Cargo and Packaging Industry

Introduction
The challenges faced by Cargo and Packaging industry is to satisfy customer and shippers such that customer requires secure and reliable method of carriage while shipper requires that the space on his vehicle of carriage is fully utilized in order to receive maximum freight. The methods of cargo carriage and packaging must be considered as the very important stage of the shipping process. The size and quality of packages must be compatible with the transport mode used such that positioning of packages must use 100% space of container and avoid empty space. A package should protect and preserve the contents during storage and transit from the harvesting, manufacturing or to the consumer.

Material Classification
In general, commodities are either moved in bulk or as general cargo. Bulk and general cargoes are defined relative to their means of transport and the cargo mix onboard. If, for example, a ship carries a homogeneous cargo lot which is not packed in any form, this is a bulk cargo, oil carried directly in tanks, grain carried directly in holds. When cargoes are packed and mixed onboard, it is referred to as general cargo. Most finished goods are shipped as general cargo, while raw materials in bigger lots are usually bulk cargoes. The distinction between bulk cargoes and general cargoes is not strict. There are examples of more than one bulk cargo being carried onboard the same ship, in different holds or sections. Similarly, there are general cargoes which fill up the whole carrier, e.g. shiploads of sugar in bags. This is referred to as unit loads of general. The opposite, where the ship carries different cargoes packed differently is referred to as general break bulk cargoes. Such cargoes may consist of pallets, unpacked machinery, drums, crates and so on.

Physical form Dry cargoes

Unit load e.g. bagged rice in whole load

Break bulk e.g. machinery parts in crates and boxes

Bulk cargo e.g. loose grain in holds e.g. crude oil in cases tank vessels

Liquid cargoes

e.g. whole load of oil in e.g. part loads of drums in wine in cases

There exists a third; hybrid form of moving cargoes, involving slurry techniques. Dry bulk cargoes may be transformed into slurries and moved in a form similar to that of liquid bulk. This has been applied to coal and iron ores, where the ores or the coal are mixed with water and transported by means of pipelines. There are many special purpose containers in use. Type Insulated
Half height units Flat racks

Typical Cargo Used for frozen or cool cargo containers Steel or other heavy items
Timber, vehicles and odd shapes

Open top
Bulk boxes Open sided Tank containers

Over height items containers

Bulk cargo such as grain or fertilisers Ventilated cargo such as onions

Liquids and chemicals in bulk

Types of packaging for break bulk cargo 1. Bagged cargo 2. Fibreboard boxes and cartons 3. Wooden cases 4. Wooden crates 5. Bales

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Drums, barrels, casks Shrink wrapping Lift vans Preservation against corrosion Special cargo

CODES FOR TYPES OF CARGO& PACKAGING MATERIALS

Structure of the numeric code system A. Cargo type: one-digit, indicating handling characteristics of the cargo. B. Package type: (two digits of which the second is optional), referring to packages (by extension in order to insure complete coverage) of goods carried loose in freight containers, wagons, ships, etc. C. Packaging material : (one-digit), referring to the type of any material (steel, wood, textile, paper etc), used for making a package.

Material Standardization
There are five common standard lengths, A. 20-ft (6.1 m) B. 40-ft (12.2 m) C. 45-ft (13.7 m) D. 48-ft (14.6 m) E. 53-ft (16.2 m)

Container capacity is often expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU, or sometimes teu).The maximum gross mass for a 20 ft (6.1 m) dry cargo container is 24,000 kg, and for a 40-ft (including the 2.87 m (9 ft 6 in) high cube container), it is 30,480 kg.