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Tag: containers

Port Houston opens new container maintenance depot

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The Marino Group’s Marine Repair Services – Container Maintenance Corporation (MRS-CMC), a leading provider of intermodal services, has opened a new depot facility at Port Houston. The new facility will support global supply chain fluidity with an expansion of its storage, distribution, repair, and capacity services in the region.

Directly situated across from Port Houston Bayport Terminal and only a few minutes away from the Barbours Cut terminal, the new facility will supplement the company’s already-established maintenance & repair services at Port Houston, providing customers more service choices, including loaded container storage, empty container storage and repairs, chassis start/stop and repairs, grounded reefer pre-trips and genset rental programme.

“The opening of this state-of-the-art facility – which is unlike any other depot in the country – demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing best-in-class solutions that address the demands of the marketplace as well as the needs of our customers,” said David M. Miller, Director, Southwest & Mid-South Operations at MRS-CMC. “As Port Houston continues to experience record-breaking container volumes, we see a market-driven need to expand our footprint in the region and enhance our capabilities.”

Port Houston is the largest Gulf Coast container port, handling 70% of Gulf Coast container traffic. It recently announced that as of mid-July 2022, it had handled just shy of two million TEUs, which is an 18% increase over 2021.

For over eight years, MRS-CMC has been operating out of two Port Houston terminals, offering Maintenance and Repair (M&R) services for chassis, containers, reefers and gensets. The new Houston depot facility will significantly expand its service offerings while also providing considerable benefits that address daily pain points for a diverse spectrum of supply chain stakeholders. The expanded roster of services include: Pre-pull programme service for warehouses and distribution centres, equipment storage capabilities and efficient grounded reefer and genset operations.

“As demonstrated by our new depot, which will provide much-needed storage and capacity solutions, our goal at MRS-CMC is to create a more connected supply chain and to provide solutions that help our customers succeed,” said Miller.

Exporta launches new technologies

Posted on by David Priestman

Exporta has installed two new pieces of technology at its Kinross manufacturing facility in the UK, which it says will be of huge benefit to its customer base.

Digital Printing Machine

Exporta says product branding is key to its customers – this could be five Euro Containers with a logo on the side or thousands of pallets with a logo and sequential numbering. Exporta has long been offering this service, but has installed a new digital printing machine in-house, meaning it can provide product printing quicker and to a higher standard.

Head of technology and product development, John Wilkin, has been involved with this project from the start and is delighted to see his plans come to fruition: “We know how important branding can be, so to make it easier for customers to get this from Exporta has been an important goal. This investment is something that will immediately add value to our offering.”

The new machine, installed at the end of June 2022, is up and running and ready to go. It’s designed to work on any plastic product with a large enough surface area to print on, meaning it will work with the majority of products in the Exporta range.

The benefit of branding goods include brand exposure, identification, and the prevention of lost or stolen goods. Sending out goods within branded containers or pallets provides a strong opportunity for additional advertising and brand exposure. Details such as a phone number and a web address can also be added. This also helps to ensure goods aren’t lost or stolen as they are clearly marked. In terms of identification, printing can be used to add things like sequential numbering or colour coding to products to aid in picking and general warehouse operations.

Pallet Load Testing

How often have you been on the cusp of purchasing a new pallet for your system, but you’ve been unsure how the pallet will perform with your standard goods load? This no longer needs to be a concern, as Exporta has installed a load testing machine to test your load on a potential pallet.

Exporta claims that this is a unique offering to the UK market and something that has taken months of planning. The system allows Exporta to measure the performance of a pallet on racking and on a forklift. The width of the racking can be tailored to match the racking the pallet will be used on. Exporta can test both racking pallets as well as testing nestable pallets for their dynamic load and it can then provide an approved report on the results to give you confidence when you’re purchasing a pallet for your warehouse or shipping system.

Exporta measures the deflection of the pallet with your load over a 24-hour period, and then measures the time it takes to return to its original form once the load has been removed. It can then ensure that the pallet meets the regulation deflection tolerance as required by ISO8611.

