Modes of Transport 6.2 Maritime Transport
6.3 Ocean Bill of lading
6.4 Containerization
6.5 Transport Clause in a Sales Contract
6.1 Modes of Transport
Students’ Task Log on to to find out the sailing routes and shipping companies which can carry the goods from your city to Tokyo, Los Angeles, Hamburg and Johannesburg.
Ocean freight is good for large items, bulk commodities and items that do not require fast delivery. However, there are minimum weight requirements for ocean freight which may be three to four times greater than for air freight. See Section 6.2 for more details. Road freight is commonly used in cross-border deliveries, for example, in the delivery of export goods between mainland European countries and between North American countries. Generally, a transit distance up to 1,000 kilometers using road freight is competitive compared with rail and air freight. Rail freight is popular in multi-modal transport and transshipment. It is widely used in land bridges. Rail cars—rail wagons—are available to accommodate many kinds of cargo. In a COFC (container on flat car) service, for example using 50 flat cars each with a 60-ton capacity, the combined flat cars may carry loads weighing up to 3,000 metric tons, which is far more than a truck or an airplane can carry. Hence, rail freight is often used in the overland movement of ocean freight containers and bulk cargo, such as between the East and West Coast ports of the U.S. and/or Canada. Air freight is usually used for high value but low volume cargo because it is perceived as expensive when compared with land and ocean freight. However, air freight has its advantages. Most air cargoes are carried on passenger airliners. About 80% to 90% of air cargoes are transported by IATA (International Air Transport Association) members. IATA standardized the rules and regulations for air carriers throughout the world. When airlines or air cargo companies or their agents issue an air waybill (AWB), it is often a straight waybill. The buyer is named the consignee on the waybill and he/she can claim the consignment from the carrier by simply showing proof of identity.