MBA Students' Guide to Containerization
MBA Students' Guide to Containerization
Submitted by –
Aayush Bavise
Varun Bhandari
Rahul pal
Ayush Sharma
Kiran prasad
MBA LSCM (2018-2020)
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CONTENTS
1. Acknowledgement 3
2. Introduction 4
3. History 5
4. Global Scenario 8
5. Indian Scenario 10
12. References 49
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INTRODUCTION
Containerisation is the technique of stowing freight in reusable containers of uniform size and
shape for transportation. The freight may be oddly shaped and in different quantities, but
when stowed and shipped in containers, it can be handled as a single piece. Breakbulk had
become overly expensive due to many port calls, labour cost, loss & damage to cargo.
Container Shipping was invented to reduce & control cost, limit port calls, & eliminate
damage & loss to cargo. Containerisation changed the basics of cargo transport by
standardizing the dimensions of the container and simultaneously improving the productivity
of ports by mechanizing handling of container-carrying ships and reducing their handling to a
few hours only, thus allowing shipping to become streamlined & allow cargo to arrive at
destination faster. Another way of looking at importance of this innovation is that almost
every manufactured product human consume spends some time in a container.
Containerisation is an important element of the innovations in logistics that revolutionized
freight handling in the 20th century.
According to the ISO definition, a freight container is an article of transportation which is
of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use, is
specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods by one or more modes of transport
without intermediate reloading, is fitted with devices permitting its ready handling -
particularly its transfer from one mode of transfer to another, is so designed as to be easy to
fill and empty and having an internal volume of 1 m3 (1 cubic meter) or more.
India has one the longest coastlines of over 7500 km, 13 major and around 200 minor seaports.
According to the Shipping Ministry, Indian Government, India trading about 95% by volume
and 70% by value through maritime transport. In such a scenario, a dry port is made to relieve
a seaport of some workload and congestion.
International trade continues to grow rapidly, spurred by market and trade liberalisation,
reductions in transportation and communication costs and the development of new
information and communication technologies. Global trade patterns are also changing with
the emergence of large, rapidly growing Asian economies, most notably China and India.
Firms are developing sophisticated global supply chains to improve their competitiveness,
focusing on their core competencies and outsourcing other parts of the production processes.
Efficient supply chains also facilitate just-in-time deliveries and enable better responsiveness
to dynamic customer demand. Container shipping has been one of the prerequisites -
probably even the driving force - for the dynamic development of global trade. It is difficult
to imagine globalisation taking place without the assistance provided by the freight container
or containerisation, as it is popularly known. The container has been called the box that
makes the world go around.
HISTORY
For centuries, mankind has voyaged across the seas, taking not only themselves but food,
cotton, treasure and goods, the likes of which their own united states had in no way seen
earlier than. Just think of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and lately the British!
They naturally shipped to other nations, however with none standardization it became a
sluggish and difficult process.
Goods might be stored at a port warehouse until a boat was available. When an empty vessel
arrived, those goods would transport from the warehouse to the available space of the docked
ships. Goods would commonly be loaded into sacks, bales, crates and barrels, after which
they could load via hands onto the ship. This was a very labour-intensive process. This
process was known as break bulk cargo. A regular ship could have around 200,000 chunks of
cargo onboard.
Towards the latter a part of the second industrial revolution (early 1900’s), this loss of
standardization became a real problem, particularly thinking about how general trains had
now emerge as. Transferring cargo from ships to trains was extremely slow and brought on
fundamental delays and blockages inside many ports. Larger ships might take round a week
to unload then reload.
This changed the only manner to move items and for hundreds of years this method remained
unchanged.
There was a great need for a standardized method of transport, but for this to be realized, a
whole host of industries needed alignment such as ships, trains, trucks, and port terminals. It
would require a lot of work and encouragement to make such a deed possible.
Malcom McLean was born in 1914 and grew up in North Carolina. In 1934, he started his
transport business. McLean soon expanded his transport business and had five trucks running
under him.
During daily delivery of cotton bales in 1937, from North Carolina to New Jersey, McLean
witnessed dockworkers loading and unloading cargo, which took hours. He thought what a
waste of time and money this was.
From 1937 until the start of 1950, McLean focused on his transport business, which had
around 1,750 trucks and 37 transport terminals, becoming the fifth largest truck transportation
business in the whole of America.
It was during this time period that several weight limitations and imposing fees were
introduced to road transportation. McLean was now looking for a more efficient way to
transport his customers’ cargo and thought of his experience in New Jersey back in 1937.
This led to the idea of creating a standard sized trailer which could be loaded onto boats in
high quantity.
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He planned transforming his transportation business by changing most of his trucks by boats
to transport the goods to strategically placed trucking hubs.
This led trucks to be used only for short, intrastate deliveries, eliminating the weight
restrictions and levying fees which had recently been introduced.
McLean, influenced by his idea to create a standardized shipping trailer or container, sold his
transportation business. In 1955, he took a bank loan for $42 million which he used $7
million of this loan to purchase the established shipping company, Pan-Atlantic Steamship
Company. Pan-Atlantic, had docking rights in many of the eastern port cities which McLean
was aiming. Shortly after buying them he names the company Sea Land Industries.
