LOADING UNITS IN CT

GENERAL

In Combined Transport (CT), loading units (LU) represent the object of transshipment while protecting the goods to be transported. The most common and widely known type of loading units are containers, as these can be transported across all modes in CT, i.e. road, rail and barge. A vehicle itself can also be a loading unit, which will be the focus of this chapter. In the course of various innovations of transport modes, different forms of LU as well as corresponding specific handling systems have been developed and adapted to the to the individual requirements of LU. Due to bulk freight transport, particularly as a consequence of international / intercontinental maritime transport, standardization with respect to the size and feature of LU has prevailed. As a consequence of said standardization, loading units ensure:

economically viable and easy handling
more efficient utilization of space
easier storage
better options for gathering information, statistics and accounting

However, the advantages outlined above only apply if transport, handling and storage operations are generally recognized and internationally standardized.

Share of container types in KV rail / road 2017, based on the number of loading units

(Data: Destatis, Presentation: SGKV)

In 2016 around 1.9 million containers / swap bodies (C / WB) with 30 to 40 feet were transported in rail-side combined transport; this corresponds to around 38.1% of all transported units and is the most frequently used loading unit
Trailers and C / WB up to 20 feet follow with 18.7% and 17.9% in second and third place; This means that trailer transport replaces transport with 20-foot C / WB

Share of container types in KV Wasserstraße / Straße 2017, based on the number of loading units

(Data: Destatis, Presentation: SGKV)

The combined transport volumes in inland shipping are dominated by 20- and 40-foot containers; together they reach 91.5% (based on the number of transported loading units) for all loading units
In 2017, standard containers in particular were carried in waterside combined transport: 40-foot containers with 842,176 units (+ 2.6%) and 20-foot containers with 661,066 units (+ 0.9%)

Share of container types in KV rail / road 2017, based on the number of loading units

(Data: Destatis, Presentation: SGKV)

In 2017, on average for all C / WB sizes, the proportion of empty units was 22.3%, i.e. almost a quarter of the transported C / WB were unloaded
A significantly lower proportion of empty transport units was found for trailers with 10.2% in the reporting year

Share of container types in KV Wasserstraße / Straße 2017, based on the number of loading units

(Data: Destatis, Presentation: SGKV)

Over 2/3 of the containers transported by inland waterway vessel were loaded in 2017; about 1/3 of the containers were accordingly unloaded
When considering the 20 and 40 foot containers, over 45% of the containers are transported empty; that is significantly more empty container transports than in rail-side combined transport
In the “Other C / WB” category, the share of empty container transports is even 60.3%

OVERVIEW LOADING UNITS

Within global cargo flows, several LU systems have been developed that support various types of transport and handling. These systems are characterised by maritime and continental LU, which, due to their respective use, each have different technical properties, possible applications and variations.

Examples of maritime and continental LU as well as their respective advantages and disadvantages are given below.

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Container

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