Slow Steaming “can damage containers” –

Posted on March 28, 2015 by | Leave a comment

http://www.marinelink.com/news/containers-steaming388227.aspx
Who knows where risk is hiding?

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping

Disruptive Innovation in the Energy Supply Chain?

Posted on March 26, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Here’s an interesting article from the MIT  supply chain blog.  Are large simple batteries a solution to the problem of energy storage for peak periods?

A Disruptive Innovation in the Energy Supply Chain | Supply Chain @ MIT.

 

Well, who knows? I don’t see any calculations here.  For instance, how many of these shipping container sized battery packs would it take to hold enough power for my apartment community (100 homes) for a rainy day when our solar panels (assuming we had them) would not work?   One apartment’s worth? Two? A dozen?

For instance at the US Cold warehouse in Wilmington IL, we need to have power 100% of the time for refrigerated products that constantly arrive, are stored, and move out to retailers.  How big a parking lot would we need for the containers full of batteries, in addition to the space we have for our inbound and outbound trucks?   I can see how a power company might use some to support their solar or wind power efforts, perhaps securing a few sections in the Arizona desert to place the batteries next to the giant solar farm or wind farm deployed there.

It’s certainly a good idea to make batteries out of materials that are not too hazardous.  And I think we are in a materials revolution right now that will change how we think about lots of problems.

 

 

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Posted in Sustainability

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Globe Tracker adds Satellite Functionality

Posted on March 24, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Wanna know where your container is all the time? Here’s the answer, satellite tracking.

GIT_Logo

Globe Tracker adds Satellite Functionality for Intermodal Container Market | Shipping Tribune.

 

There are lots of good reasons to do this, if the cost is reasonable. Of course not all cargo matters.

How about soybeans in containers, for instance? What case can be made for tracking each container?   8% of all export soybeans from the US move in containers.

Well, you might want to know if they had been wet, or tampered with, or whether someone introduced some different beans into the container.  Some Asian purchasers want to know that the chain of custody from the very farm to the processor is exactly as specified.*

But soybeans are very cost sensitive, being a commodity, in many ways.  The freight cost can sway where the beans are purchased (Brazil or the US) and too large a cost can mean a farmer loses his market and can’t make money on his crop.

Se we will see what the technology costs.  I imagine pharmaceuticals might be good to monitor.  But they go by air now, don’t they.

*Clott, Christopher B., Bruce Hartman, Elizabeth Ogard, and Althea Gatto.. (2014). “Container Repositioning and Agricultural Commodities: Shipping Soybeans by Container from US Hinterland to Overseas Markets”.  Research in Transportation and Business Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.rtbm.2014.10.006.

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Posted in Logistics, Supply Chains