McLean then went on to trial variations of the container and finally settled on a primitive
form of what we know today as the shipping container. It was strong, standardized, stackable,
easy to load and unload and lockable, which made it theft resistant.
So now McLean had his containers and the final piece of the puzzle was designing ships
which could hold the containers. He bought the oil tanker, Ideal X, and modified it to hold 58
of his containers, in addition to 15,000 tons of petroleum.
On April 26, 1956, Ideal X left for Houston from New Jersey. The success of his newly
design containers was reinforced when the company was taking orders before the ship even
docked in Houston to take goods back to New Jersey. This was due to 25% discount off the
price for cargo transportation at the time. Also, because the containers were lockable, it
stopped goods from being stolen during transportation.
Following the success of Ideal X’s initial voyage, McLean ordered the first ever ship
specifically designed to carry containers: The Gateway City.
Gateway City’s first journey was in October, 1957, and went from New Jersey to Miami.
Incredibly, it required only couple of dockworkers to unload and load the cargo. The cargo
could be moved at a staggering 30 tons per hour, which was unheard of at the time.
Standardization
At this point, McLean was using 33-foot containers, which are different from the 20 and 40-
foot containers which we use today.
However, there was still the issue of a nonexistence of standardization with regards to the
container’s size and corner fittings. This standardization was needed so containers could be
loaded and unloaded efficiently. Also, trains, trucks, and other transport equipment required a
standard sized container so each method of transport could be able to handle the containers.
During the Vietnamese war, the US government was looking for a way to transport goods
more efficiently and was pushing for standardization. They were still using 33-foot
containers, while industry rival Matson’s were using 24-foot containers. McLean agreed to
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issue his patent of shipping container corner posts (vital to its strength and stacking) and
several standards were agreed.
o January 1968: ISO 338 defined the terminology, dimensions and ratings.
o July 1968: ISO 790 defined how containers should be identified.
o October 1970: ISO 1897 defined the recognised sizes of the containers.
As a result of these standardisation, we now have the 20-foot and 40-foot shipping containers.
In fact, 20-foot containers, called Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU), went on to become the
industry representative for referencing cargo volume.
By 1970, SeaLand Industries had 36 container ships, 27,000 containers and networks to more
than 30 ports in America,
McLean then sold the company to R.J. Reynolds for $160 million.
It took a mere ten years for the first every international container ship voyage. In April, 1966,
Sea Land’s Fairland sailed from the US to the Netherlands with 236 containers on board.
From 1966, container ships saw a massive development, and in 1968, container ships had the
capacity to carry around 1,000 TEUs, which was remarkably large at the time.
Many now claim containers have been the sole major driver in globalization over the last
sixty years.
o The cost to ship cargo has dropped more than 90%.
o In 1956, cargo cost $5.86 per ton to load, while now it only costs around $0.16 per ton.
o In 1966, around 1% of countries had container ports, but this rose to 90% by 1983.
o Malcom McLean has been awarded “Man of The Century” by the International Maritime
Hall of Fame.
o Pre-containers, cargo could be loaded at around 1.3 tons per hour. Later increased to over
30 tons per hour by 1970.
o In 2011, the shipping ports of America received $1.73 trillion worth of goods.
o Around 90% of every purchased item has been shipped inside a container.
o There are close to twenty million shipping containers in the world, which make over 200
million trips per year.
o A sweater can now travel 3,000 miles for 2.5 cents by sea.
o There are more than 6,000 container vessels currently in service.
o The largest container ship in the world, MSC Oscar, has a TEU of 19,224
Source: http://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-industry/history-of-containerization
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Global Scenario
Container transportation has been the fastest growing sector of the shipping industries during
the last two decades. As outlined by Drewry Shipping Consultants (2006) a number of
fundamental drivers underlie demand growth in container shipping. First of all, organic
growth is spurred by increasing economic activity, trade liberalisation, reduced import tariffs,
globalisation and outsourcing. This organic growth is compounded by the fact that break bulk
cargo is increasingly being carried in containers, by changes in carriers’ scheduling strategies
and by port development. Finally, "incidental” demand growth can be triggered by regional
variations in import and export activity (for example related to exchange rate swings) causing
imbalances in directional containerised trade flows.
There is an ever-growing demand in the western countries for the goods manufactured in
Asian countries. Asia, particularly China, serves as the world’s manufacturing centre
separated by the sea to the major consumption markets of Europe and the United States. This
demand is being met by transporting the goods cheaply in containers to the consumers by sea.
Nowadays traders specify transport of cargo in containers as a precondition for commercial
contracts. This ever-increasing demand has led to economies of scale being realized in
manufacturing and transportation sectors.
The development of global supply chains is shaping international trade and transportation
patterns. The past five years have been characterised by strong demand in North America and
Western Europe for imports from Asia. Growing trade volumes between Asia and North
America are placing greater demands on shipping lines to service these flows with
consequent shifts in global shipping patterns. Shipping lines are deploying larger vessels to
accommodate trade flows between Asia and North America while ports in the Far East, North
America and around the world, are ramping up investments and expanding infrastructure to
better accommodate rapidly increasing shipping volumes. The benefits of containerisation,
together with the growth of world trade, have been the basis for a continuous growth of
container shipping. The success of containers is a direct result of the ease of handling and the
protection it offers against damage and theft.
