shipping

Food and agriculture giant Cargill has signed an agreement with SkySails GmbH & Co. KG (SkySails) to use wind power technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. SkySails, based in Hamburg, Germany, has developed patented technology that uses a kite which flies ahead of a shipping vessel and generates enough propulsion to reduce consumption of bunker fuel by up to 35% in ideal sailing conditions.

A new container design is set to change the economics of shipping palletised cargo, allowing cargo owners and consolidators to increase significantly the volume of cargo shipped at any one time.

Biofiba Limited of Australia has announced plans to begin marketing a new biodegradable material that can be used to make pallets, which could offer cost and Sustainability advantages in global trade.

Pallets are used for a substantial amount of global trade movements, and the wood needed to make these pallets may represent as much as 40% of total global timber use.

Online retailer Amazon is expected to begin ‘anticipatory shipping’ in the near future, after successfully taking out a patent on the concept in December.

The modelis based on Amazon’s significant customer history data built up over several years, which allows the company to make a more than educated guess on which customers were likely to order, for example, a newly released book or similar item.

The ‘normal’ online retail model requires Amazon to receive an order before labelling packages with addresses at its warehouses and loading them onto trucks, (or, soon, UAV), which eventually take them to customers’ homes.

As companies evaluate new ways to reduce freight costs as well as their carbon footprint, alternative transportation mode options should be considered when moving freight long distances. While trucking remains the most dominant mode of shipping product domestically, intermodal freight transport offers opportunities for freight savings and reduced emissions, especially when transporting products over distances of 500 miles or more.

Acculogix Distribution Services, a Canadian-based third party logistics (3PL) distributor of magazines and books, is using a transportation management system (TMS) to streamline its distribution throughout Western Canada.

Acculogix services 4,000 retailers in Western Canada and operates 13 satellite depots/cross-dock centers where magazine shipments are processed for delivery to local markets via express package carriers. To streamline the process of labeling shipments being handled by its package carrier service providers, Acculogix selected Descartes' Transportation Management, Pick, Pack and Ship solution.

Relief for America’s small businesses appears to be far off as the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects gas prices to average around $3.70 a gallon during the peak driving season (April through September), and exceeding $4.00 during the summer. To that end, Unishippers Global Logistics, a small package and freight shipping reseller, is offering expert shipping advice to the many small businesses that are being severely affected by high gasoline prices.

CMA CGM, China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL), Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL), and Pacific International Lines (PIL) are getting together in the North East Asia, Australia and New Zealand trade commencing from Shanghai in early November.

The new service will be operated with seven vessels of 4,250 TEU nominal capacity, of which three (3) vessels will be provided by CMA CGM, two (2) vessels by OOCL and one (1) vessel each by CSCL and PIL. It will be replacing the current “ANZEX” / “NZN” service operated by CMA CGM & OOCL.

Судоходная компания Swire Shipping, входящая в China Navigation Company, запускает новый ежемесячный сервис APA между Азией и  Австралазией, сообщает Seatrade Asia.

A “revolutionary new container handling system”, aimed at easing the increasing problem of port congestion, is being launched at a technical demonstration in Shanghai at the end of November.

Designated ‘BLOK-BEAM’, the system enables six containers to be lifted and transported as one single block, largely using existing port infrastructure.

Managing director of BLOK-BEAM Ltd John Evans said: “Now that ships are able to deliver around 20,000 20FT containers on one vessel, and the cranes to service them can lift up to 100 tonnes at a time, it is the ports which, in spite of their improved efficiency, have become the focus of attention in ship-to-shore movement.”