In the book Ninety Percent of Everything, author Rose George claims that 90 per cent of everything people buy arrives via ship. True enough, the global maritime trade volume in 2016 reached almost 10.3 billion metric tons, around 200 million metric tons more than that of the previous year. The figures are expected to grow as globalisation continues to open doors of opportunities to both exporters and importers.
Despite the increasing popularity of airfreight solutions and the evolving inland transportation systems, shipping remains to be the primary facilitator of world trade. That, however, is just one of the interesting things about the freight forwarding industry. Below are several other mind-blowing facts that you should know before setting out to ship your own cargo.
Still the Greenest Transportation Option
You may think that vehicles as large as tankers and freight carriers have a pretty immense carbon footprint because they burn tremendous amounts of fuel throughout each trip. The truth is that, when compared to trucks and planes that move goods to distant places, ships consume much less fuel thereby producing less greenhouse gases. Furthermore, there are plenty of easy ways to reduce shipping’s carbon footprint, and increasingly more shipping companies are beginning to adopt them.
Shipping Can Save You Huge Sums of Money
Of all the transportation solutions available for international traders, shipping is the least expensive. When it comes to exportation, charges are often based on the cargo’s size more than on its weight. If you are to transport large and heavy cargo, it is usually cheaper to ship by sea. Take note, though, that the actual shipping cost will normally vary depending on the shipping company you will hire but the discrepancy remains tolerable.
Speeding Up as Time Passes
A lot of international traders are reluctant to ship their goods because of the considerably long span of time for each trip to complete. A single trip may take a week to a month depending on the distance and the kind of vessel used. Of course, you can choose the service package that comes with the shortest shipping period. Many traders deal with this problem by allocating extra time to prepare for the arrival. Thankfully, modern ship designs and the creation of more canals and speeding up the shipping process.
Shipping Companies Form Networks
Although shipping companies or international freight forwarders are naturally competing against one another, most of them form unions or associations to expand their networks. Most of these associations, especially the well-known ones like the Global Freight Partnership, implement stringent policies and standards that the members should comply with to maintain membership. This can be particularly helpful for international traders who are having difficulty looking for trusted shippers. They only have to look at the affiliations of the shipping companies on their list to determine their reliability.
These are just some of the facts that you need to know before looking for a shipping company to entrust your cargo to. You also have to familiarise yourself with tons of other aspects, including the customs requirements and the typical barriers in the shipping process and how to deal with them. Thankfully, freight forwarders like Sneddens Global Logistics can walk you through the process to make sure that you won’t make any costly mistakes. Those are the kinds of shipping companies that you should turn to.
Sources:
Ten Legitimately Fascinating Facts About the Shipping Industry, TheAtlantic.com
25 Mind Blowing Facts About The Shipping Industry, List25.com