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The 40-footer, both in its standard and “high cube” form, is the most commonly
used container, consisting for 68% of all TEUs, while the 20-footer accounts for
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26%. The remaining 16% includes specialized containers such as the reefer (7%).
About 90% of the world’s containers are manufactured in China, namely because
China is a large exporter of manufactured goods. The total number of containers
being used is very difficult to guess. An approximate figure indicates that there are 3
TEUs of containers available for every TEU of available maritime container ship
capacity.
The composition of the container fleet is a balancing act between the requirements
of “weighting out” and the requirements of “cubing out”, which is related to the
nature of what is being carried. Even if higher container units tend to be desirable
since they can carry greater quantities of goods, the containerization of
commodities, such as grain, indicates that the 20-footer is likely to remain an
important intermodal unit. It can carry a full load of 20 tons while larger containers
are limited to a maximal load of 28 tons, irrespective of their size. For standard retail
goods, the 40-foot-high cube is the preferred unit since the load unit will cube out
well before reaching its maximum weight.
Indian Scenario
Unluckily introduced for the first time in Indian domestic market way back in 1966 by the
Indian railways to offer door to door service to their customers and attract cargo from
roadways. They used containers with a 5-ton payload. Containerisation of general cargo in
India began in 1970s as against its advent in 1960s in developed countries and gained
momentum in 1980s. The first container was handled at Cochin in 1979 carried by a vessel
owned by American President Lines which also commenced a scheduled service from
Mumbai followed by several other foreign companies. However, the International Marine
Container failed to become popular in the late 1980s which, in return, affected international
trade growth. Hence the necessary infrastructure required for multi modal transport was never
created till almost too late. It was only in 1987 that the Government of India realized the
importance of containerisation and started constructing a satellite port at Mumbai which
commenced operations in 1988 and was christened The Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Subsequently,
a Corporation called CONCOR (Container Corporation of India) was created the Indian
Railways for inland haulage of containers by rail. It constructed the first ICD (Internal
Container Depot) at Tughlakabad in New Delhi. The shippers and consignees also responded
positively to this new development and forced the government to make heavy investments in
the infrastructure for growth of containerisation in India.
Table 1.1
125000 123119
119443 Series1
120000
Linear (Series1)
115000
110000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
YEAR
CHART 1.1
Table 1.1 and Chart 1.1 analyses the traffic of the major ports of India, for the period 2015-16 to
2017-18 and Forecast for the next three years i.e. 2018-19 to 2020-21. As can be seen in the table,
the total port traffic grew at 1.76% per annum.
India has kept pace with the growth of container trade world over during the last decade.
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CLASSIFICATION OF CONTAINERS
The container can be classified by the raw material from which it is constructed or by its size.
Currently the maximum numbers of containers are made from Steel and Aluminium. The
International Standards Organization (ISO), after conducting a detailed study, standardized
the size of containers to 20’ and 40’ in length, 8’ in breadth and 81/2 / 912 feet in height. The
internal volume of a Twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) is 33 M3 (cubic meters) Thus,
containers can be classified according to their size, 20’, 40’, 45’, 48’and 60’.
The containers can also be classified according to their use and construction.
Closed containers carrying general cargo not requiring temperature control are called dry
cargo containers. Closed thermal containers are designed to carry cargoes requiring
temperature control and are usually made of steel and aluminium with polystyrene foam
insulation. These, in turn, can be further classified into Refrigerated, Insulated and ventilated
containers.
20ft Standard dry steel containers are weather closed containers suitable for transporting most
general cargo.
DESCRIPTION METRIC
Empty container volume 33.200 cubic meter
Maximum load capacity 27-28 cubic meters
Tare weight 2150kg – 2220 kg
Allowed max. weight 18 tons
Internal length 5.898 m
Internal width 2.352 m
External length 6.058 m
External width 2.438 m
External height 2.591 m
Door opening width 2.340 m
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40ft standard steel containers are weather closed container suitable for transporting most
general cargo. They are very much cost effective for heavier but not so bulky cargo. They are
mostly cost efficient for more bulky and light weighted cargo.
DESCRIPTION METRIC
Empty container volume 67.700 cubic meter
Maximum load capacity 50-55 cubic meter
Tare weight 3,720 kg – 3,740 kg
Allowed max. weight 25 tons
Internal length 12.032 m
Internal width 2.352 m
Internal height 2.392 m
External length 12.192 m
External width 2.438 m
External height 2.591 m
Door opening width 2.340 m
Door opening height 2.280 m
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Refrigerated Container are temperature regulated containers that always have a carefully
controlled temperature as per the product. They are exclusively used for shipment of
perishable substances like fruits and vegetables over long distance.
Description Metric
Cubic capacity 67,700 cubic meter
Payload(weight) 29,190 kg
Tare weight 4,810 kg
Max gross weight 34,000 kg
Internal length 11.583 m
Internal width 2.294 m
Internal height 2.548 m
External length 12,192 m
External width 2.438 m
External height 2.896 m
Door opening width 2.290 m
Door opening height 2.572 m
Cooling unit 8,820 kcal/h at 35F
Controlled atmosphere Yes
Modified atmosphere Yes
Dehumidification Yes
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Containers can be open containers, open top, open side, flat racks, half height and
pens to carry different types of cargoes like grain, cement, oversized machinery, cars
and livestock. To transport bilk liquid or compressed gasses, we have tank containers.
