Tag Archives: supply chains

Hapag-Lloyd eyes competitive edge with dry container tracking technology

Posted on April 27, 2022 by | 1 comment

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.

By Nick Savvides 27/04/2022

Hapag-Lloyd eyes a competitive edge with dry container tracking technology – The Loadstar

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California inland port project a blueprint for a re-engineered US supply chain

Posted on April 20, 2022 by | Leave a comment

It is interesting and useful to set these inland ports in agricultural areas, where the empty containers can be filled with ag products. The easy proximity will induce a lot more loads.

Locating inland ports with prescribed connections to ports and to rail and truck should aid in reducing congestion at ports. Being able to move containers to an inland port reduces the congestion at the port itself. Many of the functions performed at the port can be carried out at the inland port.

The EU has been pioneering this approach. In the US it has been less common, though. It has been suggested for 10 years by various commentators, including me and my partner Chris Clott. Inland ports increase the flexibility of a port system as well as increasing capacity and improving service.

California inland port project a blueprint for a re-engineered US supply chain – The Loadstar

By Nick Savvides 20/04/2022

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Vietnam steel giant Hoa Phat moves into container manufacturing

Posted on April 4, 2022 by | 1 comment

Others are discovering that they can dump steel by making it into containers. While the Vietnamese steelmaker Hoa Phat mentioned in the article won’t be a large percentage of the demand, it’s significant.

And since more goods are now being exported from Vietnam compared to before the Chinese lockdowns, supplying new containers on the spot may be a better option than moving them from the US and other places.

This means there will be a glut of containers in importing countries. The only option may be to scrap them when they arrive. Ocean carriers and shippers will prefer to buy new containers at the exporting site rather than shift the old empty ones back for more cargo, at present fuel prices and increasing pollution and crew charges.

It’s a real waste to scrap the containers if they are used only once. While steel is recyclable, it’s a torturous road, and we aren’t set up to do it at scale. And a tremendous waste of effort.

All are examples of exogenous charges, as the economists say. They are not factored into the original price of shipping the goods, so they aren’t paid by the shipper. They also aren’t paid by the carrier. They instead erode the general welfare of the communities who have to deal with the empties. It’s a classic scenario in sustainability.

By Martina Li in Taiwan 04/04/2022

Vietnam steel giant Hoa Phat moves into container manufacturing – The Loadstar

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