 

 

TT Club calls for more container inspections

Posted on by David Priestman

Revised Guidelines for the Implementation of the Inspection of Cargo Transport Units (CTUs) issued in June 2022 by the IMO are aimed at helping governments to implement a uniform and safe inspection programme. The IMO Circular (MSC.1/Circ.1649) seeks to broaden the inspections undertaken and align fully with safety guidance developed during the last decade (previous guidelines date from 2012).

Specifically, governments are now requested to select from all cargo types, rather than simply declared dangerous goods, for inspection. Further the guidance takes account of the issuance of the CTU Code, revisions of container safety regulations and the need to minimise the movement of invasive pests. The Circular additionally notes the continuing low rate submission of inspection reports and encourages an increase in such inspections.

Peregrine Storrs-Fox, TT Club’s Risk Management Director, says: “With the string of container ship fire casualties and fatal incidents at storage facilities, most recently at Chittagong (Chattogram), in our minds, our current concerns are manifest. They constantly remind us of the importance of adequate safety procedures in packing, handling and transporting the array of cargoes that have the potential to cause catastrophic incidents.

“With only five of the 179 governments affiliated with IMO submitting reports on inspections at the last Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC) sub-committee meeting in September 2021, the industry urgently seeks more collaborative support from governments in combatting the potential circumstances and cargo packing practices that cause dangerous incidents. It would be much appreciated if more national reports undertaken during 2021 can still be reported for consideration at the next CCC this September.

“However, TT Club calls for a viable sample of inspections in future based on the new guidelines. In this regard, TT would urge strongly that governments enter dialogue with industry to understand how the latter can work with enforcement agencies to improve safety.”

TT Club itself has long campaigned for an increased awareness of the issues surrounding the transport of dangerous goods, and all potentially hazardous cargoes. It is dedicated to improving standards for the safe and secure packing of all cargoes in cargo transport units.

There is a plethora of industry generated guidance on best practice relating to packing and handling of cargoes, including the Quick Guide to the CTU Code, along with a Checklist of actions required of those packing cargo in freight containers, published by the Cargo Integrity Group and available in several languages.

Such work by industry groups can only be strengthened by a partnership with governments. Their action on inspections, with the help of the new revisions to the IMO guidelines and use of that body’s reporting system is crucial.

Storrs-Fox concludes: “The international supply chains that service the trade in a myriad of commodities are complex and notoriously susceptible to disruption. Congestion and delays increase the challenges involved in maintaining safety levels in an environment where the demand for reliable delivery of goods is high. Such circumstances require an even higher level of attention to safe practices. The collection of information on the effective use and/or mis-use of these practices needs to be enhanced by a much higher level of rigorous inspections and report submissions from governments, but working from the understanding that this is a shared problem.”

Experts see silver lining beyond container chaos

Posted on by David Priestman

Congestion of container ships on the North Sea, expensive drayage transport, container shortage: the German economy has been groaning under these conditions for some time. There is no relief in sight in the short term, but in the long run. Although the supply chain experts of the Bochum-based software company Setlog assume that the effects of the current crisis will last well into 2023, they forecast decreasing ocean freight rates in the fourth quarter of 2022.

An analysis of 80 Setlog customers and brands from June 22 also shows: Importers of fast-moving consumer goods learned from their misery and now order their desired products on average one week earlier than they did in 2020 and before the coronavirus pandemic, thus reducing delays. Another outcome of the analysis: they are not shifting their production from the Far East to Europe.

The aftermath of the Shanghai lockdown, cancelled departures of container ships and the strikes in some German ports are causing serious problems for the economy: According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), container ships with a capacity of around 150,000 standard containers are waiting to call at Bremerhaven and Hamburg in the German Bay alone. The situation is even more dramatic off the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

“The consequences are not only delays but also a shortage of containers. Switching to smaller ports is problematic because they lack space and a strong infrastructure for transports to the hinterland. If rail is not an alternative, expensive direct transport by truck remains the only option,” reports Ralf Duester, member of the Setlog board.