Phase 3: Intermodal and trans modal operations. Since containerization stretched to cover
maritime and inland transport systems, the next phase dominantly targeted at improving its
overall effectiveness. This efficiency is mainly based in the reduction of the number of times
a container is handled as well as the velocity at which intermodal and trans modal operations
are performed. Also, the growth in containerized shipments placed additional pressures on
intermodal transport systems, which for the maritime segment resulted in the setting of
transhipment hubs (also known as intermediary hubs) performing as intermediary locations
between major systems of maritime circulation. Growing intermodal volumes handled at
ports favoured the setting of satellite terminals and transloading. Inland transport systems
accommodated a growing amount of traffic, which in many cases resulted in the setting of
large inland freight distribution centres (inland ports).
Phase 4: Integrated global shipping network. The prior phases (or revolutions) have
allowed the setting of a global shipping network that is progressively integrated. A further
evolution of this network includes the setting of a high capacity circum equatorial route
(CER) being the main support of east / west trade interactions. The route would link a series
of transhipment hub where north / south flows would be collected. This network is still
in emergence.
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Owner code. Comprising of three capital letters that identifies the owner of the
container. There is an international agency (Bureau International des Containers et du
Transport Intermodal) that issues owner codes on behalf of ISO so that no single code
is allocated to more than one owner. In the above case the container belongs to the
American company Textainer, the world’s major container leasing company with a
fleet of 1.7 million units. The majority of shipping and container letting companies
push their logo on the container, which are often highlighted with different colours, so
the owner is commonly easy to recognize.
Product group code. Seems right after the owner code and consists of one capital
letter, either U, J or Z; U refers to a container, J refers to equipment that can be used
to a container, such as a power unit and Z refers to a trailer used to transmit a
container. Therefore, each moveable intermodal equipment has its own identification
code.
Registration Number (or Serial Number). An order of 6 digits where each container
going to an owner has a unique value. So, each owner code can have up to 1 million
containers.
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Check digit. This sole digit is used to cross-verify if the identification order is
accurate. By agreement it is boxed to make sure it is separated and is standing out
from the registration number. Since terminal gates handle a large number of
containers, there is always a risk that the identification sequence was not correctly
entered. The standard process involves the sequence to be remotely entered by a video
camera with the operator entering the sequence manually in the data system or
gradually that sequence being inputted automatically through optical character
recognition software. A arithmetical operation is performed on the container
identification sequence (owner code, product group code and registration number)
which results in a sole digit number, which is then compared with the check digit. If
they match, then the identification sequence is correct (there is still a probability for
error, but it is minimal).
Size and type code. A sequence of 4 letter or digits that usually appear right under the
container identification sequence. Its purpose is to deliver information about the
dimensions and the type of container; the first character is related to the length of the
container while the second character is relative to its height.
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Containers are built to be resilient sas they can be visible to all possible conditions, from
tropical to sub-arctic. They are also exposed to potential damage when loaded, unloaded,
transhipped and carried. Moreover, what a container carries could also be destructive to its
structure with tumbles and shocks. The lifetime of a container ranges between 10 to 15 years
liable on its level of usage and the conditions it has been visible to. A well-maintained
container not exposed to tough conditions can even have a lifetime up to 20 years, but this is
uncommon. Still, a container can spend on average 56% of its lifespan either idle or being
relocated while empty. This represents a non-revenue generating part involving additional
costs (such as storage and relocation) that are assumed either by the shipping or the renting
company. Such a cost is thus part of the leasing rate and of the full transportation cost. Rising
trade inequities can have a distinguished impact as more containers will spend additional time
idle or being relocated. About 20% of all the containers carried by nautical transportation are
empties. A such containers are compound assets to efficiently manage.
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It is a tool used for documenting a business process from starting to end. SIPOC diagram are
also referred as a high-level process maps as they don’t contain enough detail.
These diagrams are useful for concentrating a discussion and helping the team members to
agree upon a common goal of a process for continuous improvement. In Six Sigma it is often
used during the “define” phase of the DMAIC improvement steps. It is similar and related to
the process of mapping and in/out of scope, but also provides surplus fact.
Analysis of the SIPOC chart proves that the optimization of weighing operation is
an important step for reducing congestion, achieving customer satisfaction and saving
times/costs at loading/unloading operation of trucks. So, Critical to Quality (CTQ) will
be the waiting time of trucks, which are weighed at both entrance and exit gates.
With respect to the defined CTQ, data collection phase was planned aiming to gather
data on waiting time of the entrance and exit gates for weighing operation of trucks.
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The container, as an indivisible unit, transmits a unique identification number and a size type
code allowing transport management not in terms of loads, but in terms of unit. This
identification number is also used to ensure that it is carried by an authorized agent of the
cargo owner and is verified at terminal gates, increasingly in an computerized fashion.
Computerized management enables to decrease waiting times significantly and to know the
location of containers (or batches of containers) at any time. It enables to allocate containers
according to the priority, the destination and the accessible transport capacities. Transport
companies reserve slots in maritime or railway convoys that they use to distribute containers
under their charge. As such, the container has turn into a production, transport and
distribution unit.
