This report indicates that to reach the 2050 net-zero goal marine shipping would require more renewable energy than the world generates today.
The report was commissioned by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and was authored by Dr Stefan Ulreich of Germany’s University of Applied Sciences.
It’s hard to believe that such an increase in renewable energy can happen by 2050.
Hapag is making a big investment in dry container tracking for its containers. It hopes that knowing where containers are will enable quick turnaround. The sensors also provide data on temperature and environmental conditions if desired, and store the data for a prolonged period. They are solar-powered and can operate and store data for more than 5 years. They communicate via Bluetooth.
The belief is that knowing where the containers are in real-time will save travel time and also reduce pollution. No one really knows if this is feasible, but with real data, Hapag can start to find out what gains can be made from real-time location data.
Some shippers will be pleased as well to know where their cargo is at any time.
It’s an expensive program to equip the containers with this little device. It’s riveted to the door of the container. Hapag has something like 1.6 million containers to fit out.
The device must operate a lot like the HOBO devices used by archeologists and environmental scientists. Those units collect data like temperature and humidity, unattended, for long periods, and have enough storage so they don’t have to be queried and the data unloaded for months. The one I have is queried with a mobile phone app, and can run for six months before the data wraps around. A bit larger battery and a bit more memory and a bit more compression, and you have a proper device for a container.
Some large unicorn startups are targeting freight matching for truckers as a great way to guarantee better utilization of trucks for smaller independent truckers, and offer the additional benefit of helping sustainability. Empty return trips are definitely a source of unnecessary air pollution.
Two big ones are Convoy in the US, and Zeus Labs in the UK. The concept is Uber-like and simple: match freight that has to move with trucks looking for a load. It’s easily handled with software. So far, so good.
Now these large, well-capitalized firms are using their financial power to offer factoring to their trucker clients. In effect, the truckers are selling their freight invoices to the large firms for ready cash of something like 80% of the value. The claim in the article is ‘up to 85%”. It’s up to the factors then to collect the full value of the invoice, possibly as much as 90 days later. This is due to the ‘slow pay’ practices of many shippers.
This factoring or loaning of money could be useful for a trucker, in order to get paid right after delivering the load. The question is whether the price is right. The factor can make a lot of money due to the reduced payment for the invoices. It clearly is a good business for the factor.
But as in small business everywhere, it’s not always the best policy to sell your invoices for early money. The discount may be too high to offer a decent profit on the trip. Truckers might be trapped by the idea of quick money into reducing their profits from each load by too much to sustain them. It’s a classic small business risk, that has to be examined closely.
I’m not sure truckers are all prepared to make this evaluation. But the offer of early payment can be attractive.
Supply Chain and Logistics 