Full Container Load) A container in which there is cargo from ONE shipper, and destined for ONE consignee
Container shipments: Slide 3 of 17
Less than container load (LCL)
- Cargo from more than one shipper in one container
- Cargo for more than one consignee in one container
- LCL (Less than Container Load) A container in which there is cargo from more than one shipper and/or destined for more than one consignee.
Container shipments: Slide 4 of 17
Container depot Place where:
- cargo is loaded into containers or removed from containers (usually LCLs)
- containers are kept in bond (awaiting “clearing” by customs)
- containers are stored
- containers are fixed, painted, cleaned, etc.
Container shipments: Slide 5 of 17
A depot need not be close to a harbour.
Container shipments: Slide 6 of 17
Stacker
Container shipments: Slide 7 of 17
Some stackers can stack containers 7 high.
Container shipments: Slide 8 of 17
Loading cargo into a container. The blue board on which the cargo is stowed (A) is called a pallet.
Container shipments: Slide 9 of 17
Container gantry: a special crane used to load or discharge a container ship.
Container shipments: Slide 10 of 17
Fully cellular container ship: A ship that has been designed to carry only containers. It is fitted with cell guides in the holds, and can also carry containers on deck.
Container shipments: Slide 11 of 17
Fully cellular container ship: Containers are stowed in cells or slots, i.e. in a demarcated position in a hold or on deck.
Container shipments: Slide 12 of 17
Container shipments: Slide 13 of 17
The largest containership: Maersk McKinney Moller
- Length: 400 metres
- Beam: 59 metres
- Draught: 14.5 metres
- Capacity: 18450 TEU
Container shipments: Slide 14 of 17
Container shipments: Slide 15 of 17
Container shipments: Slide 16 of 17
Container shipments: Slide 17 of 17
Advantages of containerisation
- It permits rapid transport, even “from door to door”
- Because it is a standardised form of transport, cargo can be moved easily from one mode of transport to another (e.g. from ship to train or to truck)
- It enables quick and efficient cargo operations even in rainy weather
- Because cargo is handled only twice (once at the shipper’s premises and once at the consignee’s premises) containerisation has reduced
- the risk of Damage to cargo (and therefore reduces the number of insurance claims for damaged cargo)
- the risk of Theft of cargo (and therefore reduces the number of insurance claims for stolen cargo)
- handling time (and therefore reduces time in port and therefore reduces costs)
- the number of stevedores needed, and therefore has reduced labour costs
Disadvantages of containerisation
- There is a need for great capital investment in
- ships
- containers
- port facilities (terminals) and equipment (e.g. Gantries, straddle carriers, trucks, etc.)
- container depots
- changes to infrastructure on railways, roads, etc.
- Reduction of labour force in ports has resulted in unemployment after the introduction of containerised shipping
Fluctuating fortunes
While there has been a global swing to containerisation, containership operators have had good and bad times.
Some difficult times for containership operators:
- South African trade 1980s-1992 (Anti-apartheid campaigns reduced trade.)
- Far East trades (late 1990s) The Asian economic crisis reduced cargo volumes.
Some boom times (Daily charter rates and freight rates rose sharply):
- 1980s & early 1990s
- 2001-2007 (esp. trades to China)
Another bad time for container shipping was the so-called “credit crunch” that began in 2007 with the collapse of several leading banks. Its effects continued for several years.Those were:
- Less cargo available.
- Less demand for ships.
- Freight rates were low.
- Some ships were withdrawn from service; older vessels were scrapped; some were laid up.
- Some owners ordered their ships to do “slow steaming” (to steam at much reduced speeds). This meant that more ships were needed to maintain services, thereby keeping ships in service, while fuel costs may also have been reduced.
Larger and more economical containerships came into service.
A number of smaller companies could not compete with the larger operators, and they either stopped trading or were absorbed by larger companies.
On the South Africa-Europe container trade, the 2500-teu ships that came into service when containerisation began formally were replaced in 2004-2005 by 4000-teu ships and those have been replaced recently by even larger ships, some around 8500-teu capacity.
Larger ships are used on many trades where the water depth in harbours allows deep-draughted ships to operate.
Global container routes