Economies of scale
Moderately to bulk, container transportation lessens transport costs significantly, about 20
times less. While before containerization maritime transport costs could account between 5
and 10% of the retail price, this share has been compact to about 1.5%, contingent on the
goods being transported. The main factors behind costs reductions exist in in the speed and
flexibility acquired by containerization. Similar to other transportation modes, container
shipping is profiting from economies of scale with the practice of larger containerships.
The 6,000 TEUs landmark was exceeded in 1996 with the Regina Maersk and in 2006 the
Emma Maersk exceeded the 12,000 TEU landmark. By 2013, ships of more than 18,000 TEU
became available. A 5,000 TEU containership has operating costs per container 50% lower
than a 2,500 TEU vessel. Moving from 4,000 TEU to 12,000 TEU lessens operating costs per
container by a factor of 20%, which is very substantial considering the additional volume
involved. System-wide the result has been costs reductions of about 35% by the use of
containerization.
Operational velocity
Transhipment operations are slight and rapid, which increase the operation level of the modal
assets and port productivity. A modern container ship has a monthly capacity of 3 to 6 times
higher than a conventional cargo ship. This is particularly attributable to gains in
transhipment time as a crane can handle roughly 30 movements (loading or unloading) per
hour. Port turnaround times have thus been decreased from an average of 3 weeks in the
1960s to less than 24 hours, since it is unusual for a ship to be fully loaded or unloaded along
regular container shipping routes.
It takes on average between 10 and 20 hours to unload 1,000 TEUs compared to between 70
and 100 hours for a alike quantity of bulk freight. With larger containerships, more cranes
can be allocated to transhipment; 3 to 4 cranes can service a 5,000 TEU containership, while
ships of 10,000 TEU can be serviced by 5 to 6 cranes. This implies that larger ship sizes do
not have much differences in loading or unloading time, but this requires more yard
equipment. A consistent freighter can spend between half and two-third of its useful life in
ports. With less time in ports, containerships can spend more time at sea. Since a ship
produces revenue while at sea, containerships are more profitable. Further, containerships are
on average 35% faster than regular freighter ships (19 knots versus 14 knots). Put all
together, it is predictable that containerization has reduced travel time for freight by a factor
of 80%.
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Empty travel
Maritime shippers need containers to maintain their operations along the port networks they
service. The same number of containers brought into a market must thus eventually be
relocated, regardless if they are full or empty. On average containers will spend about 56% of
their 10 to 15 years lifespan idle or being repositioned empty, which is not generating any
income but convey a cost that is part of the shipping rates. Either full or empty, a container
takes the same amount of space on the ship or in a storage yard and takes the same amount of
time to be transhipped. Due to a divergence between production and consumption, it is
uncommon to see an equilibrium in the distribution of containers
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While ports are vital for seaborne trade, supporting infrastructure, specially hinterland
infrastructure forms the backbone of competitive trade practices. Inland Container Depots
(ICDs) and Container Freight Stations (CFSs) offer exporters and importers with value added
services which enable movement of containerised goods from and to the ports. ICDs may be
viewed as extensions to the port and are usually referred to dry ports, since they offer a
similar function as a port for receipt/delivery of containers between carriers and cargo
owners. These facilities are furnished for handling and temporary storage of containerised
cargo as well as empty containers. In India, the foreseen role of ICDs is paramount in
facilitating cost effective and timely links to the vast hinterland, especially the Northern
Hinterland covering the National Capital Region and adjoining states which are hub to key
industrial zones and agricultural belt. Research approximate these ICDs put together handled
well over a 1.7 million teu in 2017. But, this is much lesser than the total potential.
Distinction between ICDs and CFSs
The terms ICDs and CFSs are commonly used interchangeably or inaccurately owing to an
overlap of activities performed. However, the following primary activities distinguish the role
of an ICD from that of a CFS –
• ICDs serve mainly as an extension of port as a clearing point providing last mile
connectivity from inland location- typically by rail. Though, some ICD’s do not have a rail
head. At the same time many of the ICD’s now offer stuffing/stripping, warehousing and
other value-added services to offer a single point clearance.
• A CFS, on the other hand, is a facility for merging of cargo as well as a stuffing/ stripping
point for containerised goods under custom management with warehousing and specialised
storage as value added services.
• ICDs are located inland and in proximity to cargo centres while CFSs are normally closer
to the port.
generated by ICDs from their core and allied services will be important growth factors.
Broadly these factors could be categorised under the following three dimensions –
Growth in container traffic
Modal shift towards rail
Value addition and ease of business at ICDs
The need of dry ports is also there in the development of a country it affects the economy of
the country. For any country the infrastructure is needed for sea ports to be develop as an export
led economy. As ocean shipping has the largest carrying volume as compared to any other
transport, sea ports provide the cheapest gateway for the import and export cargos. Sea port is
situated near sea. However, industrial developments are occurring in the hinterlands. So in such
circumstances where the importer or exporter is far away from sea port, it causes problem to
them to co-ordinate and handles the goods properly for the sea port. This raise the needs of
having a facility, called Dry Port, close to industry parks, where the functions of sea port, such
as handle export and import formalities under customs regulation can be done.