Logistics service providers also face the problem of not being able to ramp up their capacities due to the lack of staff. Duester does not expect an improvement in ocean freight rates in the short term – but in the long term from the fourth quarter of this year if the ship owners also play along.

Patrick Merkel, managing director of Prologue Solutions, agrees: “Inflation, the shift in interest rates and high prices in various sectors suggest that rates will fall.” Due to the geopolitical situation and the consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic, logistics service providers tend to expect less business in the coming half-year. Shippers are also benefiting from ship owners that have built up more capacity.

Due to this tense situation, according to the Setlog analysis, the transit time of ocean freight from the Far East to the western ports took an average of 42.5 days. For comparison: in 2021 it was 41.6 days, in 2020 around 35. Before the pandemic (2019), the transit time was 31 days. In the past two years, up to 30% of goods were late due to lockdowns, production delays and long transit times, according to Setlog. However, buyers of fast-moving consumer goods managed to push the proportion of goods arriving late down to three to five per cent compared to the pre-Covid period in bringing orders forward by an average of one week.

While some industries are considering dual production for sensitive goods and components, as well as re-shoring and near-shoring, the analysis shows that specialists for fast-moving consumer goods did not relocate production to Europe or Germany. Only one to two percent of their total volume of apparel is produced in Eastern Europe or North Africa – this has not changed since the beginning of the pandemic. Turkey’s share is also constant at about 11.5%, China’s at 11.0%. However, suppliers in Bangladesh and Vietnam were able to get more business. Bangladesh’s share rose from 28.0% to 32.0% during the pandemic, Vietnam’s from 4.5% to 7.3%.

The consequences of Covid-19 apparently led to a change in some companies. They are investing in strategies and systems to increase the availability of goods and to be able to react more flexibly overall to unplanned changes in the supply chain. “More and more companies are coming to us to learn how to use software to get more transparency in the supply chain and to inform all partners about changes in almost real time,” Duester reports.

“For these managers availability and resilience now count more than cost savings.” He knows companies that make a point of ensuring that products or components must be available in dual sourcing – at every location. “Companies will soon no longer evaluate buyers according to cost savings, but intensify other criteria,” the Setlog manager predicts.

 

Cleveland Containers secures investment from LDC

Posted on by David Priestman

Cleveland Containers, a leading UK supplier of shipping containers, has secured a minority investment from leading mid-market private equity firm LDC to support the next stage of its growth journey.

Headquartered in Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland Containers is led by husband-and-wife Johnathan and Jane Bulmer. It specialises in the sale and hire of shipping containers and site accommodation units. The company supplies over 4,500 customers including national housebuilders, construction firms, high street retailers and individuals.

Ranging from 6ft to 45ft in size, Cleveland Containers’ new and used shipping containers are supplied for multiple applications, including everything from storage units to office space and street food vendors to site canteens. This includes delivering bespoke container conversions for projects such as the popular food and drink venue STACK Seaburn in Sunderland, as well as containers for theme park resorts Gulliver’s Valley in Rotherham and the Peak District’s Gulliver’s Kingdom. The business has a network of 15 depots and currently delivers more than 400 containers a week to its customers across the UK.

Cleveland Containers is a market leader in its sector and has grown quickly, with revenues more than trebling in the last four years from £18m in 2019 to £60m in the current year. The business currently employs more than 65 people.

LDC is backing the existing management team to support their growth plan and further enhance Cleveland Containers’ sales and rental offering, while also creating career opportunities for new and existing employees.

To support the next stage of its journey, Andrew Thompson, former Managing Director of portable site accommodation and storage container rental provider Mobile Mini, has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer. Jon Hurford, former Finance Director at O’Brien Waste Recycling Solutions, has also joined the business as Chief Financial Officer and Richard Tredwin, former CEO of SRL Traffic Systems, has been appointed as Non-Executive Chair.

