bg thu tin thuong mai chapter 10 5826

CHAPTER 10: Transportation and shipping Road, rail and air transport and documentation; shipping (types of vessels, shipping organizations, shipping documentation and insurance, forwarding agents); container services and documentation; chartering ships Road transport • Road transport tends to be comparatively cheaper and more direct than rail, and in the past few years haulage (trucking) has doubled in the UK • Reasons: + the increased capacity for lorries to carry goods, particularly with the introduction of containers + faster services, with road improvements (motorways) + accessibility abroad with ferries offering rolling – on and rolling – off facilities Rail transport • Rail transport is faster than road, which is necessary especially when transporting perishable goods, i.e fish, fruit, meat, etc., and can haul bulk commodities (oil, grain, coal) in greater volume than road transporters • There is a link between road and rail through companies such as Freightliners, but transshipment (transferring goods from train to truck) can still be a problem • Rail transport tends to be comparatively more expensive than road haulage Air transport • Air transport is used for speed, particularly over long distances Insurance tends to be cheaper as consignments spend less time in transit • However, with bulk consignment, air is much more expensive, and can be uneconomical • The main document used is the Air Waybill (AWB), which consists of 12 copies distributed to the airline, exporter, importer, and customs • The Air Waybill is only a receipt and cannot be transferred to another person Documentation • Consignment notes are used in road and rail transportation They are not negotiable, cannot be bought, sold, transferred by the consignor (the exporter), or the consignee (the importer) • Consignment notes and waybills are obtained by the consignor filling out an instructions for dispatch form, and paying the freight charges which are calculated in size (volume), weight, or value, and sometimes risk, particularly its special precautions have to be taken • Most freight companies are private carriers, which means they are only responsible for negligence (note taking proper care of the goods) Documentation • In the Economic Community, and European Free Trade Area (EFTA) movement certificates are used especially for container shipments, if the consignment is taken through different customs posts to member countries • Since the late 1980s many of these customs forms have been included in one document, the Single Administrative Documents (SAD) an eight – part set of forms for export declarations In addition the Simplified Clearance Procedure (SCP) is also used to make documentation easier for exports and agents • Correspondence in transport is generally between the sellers and freight firms, or sellers and freight firms, or sellers and forwarding agents, who send goods on behalf of the seller The customers are kept informed by advice notes which give details of packing and when goods will arrive Documentation Letter requiring the quotation Specimen letters Quotation for delivery by road Specimen Letters Advice of delivery Specimen Letters Complaint of damage in delivery Specimen Letters Shipping company’s reply Container services • Container are large steel boxes, 20 to 40 feet in length, can hold most cargoes including liquids, and are transported by lorries or trains to ports where they are loaded on to container vessels and shipped Because of their sealing to prevent pilfering they are safe, and goods are also protected against constant handling • Small parcels from different shippers can be grouped together (consolidation) at a depot if they are for the same destination, and special groupage rates are offered to consignees • Most ports in the world have facilities for loading and unloading containers, and if they not have them, the container can be delivered to a port with facilities, then loaded on to trucks and taken to customer Documentation for exporting goods by container • A bill of lading can be used as it is in ordinary shipments, with the usual condition applying, i.e a clean shipped on board bill, naming the port of acceptance (where the goods have been loaded) and port of delivery (where the goods will be unloaded.) In this case the shipping company only accepts responsibility for the goods while on board ship But if a combined transport bill of lading is used, the place of acceptance and place of delivery may be covered, which means the company accepts door – to – door responsibility, which offers more extensive cover than the bill of lading • Non-negotiable waybills are also used, but unless instructed, banks will not accept them as evidence of shipment, and they are not documents of title which can be transferred Documentation for importing goods by container • A freight invoice is needed if the sea freight is to be paid in the UK and is accompanied by an arrival notification form, which advises the importer that his goods are coming On claiming his goods, the customer has to show a customs clearance form, which allows the goods to be taxed, copies of the certificate of origin, if necessary, commercial invoices, import licence, and health certificate for food or animal imports • The bill of lading or waybill also has to be produced to prove ownership of the goods, and the customs issues an out of charge note once the goods have been cleared by them Chartering ships • Voyage charter charges, i.e taking freight from port A to B, are calculated on the tonnage value of the cargo For example, if an exporter ships 500 tons of coal at £1.2 per ton, he will pay £600 for the charter • Time charter charges are calculated on the tonnage for the ship (i.e the weight of the ship) plus running costs of the vessel, excluding wages So the larger the ship, the more the charterer pays, regardless of whether he ships 500 tons or 5000 tons • There are also mixed charters combining both time and voyage charters The contract signed by both parties is known as a charter party Specimen letters Enquiry to a container company Specimen letters Container company’s reply Specimen letters Certificate of origin Specimen letters Enquiry for a time charter Specimen letters Shipbroker’s reply Specimen letters Rail consignment note Specimen letters Enquiry for a voyage charter Specimen letters Shipbroker’s reply Specimen letters General charter Points to remember The method a consignor chooses to deliver his goods depends on whether his main consideration is speed, direct delivery, limiting handling, or economy, and this obviously relates to the type of consignment being sent Road haulage can be comparatively cheap when transporting relatively small consignments, and offers a door – to – door service Rail freight services are competitive when shipping bulk goods, and are faster than road transport between terminals Air transport offers the fastest service, but is restrictive on weight and volume, and can be the most expensive method of sending goods The ‘consignment note’ or ‘waybill’ is the main document used in road, rail, or air transport It is a receipt, not a document of title, and therefore not negotiable An ‘advice not’ is usually sent to the consignee to inform him that goods are being forwarded, but airlines, as a rule, inform the consignee themselves when the goods arrive There are various types of vessels available to carry different goods Their owners may belong to the Shipping Conference and will charge fixed rates for transporting goods Other vessels can be chartered, on a time or voyage basis or on a mixed charter, through shipbrokers on the Baltic Exchange who will negotiable rates for their clients The bill of lading is the main document used in shipping and may be ‘clean’ or ‘dirty’ (‘claused’) which explains whether the goods were taken on board in perfect condition, or if something was wrong with them Once the bill has been signed by the captain, it is known as a shipped bill and the shipping company will now accept responsibility in accordance with the clauses on the back of the document If the bill is made ‘to order’ it becomes a negotiable document of title Containerization is a rapidly growing method of shipment, where goods are loaded into steel boxes which are taken to the docks and then loaded on to special vessels Container companies use either combined transport bills of lading, or waybills, but also the usual documents in shipping including the bill of lading ... stating their charges • Once the goods are received on the dock, a shipping note , with a receipt, is handed to the Superintendent of the docks, advising him that the goods are stored and awaiting... method a consignor chooses to deliver his goods depends on whether his main consideration is speed, direct delivery, limiting handling, or economy, and this obviously relates to the type of consignment... Container vessels offer facilities to move containers from one country to another, and have special lifting gear and storage space for the huge steel boxes they transport • Roll – on roll – off ferries