A report was made by Transport Division of UNESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific), grouped the NEEDS of dry port. They are -
It enables to bring economic development from coastal area to hinterland (particularly
for LLCDs)
Dry ports can transform to SEZs
Reunion between transport infrastructure and supply chain management
Upgrading supply chain, logistics
Bringing down transportation cost
Changing distribution function from seaport terminals
Add on value to market players
Modal switch to a more efficient mode of transport
Decrease in GHG emission through modal shift at dry ports
Decrease road congestion (Free up cars from roads)
Decrease queue length at port could lead to reduce anxiety of truck drivers, thus
decreased risk of accidents
More employment opportunities
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CHALLENGES
There are a lot of challenges which are being faced to manage the dry ports and to increase
their efficiency and prevent delay of time. The cost of freight rose by 15% to 115% per tonne
across different ports in India in the last few years. The lack of transformation, infrastructure
not in line with volume growth, insufficient productivity and equipment, inefficient
government procedures and regulations, and lack of hinterland connectivity constituent to the
reduced performance of Indian ports. Consequently, Indian ports are less attractive than their
counterpart in China, who has upgraded its ports and grown at an amazing speed.
Infrastructure Bottleneck: - Infrastructure has a crucial role in the development of the dry
ports in any country. Indian ports have lack of capacity and less productivity. The high turnover
time and pre-berthing time, and freight costs make Indian ports less competitive. The main
necessary flaw behind this story is that the port development projects, in the past, have not
taken into consideration the growth in traffic and, as a concern, the growth in traffic for
exceeded the growth in capacity leading to congestion and less productivity Only around 15%
of the total container traffic for India is shipped directly to Indian ports. For the rest, Indian
ports are largely served by feeder vessels from the transhipment hubs of Colombo, Singapore
and Dubai.
Logistics Bottleneck: -Logistics is a major challenge which affects the delay of the container
movements from one place to another. The port productivity and efficiency also based upon
the quality and trustworthiness of road and rail connectivity, and suitable storage and handling
facilities. The lack of expressway connectivity between major ports as well as industrial
gatherings, and high fuel cost make hinterland transportation ineffective and slow. Also the
container freight stations and business need to be organized efficiently through good
management practice in space utilization, approval of technology for track and trace, etc
Technology Bottleneck: - Technology is an important aspect with is being the most important
challenge for the functioning of dry ports. The innovation and information technology have
changed the way, goods being transported between international port terminals. Many
international ports like Rotterdam, Hong Kong, PSA and Antwerp have implemented end-to
end solutions to update the flow of information between their trading partners. Though all
major ports in India have executed (not fully) EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and online
tracking systems, the information exchange amongst the major trading / operational partners,
such as customs, ports, inland terminals and shippers involved in container trade is limited.
Regulation Bottleneck: - The regulation plays an important role in handling the containers.
The custom dealings and regulations, and extensive documentation process are the other areas
where Indian maritime sector lacks the pace when compare with its counterparts like
Singapore, China, and Malaysia. At all international ports, the modernized custom
administrations have embraced a highly selective procedure for examinations of containers and
about 95% of containers are allowed clearance without any physical inspections. Where as in
India, 10% of the contents of each box should be checked and verified. It causes delay, and
adds a high transportation cost.
32
Labour issues: - Labour issue is also an important challenge to overcome. Major Indian ports
are affected with numerous labour strikes, subsequently, congestions, inefficiency and lower
productivity at their respective ports. The port labour federations and unions are very influential
in India. Still, the old incentive schemes and other service conditions are followed at all major
ports. For example, in the 1950s incentive schemes were presented wherein the worker whose
output surpassed the prescribed datum line was paid at a higher rate for the extra output. But
over the years, many ports have modernized and adopted sophisticated cargo handling
equipment’s but these datum lines have not been changed yet.
ICD Tughlakabad
When in late 70’s and early 80’s, the concept of ‘containerized cargo’ and ‘delivery at
doorstep’ started getting popular the world, a need was felt to set up an Inland Container
Depot to deliver to the needs of trade and industry of the northern part of India. With this
contextual in mind and with a view to bringing the services of transportation and customs
clearance of import and export cargo at the doorstep of importers and exporters, an Inland
container deport was set up at Pragati Maidan in 1983 under the control of an Assistant
collector of Customs. Indian Railways were designated the custodian of the goods. In 1984, a
Container Freight Station (CFS) was also opened Patparganj, which was an extension of ICD,
Pragati Maidan and Central Warehousing Corporation was nominated as its custodian. This
was a new experience for the trade and industry of North India and the organization of ICDs
achieved their imagination. Soon, the importers/exporters who earlier used to clear their
goods from one of the ports, started using ICD: Pragati Maidan and CFS: Patparganj for
clearance of their import and exports goods. In 1988, a public sector enterprise, Container
Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) was set up, and took over the responsibilities of
custodian from Indian Railways for ICD: Pragati Maidan. Within a decade of its inception,
the volume of work at ICD has increased to such an extend that it became difficult to handle
it as Pragati Maidan. It was then decided (in 1983) to shift the venue of ICD from Pragati
Maidan to Its present location i.e. Tughlakabad. In 1995, the CFS: Patparganj was advanced
to a full-fledged ICD with C.W.C. continuing of the goods. Movement of Containers by road
and by rail was available through Tughlakabad.