The investment was led by Gareth Marshall, Partner and Head of LDC in the North East, and Investment Manager Naomi McDiarmid, both of whom will also join the board.

Johnathan Bulmer, Managing Director of Cleveland Containers, said: “I’m really proud of everyone at Cleveland Containers. The team has worked tirelessly to cement our market leading position and with LDC’s support we are now in a position to strengthen our business further and welcome more people into our fun and fast-growing business.

“As soon as we met Gareth and Naomi at LDC, we knew that LDC was the right partner to support our growth plans. They have helped to bring in new experience and perspectives to our business, and it’s a real benefit that their Newcastle office is only a short distance away. We feel well supported to continue our growth from our base here in the North East.”

Gareth Marshall, Partner and Head of LDC in the North East, added: “Johnathan, Jane and the team at Cleveland Containers’ commitment to customer service has been key to their growth. As a result of their efforts and creativity, we’re seeing an increasingly innovative use of containers across the UK. We’re looking forward to helping the business to bring the right container, site accommodation and modular turnkey solutions to even more customers.”

LDC has a strong heritage of supporting the growth of businesses within the logistics and warehousing sector. The private equity firm has successfully backed the nationwide growth plans of independent home delivery company Panther Logistics, including creating 300 new jobs and tripling profits, and supported pallet distribution services provider The Pallet Network (TPN) for ten years – helping the business to treble revenue, open new sites and make complementary acquisitions in the process.

Thermo King supplies Hapag-Lloyd with 950 generator sets

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Thermo King, a leader in transport temperature control solutions, has supplied 950 of its latest clip-on SG-5000 generator sets to Hapag-Lloyd, one of the global leaders of container shipping. The Thermo King SG-5000 can power all ISO reefers on the market and ensures complete temperature control and protection of the refrigerated cargo. The new fleet of SG-5000 generator sets will serve in Hapag-Lloyd’s intermodal operations throughout North America.

Designed and manufactured specifically for the North American market, the Thermo King SG-5000 gensets’ engine is compliant California Air Resource Board (CARB), for the lifetime of the product, protecting the customers’ investment and removing the need for retrofit or replacement. As with the CARB regulations, the SG-5000 also enables lifetime compliance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 standards for off-highway diesel engines.

“Thermo King’s generator sets deliver a mix of performance, connectivity, low running costs, and no-compromise load protection we were looking for,” said Andrea Schoening, Senior Director Container Steering, at Hapag-Lloyd. ”Their compliance with the strictest emissions requirements is also aligned with our sustainability strategy to implement technology that reduces carbon emissions, fuel and energy consumption.”

”We are committed to supply our customers with the most innovative product portfolio for generator sets – and to be a trusted partner through the product’s lifecycle,” said Bruno Fusciani, Commercial Leader Thermo King Marine. “In the SG-5000, we incorporated proven and reliable technology with variety of innovations and enhanced connectivity. We’re sure the lifetime CARB compliance of the product will help Hapag-Lloyd to focus on making the most of current and future operations with the peace of mind they need.”

The market leading performance and modular design of the SG-5000 clip-on units allows to power any reefer – including the SuperFreezer – maximizing operational efficiency and helping lower lifetime operational costs. Additionally, the SG-5000 features an advanced controller that combines simple, easy to use navigation with advanced diagnostics offering intelligence, control and telematics capabilities including:

  • Automated pre-trip testing
  • Advanced self-check features, including alarms
  • Auto restart
  • Data logging of events, alarms, and messages
  • Real-time monitoring and management of position, fuel, engine hours and running parameters on rail, by road or at terminal.

The SG-5000 are manufactured in the USA, in a state-of-the-art production line featuring the latest industry automated quality control processes.

 

New container leg takes the strain

Posted on by David Priestman

ConFoot Ltd is introducing a new container leg model to its successful portfolio of container handling solutions. ConFoot, an attractive low-cost option in a range of logistics scenarios, now has a 20t capacity CFU container lifting unit.

