An analysis as to how China can improve its small load logistics

Unit Load Device

A test of compact cargo containers shows how China's railways can improve shipment security while dramatically cutting transit times for small loads.

This is a long, detailed yet fascinating article.

As consumer demands have become more diversified and personalized, mass production has taken a backseat to smaller production lots and faster delivery times.

This trend toward manufacturing small, frequent batches, along with the resulting need for faster, door-to-door transportation, has fueled the development of the express industry since the 1980s.

This is true not only in North America and Europe but also—more recently—in China.

By 2006, China's express freight market totaled close to RMB45 billion and boasted a sustained annual growth rate of more than 20%. This level of growth is likely to continue because the volume of high-value, express delivery items is still increasing.

More and more, logistics service enterprises are seeing demands from customers for fast and timely delivery of small-batch, multiple lot-size, and high-security shipments.

The key is the unit-load device. Unit-load devices enable a logistics process that is based on the multimodal use of cargo units.

These units may be attached to a pallet or they may be standalone units. In either case, the sizes of the SCCU and the pallet must be standardized and compatible with each other. By every measure, integrated cargo-unit transportation has been a great success.

The full story HERE. It is not a quick read but well worth it if a tad technical.
Source: DC Velocity