Pulp Paper & Logistics


SCA LOGISTICS 11 L Benefits for economy and environment


two extra axles, to maintain loadings so there is no increase in wear and tear on roads. These trucks have several advantages according to the Swedish Forest Industries Federation: • A reduction in climate impacting emissions;


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• A decrease in fuel consumption per tonne;


• An increase in traffic safety since there are fewer vehicles on the roads. “Taking everything into account, the savings in cost strengthen the forest industry’s competitiveness, which also lays the foundation for more jobs and stronger growth,” says Magnus Svensson.


rucks with a gross weight of 74 tonnes have a normal length but are equipped with


One worry being put forward by politicians is that a large increase in the permitted maximum weight would result in an undesirable transfer of transportation from rail to road. Svensson feels that these fears are exaggerated. “It is a rather weak argument,” he says. “The forest industry regularly uses trucks on distances of approximately 100 kilometres, while rail has an average distance of 400 kilometres. Hence, they operate in different situations and are not in opposition to each other,” he explains. Moreover, much of the need


for heavier loads can be found in places where transportation by rail or water is not possible. Svensson says that the preconditions for rail transportation in Sweden could be improved dramatically,


“We are extremely concerned


by the long-term decay of the railway infrastructure. Many lines risk closure and the government focuses almost exclusively on upgrading lines for passenger traffic around major cities,” he continues. “An optimum situation would be if the railway was made more efficient, in parallel with an increase in the maximum permitted weight of trucks. In so doing we could run 750-metre long trains with an axle load of 25 tonnes, as they do on the continent. In contrast, the maximum length of Swedish trains is 650 metres, frequently with an axle weight of no more than 22.5 tonnes. “The first step would be to bring rail transportation into line


Magnus Svensson


with the rest of Europe’s rail- network as regards efficiency, without slowing development towards safer and environmentally friendly road transportation,” says Svensson. More information from SCA


Logistics AB, Box 805, SE-851 23 Sundsvall, Sweden. Tel: 46 60 19 35 00. Email: info.logistics@sca. com


A strategic link between Europe and Asia


The Strait of Malacca is facing a great challenge. It is the world’s second most used waterway, a marine motorway at rush hour, through which a huge volume of the world’s trade passes every year. Its limited depth, level of piracy and heavy traffic have led to plans for competing alternatives, for example a number of pipelines for oil and gas and the world’s longest bridge. The Strait of Malacca is a 900km- long passage between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, connecting the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea.


It is one of the world’s most important hubs for marine transportation and by far the shortest sea route that connects Africa, Europe and the Middle


East with countries such as China, Japan and South Korea with the Pacific Rim. The strait’s strategic importance has made it an object of rivalry and disputes since the 16th century. It has been used for international marine transportation by the Romans, the Chinese, the Greeks, the Arabs and the Indians. Early in the 15th century it was controlled by the Ming dynasty for its trading voyages between east and west. The Portuguese arrived early in the 16th century and used the strait to get to and from their colony in Macao. The Dutch fleet arrived in 1641, after which the Portuguese surrendered. Holland took over the strait and established a trading colony in Batavia (now Djakarta). In 1795, Portugal temporarily


transferred sovereignty of Malacca to the British to avoid it falling into the hands of the French. In 1824, the Anglo-Dutch Treaty was signed, whereby Great Britain undertook to protect the strait and keep it open for ships from Holland and other friendly nations. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 shortened the distance from Europe to the Far East by a third, which meant a dramatic change in trade for the world’s shipping lines. It also made the Strait of Malacca even more strategically important. The strait acts as a barometer


to measure the health of world trade. It is a strategically important waterway that passes through the waters of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. With more than 60,000 vessels carrying 40 per cent of the world’s trade it is


the world’s second most heavily used waterway. This is three times that of the Panama Canal and more than twice that of the Suez Canal. The proposed link across the


strait is for a 48km bridge between Telok Gong in Malaysia and Dumai on the island of Sumatra. When built, the bridge will be the world’s longest consisting of two cable- stayed bridges and one suspension bridge. The project has again been submitted for the government’s approval and is expected to take ten years to complete. Exim Bank of China is said to be prepared to finance up to 85 per cent of the cost of the project, estimated to be in the region of US$14 billion, while the remainder is intended to come from regional state funds and private investors.


July/August 2015


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