16 >> 15 we get


Issue 1 2020 - Freight Business Journal


says Mccarthy but: “The problem is the


type of freight we move and the fact that we have to put maybe 20-30 different shipments into a container. And the big issue is the accuracy of the shipment dimensions


from


the shipper – it’s often very questionable.” For the moment, at least,


there is no substitute for the experienced, knowledgeable human. “We have people who specialise in it, but it is a dying art – when they retire, it’s hard to get people to replace them,” explains Mccarthy. It can be quite a tough job, mentally – and even physically


– putting together pipes and pallets and all the other kinds of cargo that may present themselves. Sometimes, you can


spend several hours


putting together a container and then find that it doesn’t fit – which means having to pull everything out and start all over again. “It’s not as straightforward as


it’s sometimes perceived to be and costs have gone up. I think perhaps customers have got to be realistic about the prices they pay,” says Mccarthy. The consolidated freight can


market be extremely


dynamic. The underlying box rate is of course the biggest influence and, as a rule,


Alliance Group – on the ground and in the air


Essex-headquartered Alliance Group is a one of a very select number of operators that offers both sea- and airfreight consolidations, says chairman Gary Waller. The company, which both


offers and


other


consolidation specialities


forwarding along


including


car shipping, runs regular airfreight


consolidations to


markets such as Australasia, South Africa, the US and Canada, committing to pallets from Heathrow, along with import services. While Alliance’s origins are


in sea freight, it is nowadays among


the top 20 IATA


airfreight forwarders in the UK, says Waller. For seafreight it offers


frequent LCL services from the UK to markets such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There are also inbound services from these countries


as well as both


dedicated shipper and multi- customer consolidated boxes from China. As well as its offices in


East London, Heathrow and Birmingham, Alliance has a US headquarters in Atlanta,


the higher that is, the more worthwhile consolidation becomes. If freight rates on a trade lane are very low – say, a few hundreds or even a hundred dollars or so – then the cost and complexity of consolidating is scarcely worthwhile – it can be cheaper to send an LCL shipment in its own box, even if it does mean shipping fresh air. But the higher rates go, the more anxious shippers are to avoid doing this. Some factors in global have


shipping a particular


impact on the consolidators, especially dangerous goods (DG). The DG regulations have become more complex


although these days most LCL cargo uses New York as the point of entry to the US. The economics of trucking in the US – which can be very expensive – tend to work out better if cargo is moved though a single gateway as it allows Alliance to command volume rates with truckers, rather than spreading the traffic around multiple


ports and entry


points. In the 45 years of its


existence, Alliance has seen no let-up in the growth in consolidated or LCL traffic, Waller adds. Some specialised products move in too small a volume to fill a complete container, and LCL is also important to firms entering an overseas market for the


///CONSOLIDATORS


over the years and there is also inconsistency between shipping lines, even those operating as part of the same alliance. This can mean a DG


shipment being accepted by the line through which the booking is made, but if the line that actually carries the box has a different policy, the shipment can then be rejected. This is frustrating enough for a full container, with just one shipper, but if an LCL box fails to load, the consolidator then has to placate not one, but perhaps 20 angry customers. DG


goods problems can


be compounded by poor or incomplete information from


first time. “It’s a very buoyant market,” Waller says. “It’s certainly not losing ground to FCL- at least not as far as we are concerned.”


the shipper, adds Mccarthy. With 300 offices in 160


countries, ECU has a pretty comprehensive network and in most areas of the world it runs its own operation, though it does use agents in some smaller markets. ECU is also continuing to make acquisitions, having recently acquired companies in India, Singapore and Hong Kong. It also recently opened an office in Manchester to serve the northern UK market. While there probably isn’t


much that needs to be added in terms of global depots or agencies, ECU has been making substantial investment in its IT systems. This offers proof of delivery


and collection and GPS tracking consignments is in the pipeline. In fact, the system has now reached the stage where a freight forwarder customer can go online, check the rate, book the shipment and have it customs cleared and delivered via an ECU road haulage partner direct to destination, without having to spend time searching for local agents, or arrange customs clearance


or haulage itself,


while maintaining complete visibility of the process throughout.


Air and overland


The concept of consolidation exists for other modes of transport too, although perhaps not to quite the same extent


Unsworth offers green option


Consolidator and freight forwarder Unsworth managing director Richard Hogg (pictured right), says his company will be the first independent operator to offer an “environmental opt-in” in 2020, allowing all its clients to measure their CO2 impact. Clients can also be advised on their emissions mitigation and carbon off-set, adds the UK- based operator. Unsworth, founded in


1974, says it was one of the first operators to respond to China’s economic reforms when it


launched the first


Far East groupage service in 1982, which it describes as now one of the UK’s leading independent consolidation services. Today, it operates a global


LCL network, with hubs in all major international locations. Core


services are weekly


inbound into the UK from Ningbo, Shanghai and Hong Kong and, outbound weekly consol services include the US, Singapore and Hong Kong. Hogg says: “We offer reliable,


independent and cost effective services, with 24-hour receiving and specific cut-off, departure and arrivals, subject to shipping line requirements. Our reputation for reliability, cost-effectiveness and absolute neutrality, recognised through multiple trade awards,


is one that we’re proud of, and determined to protect.” Unsworth was also one of


the first operators to use digital tools, launching its Cargocost online quote platform, which went on to attract over half a million visitors from around the globe


and has issued


200,000 quotes up to 2019. Cargocost was relaunched


that year, and is the simplest and fastest version yet. Shippers can create an account, obtain pricing, select their preferred service and complete the shipping booking in under 60 seconds. This simplifies the booking process and


every consignment is


visible, on its own unique dashboard, accessed by shippers with a unique link that is embedded on every


communication related to that shipment. Each shipper’s unique ‘one-


click’ dashboard shows where the shipment is at any time, from beginning to end, so that they know exactly when their cargo will be delivered. There is a standard package of 11 addressable milestones on every sea freight shipment. The data comes direct from multiple carrier and port inventory feeds and is aggregated by Unsworth. Hogg adds: “We have a


team of experts - investment in people means we are able to provide industry


adds leading


freight management and customer care.” He


that Unsworth’s


forwarder customers like the consistency in performance


as seafreight. Consolidation of airfreight still happens and there a number of consolidators and wholesalers in the sector, although their cost advantage has been eroded over the years by ever-keen direct carrier rates. Groupage for international


road services is also widely practiced, although the consolidation and operator functions tend to be merged; companies that do the consolidation also operate the trucks themselves, or at


least


arrange their operation. The domestic


and


international pallet delivery networks that have emerged in the past 2-3 decades are also consolidators of a sort. Consolidation of rail


freight scarcely exists in the UK these days, although historically many of the British railway companies, and the nationalised British Railways did offer a ‘smalls’ service for freight that did not fill a complete wagon. They could also carry small parcels-type loads on passenger trains, or in some cases, on dedicated parcels and mail trains. However, all these services all


withered away as the railways lost interest in wagonload, let alone less-than-wagon-load freight services. Lately however, a number of forwarders have started to offer an LCL option on the new China-to-Europe rail services that have emerged in the past few years.


that they can pass on to their clients with an average 48 minute customs clearances (with 90% of consignments clearing in under ten minutes), 36 hours to devan and make arrivals available for collection and a 48 hour delivery booking turnaround.


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