ICD: Tughlakabad (TKD) provides to the need of importers and exporters based in Northern
India. It is located near Okhla Industrial Area and is spread over 44 hectares of land. It has
three stories administrative block housing offices of Customs, CONCOR, bank, Shipping
lines, CHAs and Surveyors. Four broad gauge rail lines are available in the Customs area
which transport the containers by train from others ports such as Mumbai, Nhava Sheva,
Chennai, besides transporting the containers by road from further ports such as Haldia,
Calcutta and Kandla etc. ICD: TKD is equipped with most modern facilities such as rail
mounted gantry of 40 metric empty lifting capacity, rubber tire diesel powered cranes,
billoties and life trucks etc. two covered sheds, one for import and another for exports with a
total area of 16,000 sq. mts. Has been provided in the Customs area for stuffing and de-
stuffing of imports and export goods. With these ultra-modern facilities, ICD: TKD, New
Delhi, has developed into the largest hub of multi-model centre in the Indian sub-continent.
Containers meant for ICDs: Patparganj, Faridabad and Gari Harsaru are first bought at TKD
by rail and then transported to their respective destinations.
Almost all commodities are being imported through ICD, major items being machinery,
electronic goods, plastic, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts and metal and metal scrap. On
export side major items being exported through ICD are leather garments and leather
products, readymade garments, machinery, agricultural products especially rice.
The ICD Tughlakabad is the major dry port in South Asia and the foremost centre for
importers and exporters of the Northern Region. This ICD began operative at Tughlakabad in
1993, prior to which it was located at Pragati Maidan. The custodian of this ICD is Container
Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR), which is a Navratna public sector undertaking.
CONCOR are also the transporters, through rail, of import and export containers between
35
ICD Tughlakabad and the Gateway Ports of Mumbai, Nhava Sheva and Chennai. This ICD is
the centre port for the ICDs at PPG, Faridabad and Garhi Harsaru and the movement of the
containers between the ICDs to and for takes place by road. The customs area has two
covered Sheds, one for import and the other for exports. The main CONCOR building holds
the administrative staff of customs and CONCOR as well as the offices of CHAs and
Shipping lines. The staff working at ICD Tughlakabad is the regular department staff and not
on cost recovery basis.
Infrastructure
- 4 full length rail lines
- 10, 000 sqm covered Export warehouse
- 6, 000 sqm covered Import warehouse
- Two bonded warehouses of 8500 sqm
- 3, 500 sqm dedicated for LCL export cargo
- Open stack space for 12000 loaded TEUs and 2000 empty TEUs
- Separate empty parks for stacking of 8000 empty TEUs
- 66000 sqm parking area for parking of approx. 750+ trailers
- 84 BLCA rakes of base depot at ICD/TKD, each of 45 High Speed wagons (1000
kmph) for carrying containers
- Fully computerised Export & Import documentation
- Administrative building of 8000 sqm of built up area - housing offices of CONCOR,
Customs, Bank, ATMs, Canteen, Shipping Lines, CHAs, Transporters, Surveyors &
Business Centre etc.
- Two computerised weigh bridge
Types of Services
- Multimodal Transport Logistics and Infrastructure to support EXIM trade
- Daily services between ports (JNPT/GTIL/NSCT, MDPT, PPSP) and ICD/TKD
- Regular container train services to hinterland ICDs
- Block booking of trains on round trip basis
- LCL Hub Services
- Bonded warehousing facility
- Booking of containers under cabotage scheme
- Incentive scheme for exporters on traffic volumes
- RTGS/ECS for payment of CONCOR dues and all type of refunds
- E-filing of documents
- Container track and trace facility available on CONCOR
website (www.concorindia.com)
- Regular auction of containers (twice in a month) under section 48 of the Customs
Act
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) facility between Customs and CONCOR
- Central, Regional and Local PDA (Pre-Deposit Account) facility
- Business Centre
- Exim Cell and Customer care cell for seamless services and information
- CISF deployed for security services
- Special cages / security for high value cargoes
- GOH (Garments on Hanger) fabrication facility at repairing yard
36
Equipment’s
- 2 rail mounted Gantry Cranes (RMG) 40 tonne capacity
- 9 rubber tyre Gantry Cranes (RTG)
- 23 Reach Stackers
- 50 trailers for internal transportation
- 03 Sling crane and 17fork lifts for cargo handling
-50 trailers for internal transportation
-82 BLCA rakes each of 45 speed wagons
-2 reach trucks on rent
New Initiatives
ICD/TKD is a pioneer in taking innovative steps and facilities for smooth and
seamless Exim business through CONCOR. Following innovative steps have been
taken at ICD/TKD
Importers:
1. Ultimate Flexipack Ltd
2. Samsung India Electronics
3. Varun Beverages
4. Greenlam Industires
5. Gillette India ltd.
Export Cargo
1. Auto parts
2. Ready made Garments
3. Footwears
4. Honey
5. Medicines
Import Cargo
1. Paper
2. Machine
3. PVC Resins
4. Furniture
5. Plastic toys
Operations
Work of yard coordinator in CONCOR
a. Machine deployment
b. Trailer deployment
c. Coordinate with trailer supervisor
d. Coordinate with machine supervisor
e. Unloading and loading of rake
38
(ConcorIndia, n.d.)
