Unit Five
Packing and Marking
Packing is one of the important ways to realize the value of commodities. It protects and prettifies commodities and forms an important process in the storage, transportation, and sales of commodities. In international trade, packing is also decisive in identifying commodities. Hence, packing is one of the key terms in business communication and negotiation.
5. 1
Cargoes that Need Packing
Cargoes fall into three groups:
(1) Bulk cargoes or cargoes in bulk: like wheat, mineral ore, coal, etc.
(2) Nude cargoes: like planks, vehicles, bronze or steel plates or blocks.
(3) Packed cargoes: all the other cargoes.
T he first two groups of cargoes do not need packing while the third group does.
5. 2
Packing for Transportation
Packing can be either for transportation or for sales. Packing for transportation is also called big packing or outer packing while packing for sales is also called small packing or inner packing. To stand long transportation of the ocean and rough handling of cargoes, and for other purposes, the outer packing of the cargoes should meet the following requirements: be solid and durable, adaptable to the changing climates at the loading and unloading ports and transit areas; be uniform so as to convenience storage, stowing, calculation, cargo inspection and identification; have the least weight, volume, and cost increase. As packing materials, wood must be disinfected and many countries forbid straw to be used for the packing of imported goods.
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5. 2. 1
Packing Variety
Exported commodities are variegated and quite different from one another in nature, so is their outer packing. Outer packing can be unit outer packing and assemblage outer packing. Containers for unit outer packing are usually: 1) cases, which include wooden cases, carton, plastic cases; 2) drums or casks, which include wooden casks, iron drums, barrels, hogsheads, plastic casks; 3) bags, which include paper bags, gunny sacks, plastic bags; 4) crates and baskets; 5) bundles, bales, carboys, bomb, etc..
To convenience transportation, unit goods are assembled or consolidated into large containers. This we call assemblage outer packing. Containers for this purpose include flexible containers, pallet, and containers. Flexible containers are bags made of fiber able to hold powdery commodities, like cement, flint, powder rubber, etc.; pallets are a kind of portable platforms intended for handling, storing, or moving materials and packages; large containers are one of the most important inventions of the 20th century in transportation.
Containers are of different sizes, but now the universally-used containers in international trade are 8‟ ⨯8‟ ⨯20‟(8ft.⨯8ft.⨯20ft.) and 8‟ ⨯8‟⨯40‟, with the former being taken as the standard container unit, called TEU(Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit). It has a dead weight of 18 metric tons and a capacity of 31-35 cubic meters.
♣Activities for Comprehension:
1) Why should commodities be packed and what are the requirements
of packing for transportation?
2) What container is suitable for outer packing of a bicycle?
3) How many washing machines can a TEU hold if the size of a unit outer
packing of the washing machine is 1m.⨯ 0.4 m.⨯ 0.5m.?
Exercises
1. Translate the following into Chinese:
nude cargo ______ unit outer packing ________
bulk cargo ______ assemblage outer packing ________
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