The CFU model has the maximum capacity of 20t (the weight of the container plus the content) and can lift the container up from the trailer, freeing the truck to drive away.

The container can then be lowered all the way to the ground using the manually operated hydraulic bottle jacks incorporated into the leg structure. Reversing the procedure, the container can be lifted up and back onto the trailer. ConFoot can provide a transport box to be fitted under the trailer, allowing for the driver to have the ConFoot container handling unit with them at all times in all operations.

Keeping in line with all ConFoot products, the ConFoot CFU model is light-weight, long-lasting and low cost.

The individual leg consists of four parts: the upper and lower tubes, the climber unit with the bottle jacks, and the support legs plus base plate. Lightweight enough for one person to use, the CFU model follows the ConFoot mission of providing the only portable container handling methods in the world.

Being a lifting/lowering device, the CFU model holds a CE marking.

Robust versatility

The introduction of the new model follows continued requests for this type of solution from numerous fields of industry from all over the world.

The CFU model addresses and solves several operational problems, including lack of space to use a sideloader or other container handling systems, the non-availability of such container handling systems, and the lack of infrastructure in general in the operational area.

These are much needed solutions in Europe which has traditionally been the main market area for ConFoot products, but are of extraordinary significance and importance in South America and Africa, where the ConFoot solution will be a de facto portable infrastructure in itself.

This means that the ConFoot CFU model will provide a vital tool for various aid and humanitarian organisations, doing work of utmost importance in very difficult and demanding circumstances all around the world.

ConFoot has ongoing discussions about the use of the new model in several demanding locations, both with direct clients and as co-operational projects with different service and product providers.

ConFoot Ltd is a Finnish company currently based in Espoo, Finland, with a distributor network in over 20 countries. Its products are all portable, reliable and affordable, and reflect the company’s core mission: creating value by reducing costs and streamlining the supply chain.

The other ConFoot products are the 34t capacity CF for general use, the 30t capacity CFP for loading bays and pockets, and the 34t capacity CFL models ( CFL28 for 45’ containers with an outward bulge in the container wall and the CFL55 for swap tank containers).

Tower takes cold chain containers on the road

Posted on by David Priestman

In its first appearance at the renowned LogiPharma conference, Tower Cold Chain is speaking about the key challenges in temperature-controlled logistics, as well as exhibiting its robust, reliable and reusable containers.

With the world’s biggest names in pharmaceutical manufacturing and cold chain logistics attending the Nice-based conference, Tower will share insight and advice on helping companies to transport temperature-critical products around the world.  The company’s Global Head of Supply Chain, Kevin Doran, will be speaking at the LogiPharma conference as part of a panel discussion on using technology to improve sustainability in global logistics.

Tower’s container range uses phase-change materials to keep contents at a stable temperature, and integrated datalogger technology to monitor performance during transit. Backed by a growing global network of hubs, Tower can meet all pharmaceutical temperature configurations and standards, in a variety of consignment sizes from multi-pallet to pallet to sub-pallet.

Visitors to the Tower stand (booth #21) at LogiPharma will be guided through the specific features and benefits of the Tower range – which is built to meet customers’ needs by combining robust construction, reliable temperature control and reusability.

Kevin Doran will be sharing Tower’s perspective on a panel at 14:30 on Tuesday 5th April titled, “How can you harness the latest technologies and develop relationships with key suppliers to improve the sustainability of global logistics operations?”

“We’re very excited to exhibit at LogiPharma for the first time and to be speaking at the conference alongside industry leaders from across the globe,” commented Niall Balfour, CEO of Tower Cold Chain. “Demand for our solutions continues to grow, as we partner with pharmaceutical brands, airlines and 3PL providers to deliver pharmaceuticals and other life-science products in an efficient and sustainable manner.”

Tower’s presence at LogiPharma is part of a renewed focus on exhibitions globally, as face-to-face events re-emerge following COVID-19 restrictions. During Spring 2022, the company is also demonstrating its solutions at CTS & Temperature Logistics in Madrid; Biologistics World Asia in Singapore; and GCSG in San Antonio, Texas.

