International Marketing Practices

Figure 11. Rail transportation processes start to finish [161].

Access to railheads can be a barrier for small and medium sized businesses looking to export overseas. Large companies often leverage export volumes to access high capacity resources, but small and medium sized firms are limited in their ability to do so. Rail transportation can result in long wait times owing to bottlenecks in container unloading or travel, adding to transportation costs, which account for a significant portion of overall product price [162]. A cost-benefit analysis must be done regarding the best form of transportation overseas, particularly considering the differences between truck and rail for land transportation. Ocean Transportation Ocean transport can be considered the most cost-effective and primary mode of international forest products transportation, especially considering the weight-to- value ratio [18]. However, ocean freight can be slow or delayed and subject to higher damage, insurance, and packaging rates compared with air and land freight [19]. It should be noted that ocean transportation is heavily reliant on weather patterns and often requires the use of a combination of modes of transportation owing to limited accessibility [159]. There are three options for contracting ocean transport: conference lines, independent lines, and tramp vessels. A conference line consists of several carriers joined together to establish a common rate and conditions. An independent line accepts all business, as long as there is space, and is usually less expensive than conference lines. Finally, tramp vessels deal with bulk cargo transit [23].

There are two types of maritime cargo: general cargo , which is carried in defined units, and bulk cargo , which is loose. General cargo, in turn, can be categorized in

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