Chapter 4: Road Transport Flashcards
Name reasons for the increasing usage of “Curtain Siders” in freight transport!
Important reasons for buying and using of “curtain-siders” are:
- loading and unloading from both sides is possible
→ speed up of loading/unloading process - no need for sequencing the loading process in a logic first shipment should be loaded last (unload from both sides is possible)
- large market of used vehicles (higher chance for selling and buying old resp. new truck tractors)
What are influencing factors for choosing the right vehicle in road-based freight transports?
The choice which vehicle is appropriate depends heavily on the tour profile for which the vehicle is used. Therefore important decision factors are:
- Length of the tour (need for an expansive gas refill?; a need for two drivers?)
- Locations for which the vehicle is used (downtown distribution vs. main-haul transports)
- Average shipment size and total volume to transport on one tour?
- Special equipment and features needed during transport and/or loading/unloading? (e.g. freight must be cooled; availability of special equipment for loading/unloading)
- Financial aspects (best financing model)
What are typical daily time patterns of the traffic flow in Germany?
In Germany, there are three main time resp. rush-hour peaks:
- In the morning between 7:00 - 9:00 am (business and commuting traffic)
- During lunch break 12:00 - 2:00 pm (commuting traffic for lunch and shortstop at home)
- At the end of working day between 3:00-7:00 pm (commuting traffic for the trip home; start of long-haul transports of freight traffic)
What and who is EPAL?
Describe its functions and business model!
EPAL (European Pallet Association) is a non-profit-organization for designing and controlling the production process and quality of wooden pallets as loading-units.
The main functions of EPAL are:
- EPAL emits licenses for producing and repairing EPAL pallets according to EPAL standards. The pallet itself is produced or repaired by license owners (production and repair facilities) all over the world.
- EPAL organizes the controlling of the pallet quality before, during and after the production and/or repair of EPAL pallets.
- EPAL pallets build the base for the largest, so-called “white pallet pool” for exchanging pallets between shippers, consignees and logistics service providers.
What kinds of exchange procedures are existing in the management of pallet pools? Which one would you prefer as a forwarder? Why?
There are four main exchange procedures in the white pallet pool:
- Simple pallet exchange without repatriation obligation
- Pallet exchange with repatriation obligation
- Double exchange
- Pallet exchange with the transfer of risk on consignee side
As a forwarder “double exchange” is the most preferable one. Because there are two loops (between LSP and shipper + between LSP and consignee) it is more flexible and timely independent in the organization of the empty pallet backloads.
Please name the four main partners in the order flow of freight forwarding and explain their functions and contractual relationships!
The four main partners are:
- the seller as the consignor also called the “shipper”
- the buyer as consignee
- the forwarder as the organizer of the transport also called the “sender”
- the carrier as the operator of the transport
The contractual relations are:
- between the shipper and sender a forwarding contract
- between the forwarder and carrier a contract of carriage
What does it mean if a forwarder is “contracting in its own name”?
The forwarder is - by legal definition - only the organizer of the transport. The carrier is responsible for the physical transport itself.
If a forwarder uses its own assets (trucks) for the transport, the forwarder is “contracting in its own name”, because the forwarder is acting as a carrier at the same time.
What is the difference between the forwarding contract and the contract of carriage?
- A forwarding contract is a service contract. By means of a service contract, a person who promises service is obliged to perform the services promised, and the other party is obliged to grant the agreed remuneration. So the forwarder owns as the service the organization of the goods transport. This is realized by transfer the goods to a carrier.
- The contract of carriage is a contract to produce a work. According to this kind of contract the carrier owns as work the physical transport. The forwarder does not liable for the rightness of transport, but for the organization of the transport, only.
What is important information a carrier needs BEFORE he can accept a transport order?
A carrier has to check the order feasibility by getting information about:
- Availability of transport/truck capacity (Mixed loading prohibition; customs procedures; degrees of utilization -> problem of backloads!)
- Availability of personal capacities (special know-how for hazardous goods? Driving and rest times, knowledge of foreign languages)
- Availability of all necessary documents (licenses for trucks and drivers etc.)
- Other influencing factors: payment behavior, credit-worthiness, margin etc.) Plausibility check of freight-related information (volume, weight, number of packages)
What are important components of the overall efficiency in transports?
There are four main components in the optimization process of the transport efficiency:
- The “Time Efficiency” (How do we enlarge the time of actual resource utilization?)
- The “Distance Efficiency” (What is the shortest / fastest route?)
- The “Speed Efficiency” (What is the optimal vehicle speed?)
- The “Capacity Efficiency” (How do we maximize the use of available loading capacity?)
Which direction has the A3 and A1 (federal motorways in Germany)?
East-West or North-South?
Explain your answer!
The directions of the A3 and A1 are “North-South”.
The reason:
The federal motorways built up the basis of the network with the numbers 1-9 The rule of the numbering: uneven numbers for north-south directions; even numbers for east-west directions!
How many standard EUROPALLETS do you need for a full-truckload in a truck-trailer combination?
For a standard trailer, the maximum number of EUROPALLETS (one layer) for using its full capacity 17. Therefore, for a truck-trailer combination in a FTL-transport the maximum number of EUROPALLETS is 34.
Because of the loss of space (in average -10% of the volume), the number used by practitioners is 33.
What are the measurements of the standard EUROPALLET?
The size of the standard EUROPALLET is:
1,20m x 0,80m x 0,15m
How large is the space consumed by one standard EUROPALLET in a standard trailer (in sqm and LDM)?
The space consumed by one standard EUROPALLET is:
- 1,20m x 0,80 m = 0,96 sqm
- 1,20m / 3 slots = 0,40 LDM per slot
We discussed three kinds of pallet pools resp. pooling systems:
The “white”, the “blue” and the “red” pool.
Please explain in brief the characteristics of each pooling system!
-
The “White Pool”:
- is the pool of EPAL (European Pallet Association)
- pallets are made out of wood
- color is neutral
- the pooling-system is an exchange system between shipper, consignee, and forwarder -
The “Blue Pool”:
- is the pool of CHEP (Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool)
- pallets are made mostly out of plastic
- color is blue
- the pooling-system is a rental system between CHEP and the shipper -
The “Red Pool”:
- is the pool of LPR (Logistics Packaging Return)
- the pallets are made out of wood
- color is red
- the pooling-system is a rental system between LPR and the shipper