“We can’t wait for visitors to these shows to see our containers up close, to discover all of their benefits as a robust, reliable and reusable solution for the pharmaceutical cold chain,” added Niall Balfour.

 

BIFA joins calls to investigate container market

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The British International Freight Association (BIFA) has written to the UK government  asking it to investigate the state of competition within the current deep sea container shipping market.

The UK’s main trade association for freight forwarding and logistics companies says that its members are concerned that certain practices undertaken by the principal container shipping lines, as well as easements and exemptions provided to them under competition law, are distorting the operations of the free market to the detriment of international trade.

In a letter to Robert Courts MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, BIFA‘s Director General Robert Keen expresses the trade association’s concern that during a period of well-documented chaos within the container shipping sector, commercial power is becoming increasingly concentrated, resulting in diminished market choice and competition, and distorted market conditions.

Keen said: “BIFA members fully accept that a free market economy is open to all, but are increasingly concerned that the activities of the container shipping lines, and the exemptions from legislation from which they benefit, are distorting the operations of that market to the shipping lines’ advantage, whilst adversely and unfairly affecting their customers, especially freight forwarders and SME businesses.

“The facts speak for themselves. During a period that has seen EU block exemption regulations carried forward into UK law, there has been huge market consolidation.

“In 2015, there were 27 major container shipping lines carrying global containerised trade, with the largest having a 15.3% market share. Today, there are 15 shipping lines, organised into three major alliances carrying that trade, with some analysts observing that the market share of a single alliance on certain key routes could be over 40%.

“The pandemic has highlighted and accelerated this development, which has also contributed to dreadful service levels, and hugely inflated rates, with carriers allocating vessels to the most profitable routes with little regard to the needs of their customers.

“Drewry recently issued a profit forecast of more than US$150bn for 2021 for the main container shipping lines for which financial results are available.

“To put that into perspective, this is more than has been achieved in the previous 20 years combined, and many BIFA members consider it to be a case of blatant profiteering.”

BIFA is joining a growing number of organisations, including CLECAT and FIATA, the US Federal Maritime Commission, and the Australian Productivity Commission, in calling for governments at a national and pan-national level to give careful consideration to the evolving business arrangements in the container shipping market to see whether they are in breach of competition law.

 

 

Simple solution for loading bay bottlenecks

Posted on by Keith McKinley

There is a Europe-wide HGV driver shortage, which is very acutely felt in the UK. Part of this is caused by the pandemic. Essential goods continued to move during the lockdown, but as non-essential goods were out of circulation, many hauliers went bust and the drivers sought employment elsewhere.

As the economy is reopening, demand is skyrocketing, and with hauliers struggling to cope they are forced to turn down work owing to lack of capacity. If the loading or unloading time is several hours, it is better to opt for shorter runs so in the same time more jobs can be completed.

Of course, turning down jobs means turning down money and risking the future of some client relationships, with these contracts going to other operators in the future.

ConFoot, a Finnish manufacturer of legs for shipping containers, believes it has the solution to solve these loading bay bottlenecks. Using ConFoot container legs the container can be left on the legs at the loading bay for loading and unloading, freeing the truck and the driver to continue with other jobs in the meantime.

The hauliers will have a bigger time window for collecting the containers in most cases, making it easier to manage. This allows for the hauliers to plan more effective routes, maximising revenue and client satisfaction.

Retaining drivers is also easier, as many drivers are paid by the mile, not by the hour, so delays means loss of income for them.

ConFoot says its container legs require no maintenance, and have a lifespan of up to 20 years, providing a very ample return on the investment. The air suspension chassis and dump valve of the trucks trailer is used to lift and lower the container, and only one person is required to attach the legs, which means the driver can do it alone with no help required from the personnel at the site.

The loading bay model has the maximum capacity of 30 tonnes (container + content).

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