FREIGHT FORMS, A PACKAGING TECHNIQUE DEPLOYED IN SHIPPING GOODS
Freight forms and its movement from the port of origin to the port of unloading or destination varies on the mode by which the cargo is shipped. This is because goods shipped as airfreight is different from that which is shipped through the sea. Bear in mind that goods are equally shipped through the rail system, though, we will not be considering that at the moment as we focus on our main topic.
You may ask, so what are the reasons and why the difference? Keep reading to know why.
Cargoes shipped from port of loading to port of destination are shipped in different forms, ranging from containerized, general cargo, palletized, cartons, crates, cases, boxes, wheeled (vehicles), and so on. As we begin with airfreight goods.
Air freights are usually lightweight when compared with sea freight, lightweight cargoes, such as perishable goods, processed products, clothing, electronics, office equipment, household consumables, and so on. Although heavy equipment and machines could as well be shipped via air on special-purpose which in turn, will incur huge costs.
All these mentioned can be shipped through the sea, as sea freight irrespective of the weight, while air freights are predominantly perishable and lightweight shipments. However, let us look at the economic importance of air freights and how you could get involved.
These goods (Air freights) are shipped as air freight based on their values and the nature of the goods. Cargoes such as perishable goods and electronic products, for example, require special handling with less time on transit due to their nature. Based on this, air freighting such a product could prove expensive due to handling.
Containerized goods are cargoes shipped with a large metallic box of standard design used for the transportation of goods. Widely used containers in the transportation of goods are the 20ft and 40ft dimensions. They are either in tank form, dry van, high cube, reefer, flat rack, open-top, among others. This gives room for a different type of cargo shipments, such as liquid chemical products and solid goods, which will be discussed subsequently.
The ‘General cargo’ consists of different types of cargo with irregular shapes, extra-large and overweight in nature. Such as still pipes, jumbo bags of chemicals, bags of agricultural produce, salt, and so on.
RORO shipments are goods shipped with Roll-on/roll-off vessels which are classified as wheeled cargo that is driven on and off the vessel on their own wheels or with the aid of a platform vehicle. However, shipments of this category include cars, trucks, trailers and so on.
Consolidated shipments are known as a single shipment of goods with the aid of a container comprising of multiples consignees, with a minimum of two consignees shipping their goods in a container. However, the primary purpose of this is to minimize freight charges (cost). This is known as less than container load (LCL) shipment.
- I hope you find this write-up on freight forms, helpful?
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