Source : http://www.concorindia.com/terminal.aspx?tid=119&id=16
For Export:
Satellite CFS Container 1850 3250
Handling:
Unloading loaded and
customs sealed export
container from satellite
CFS’s road trailer; stacking
in pre-stack; lifting;
transportation and loading
on rail flat/wagon without
customs examination in
ICD.
For Import:
Satellite CFS Container Handling: 2400 4250
Unloading loaded import container from rail flat/wagon;
transportation and stacking it in ICD Import stack; loading it on
road trailer arranged by satellite CFS without customs
examinations.
IMPORT CYCLE
TERMINAL 4550 8300
CONTAINER
HANDLING:
Unloading loaded container
from Rail flat/wagon;
transportation and grounding
it in import stack; lifting and
transporting it to import CFS
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Handling charges for operations not covered under cycles listed above:
MECHANISED DE-STUFFING
OF CONTAINER
Mechanized de-stuffing of cargo
(of any dimension and weight
using Forklift or Sling crane or
Hydra, as the case may be) from
containers within ICD premises, a 650 950
tally of cargo will be taken,
stacking of cargo at nominated
placed or any place specified and
loading.
MECHANISED STUFFING OF 650 950
CONTAINER
Stuffing customs cleared cargo (if
applicable) as per standard norms
as and when empty container is
placed for stuffing the same,
preparing stuffing tally sheet and
maintaining a proper record of
same, whenever required.
DIRECT MECHANISED 650 950
TRANSHIPMENT OF CARGO
It involves all the mechanised
activities to de-stuff the cargo from
one container either stacking it in
nominated place and stuff the cargo
into a nominated container or
directly stuff into another container
by using Hydra/Sling
Crane/Forklift.
44
MECHANISED
LOADING/UNLOADING OF
CARGO
Unloading of cargo from Truck to
ground/warehouse or vice versa per 150 per MT
MT or part there for shut
out/excess/shipment cancellation
etc.
Loading empty container stacked 750 1300
in empty stack of ICD on private
road trailer or vice-versa.
Loading loaded container stacked 1050 1800
in loaded stack of ICD on private
road trailer or vice-versa.
Weighment Charges: 550 950
(i) Weighing loaded
container on
electronic
weighbridge
installed in ICD
(empty vehicle and
loaded vehicle).
(ii) Weighing a cargo
vehicle with cargo
on electronic
weighbridge (empty 450
vehicle and loaded
vehicle), (Rate per
vehicle).
(iii) Weighment of
loaded ODC 650 1200
container
Transportation of empty container 750 1300
from stack to warehouse or vice-
versa.
(ConcorIndia)
Source : http://www.concorindia.com/trace/terminal/tariff/Tar1119THC_2202017.pdf
46
Today the exporter faces n number of problems, few of which discussed below which
were not covered by the ports which were derived at by the group after personal visit
to ICD-TKD
Every shipping line has a different freight tariff, which is decided by the
consortium of which the shipping line is a part, and hence the exporter is a
quoted a different rate from a different shipping line.
Cargo/ container from a dry port is sent to the coastal port through rail or
road, which is called inland haulage charge. This is apart from the freight
charges charged by the shipping line. Which is arbitrarily fixed and is not on
any basis. This if availed is charged quite high.
Proper case is not executed at the time of the handling the cargo at the ICD.
The cargoes in turn get damaged due to the mishandling of the same. Cranes
that are used for the purpose are not of good quality and not updated
Services of CONCOR is not adequate. Connecting trains in CONCOR which
is a link between the ICD and the Port are not adequate in number and hence
the container has to stand in the ICD till the time the train is made available.
Tracking and tracing of the ocean cargo is not as effective as compared to the
air transport cargo
Warehousing problem at ICD. It is not managed efficiently and in a scientific
manner.
Custom clearance activity is very complicate, tedious, lengthy and time
consuming. It highly depends on the nature of the commodity and
unnecessary procedures delay the clearance further.
The transit time as announced by the shipping line is in most cases not
adhered too.
Cargo arrival notice is not in many cases given at the right time which created
difficulty for the exporters.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Lobbying with the Indian railways to allow marginal costing of the container cargo:
In order to bring down the price for cargo transport and make the rates competitive
with respect to the road movement, CONCOR should lobby with the Indian railway to
allow marginal costing on an experimental basis. It would be easier to convince IR for
such a selective shift in pricing rather than a blanket shift for all cargo. Once this Is
allowed for tea, and CONCOR can show the significant increase in revenues, as
expected, this could open the doors for a change in the pricing of railways for other
products.
CONCLUSION
India is certainly at a very crucial stage today for economic growth and for redefining itself as
a nation which is oriented towards facilitating legitimate trade. Adopting an integrated trade
facilitation action plan, that can be implemented at the highest level through the NCTF,
reflects the Government’s commitment to enhance its trade facilitation approach. While some
processes are of continuous nature, some can be implemented immediately, leading to the
fulfilment of our objectives and vision and making India’s trade facilitation reforms a success
story.
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Raine, George, 2006, “A sea change in shipping: 50 years ago, container ships altered the
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Rose, Andrew, 2004. Does the WTO Really Increase Trade? American Economic Review
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https://www.containerownersassociation.org/
https://nacd.net/
17. Ng, A.K.Y. (2012): ‘Container liner shipping, port development and competition’. In:
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