International Marketing Practices

break bulk (drums, bags, pallets, or boxes), neo bulk (bundles of lumber, rolls of paper, steel, vehicles), and containerized cargo (20’ or 40’ containers).

It should be noted that, similar to less than truckload (LTL) shipping, it is possible to ship less than an ocean freight container (LCL, or break-bulk shipment). Some companies offer consolidation services, in which they combine individual LCL cargos from several companies to fill a container. Once the container arrives at its destination, it is unpacked into the individual shipments. LCL shipments are priced based on volume and cost less than full container shipments (FCL), take longer due to the consolidation processes, and require meticulous packing and marking. Globally, most of the top 25 ports (measured by throughput, in 20’ container equivalents) are located in Asia, with only three in the U.S. [163]. Top U.S. container ports are Los Angeles-Long Beach, New York-New Jersey, Savannah, and Seattle- Tacoma. There has been growing consolidation in the ocean shipping industry, with more than 60% of market share held by six companies. It is forecasted that three- quarters of the global containership fleet will be in the hands of seven liner companies by 2021, compared with 37% in 2005 [164]. The first step to beginning an ocean shipping venture would be to contact an international freight forwarder (explained later in this chapter) and explore the available options. Air Transportation Use of air cargo shipping is growing as efficiency has improved and costs have decreased [23]. Air transportation allows for very short transit times, which are commonly used for premium or emergency services [159]. Increasing shipment sizes have helped to reduce operating cost per ton-mile; however, overall cost is still rather variable due to both distance and shipment size [159]. Intermodal Transportation Intermodal transportation is commonly used for international trade of forest products and can be defined as “ the movement of cargo in shipping containers or trailers by more than one mode of transportation ” [165]. Intermodal transportation is usually carried out in standardized containers, which facilitates the transfer between modes of transportation [18]. The mode of transportation can affect packaging, handling, inventory, and delivery costs, insurance rates, and warehousing times [19].

Table 15 ranks the different modes of transportation. It should be noted that ocean shipping is the least costly, but its performance on all other factors is low.

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