Containerisation: Why finished vehicle logistics needs to think inside the box
By Marcus Williams2019-04-05T16:02:00
While ro-ro is the traditional method of shipping finished vehicles, containerisation is becoming increasingly viable as the automotive industry decentralises and introduces more EVs. Growth in China and South East Asia offers particularly good opportunities
Cars have been shipped in containers ever since the modern shipping container was introduced commercially in the late 1950s, but it is only since dedicated racking systems were mass produced to improve loading that there has been a greater adoption of containers for volume shipments.
There are estimated to be 39m containers moving around the world, 25% of which are being shipped empty at any one time. The target is to fill these containers with other products and for the automotive industry, that includes finished vehicles…