International cargo transportation is transportation between countries and countries and regions. International cargo transportation can be divided into two types: international trade material transportation and non-trade material transportation (such as exhibits, personal luggage, office supplies, foreign aid materials, etc.). Since the transportation of non-trade materials in international cargo transportation is often just an incidental business of the trade materials transportation department, international cargo transportation is usually called international trade transportation. From a country’s perspective, it is foreign trade transportation, or foreign trade transportation for short.

In international cargo transportation, there are many modes of transportation involved, including ocean transportation, railway transportation, air transportation, river transportation, postal transportation, road transportation, pipeline transportation, land bridge transportation and international multimodal transportation that is a combination of various transportation modes. wait. The operations of various international transportation service companies, such as Beijing Fanyuan International Transportation Service Co., Ltd., mostly focus on one or more modes of transportation, the more common ones being sea transportation or air transportation, supplemented by other modes of transportation to achieve a wide range of services. Maximize coverage.

Now we will briefly introduce several methods commonly used in our country.

Maritime transport

In international cargo transportation, ocean transport is the most widely used.

Currently, shipping volume accounts for more than 80% of total international cargo transportation. The reason why ocean transportation is so widely used is that it has the following obvious advantages compared with other modes of international cargo transportation:

1. Large passing ability. Ocean transportation can make use of natural waterways extending in all directions. Unlike trains and cars, which are limited by tracks and roads, their passing capacity is very large.

2. Large transportation volume. The transportation capacity of ocean transportation ships is far greater than that of railway transportation vehicles. For example, the load capacity of a 10,000-ton ship is generally equivalent to the load capacity of 250 to 300 wagons.

3. Low shipping cost. From the perspective of economies of scale, because the transportation volume is large and the voyage is long, the transportation cost per freight ton is less, so the freight rate is relatively low.

Although ocean transportation has the above advantages, it also has shortcomings. For example, ocean transportation is greatly affected by climate and natural conditions, so sailing schedules are not easy to be accurate and the risks are high. In addition, ocean transport speeds are relatively low.

Rail transport

In international cargo transportation, rail transport is the main mode of transportation after ocean transportation. Most of the import and export goods transported by ocean rely on rail transportation for the concentration and dispersion of goods.

Railway transportation has many advantages. It is generally not affected by climatic conditions and can ensure normal transportation throughout the year. It also has large transportation volume, fast speed, high degree of continuity, and fewer risks during operation. The procedures for railway freight are simpler than those for ocean transportation, and shippers and consignees can go through the consignment and pick-up procedures at the nearest originating station (shipping station) and destination station.

air freight

Air transport is a modern mode of transportation. Compared with ocean transportation and railway transportation, it has the advantages of fast transportation speed, high freight quality, and is not restricted by ground conditions. Therefore, it is most suitable for transporting urgently needed supplies, fresh commodities, precision instruments and valuables.

Road, river and parcel transport

1. Road transportation

Road transportation is a modern mode of transportation. It can not only directly transport foreign trade goods in or out, but is also an important means of collecting and distributing import and export goods at stations, ports and airports.

2. Inland waterway transportation

Inland water transportation is an important part of water transportation. It is the link between the inland hinterland and coastal areas and plays an important role in transporting and distributing import and export goods.

3. Parcel transportation

Parcel post transport is a relatively simple method of transportation. There are agreements and contracts between the postal departments of various countries. Through these agreements and contracts, mail packages from various countries can be transferred to each other, thus forming an international postal parcel transportation network. Because international postal parcel transportation has the nature of international multimodal transport and “door-to-door” transportation, plus the simple procedures and low cost, it has become one of the commonly used modes of transportation in international trade.

From a trade perspective, international cargo transportation is an invisible international trade.