Transportation within a consolidated load is very comfortable, profitable and modern!
Transportation of goods combined in a mixed load has particularities of its own, which are related to the nature of goods itself as well as to the issue of shipping documents required for the customs formalities. We set this type of services apart since mixed loads mean that a load is being carried not by a vehicle but by another load, affecting thereby the whole mixed load both in speed and cost. The basis for our line of mixed loads is formed by a widely spread network of our partners'warehouses, which considerably reduces the costs of the "door-to-door" delivery. We currently serve the routing lines from all countries of Western Europe to Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. Taking into consideration the specific nature of customs procedures in the CIS countries, cargos can be delivered using the inner custom(s) transit (ICT) mode.
Mixed loads
This term can have different definitions. When we say a "mixed load", we mean a combination of loads sent by different clients to several different destinations that are provided with a separate set of shipping documents and carried by the same mean of transportation at some stage of this process.
Imagine a situation when you need to send a small load as soon as possible. It becomes obvious that paying for a whole truck, for example, to send two or three pallets of cargo would then be extremely expensive. A logical solution to that problem would be to find 'fellow-travellers' and share the cost of a freight in proportion to weight, volume, the number of pallets and load metres. In short, this is the economical meaning of this type of service.
Consolidated loads
When loads sent by different clients goes to the same destination or different parts of a load sent by one client is to be delivered to several different recipients, we call it consolidation. Compared to a mixed load, consolidation does not only help you reduce the freight costs, but also gives our clients an opportunity to cut down on the customs broker's fees as well as on other attendant expenses.
Assembly lines.
This service consists of three main elements:
- bringing the loads to a consolidation centre (a warehouse in Europe),
- transporting the assembled cargo from the consolidation centre to a distribution centre,
- and the final delivery from the distribution centre (usually, using the ICT mode).
This type of service can only be provided when there is a regular, fast and commercially secure freight flow. So it would be good news to learn that Transportir operates using several inter-connected assembly lines, which gives our clients a chance to take pleasure in all the advantages our company provides with mixed and consolidation loads services.
The principle of consolidated and mixed loads' formation
In most cases the distribution of loads in the vehicle somewhat resembles the Tetris game, where any of the load's measures - weight, capacity, overall dimensions, the possibility of stacking (if any) - could play a decisive role.
The overall weight cannot excede the maximum weight allowed, for instace, a vehicle with a capacity of 120 m3 has a weight limit of 21 tons. If a cargo weighing 15 tons and measuring 10 m3 is loaded onto it, only 5 tons can be added, not 110 m3. On the other hand, if the cargo's capacity is important, its weight is not as significant any more. Another aspect to keep in mind is the maximum axle weght.
This is the reason why we use the term "commercial weight" when talking about light loads (1 m3 weighing less than the optimum specific gravity - 300 kg/m3 usually) with big capacity. In this context commercial weight equals a load's capacity multiplied by its optimum specific gravity (in our case - 300 kg/m3).
Let's imagine a load with a gross weight of 1,000 kg and a capacity of 5 m3. This would be a light load with big capacity, as its specific gravity is less that optimum, therefore according to the above mentioned formula (5 m3 * 300 kg/m3) its commercial weight would equal 1,500 kg.
Let's compare it to another load with a gross weight of 1,000 kg and a capacity of 3 m3. This load could not be called light (with big capacity), as its specific gravity is bigger than optimum. Therefore, in this case, its commercial weight eqals its (physical) gross weight.
Customs formalities concerning mixed and consolidated loads
When considering an international forwarding of consolidated loads, one should realise that before any customs fees are paid, the freight stays under customs supervision. This means that the cargo must go through customs formalities in one of the terminals before it arrives in the distribution centre.
Mixed and consolidated loads are supposed to be transported according to the contract concluded with a customs agent. However, this kind of freight forwarding is often done in violation of the Customs laws and regulations, which may make the further use of the cargo rather complicated.
As for our company, we make it our priority to bring the cargo intrusted to us to our clients' terminal abiding to all the Customs laws and regulations of the destination country. So our company's terminal is a distribution centre, and our clients' terminal is a place of unloading. This will allow you not only to transport cargo according to your contract, but also to cut down on transportation expenses thanks to the "mixed/consolidated loads" mode.
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