Transportation

Transportation

Transportation is a barometer of the economic,social and commercial progress of the country.

It is a most visible element of the Logistics Management.

Transportation is the dynamic part of the supply chain management. A good transportation system is one of the pillars of the growth of trade and economy.

In the olden days modes of transportation were ,

• Human beings.

• Camels.

• Horses.

• Bullocks – bullock-carts.

• Ships.

• Elephants to carry wooden logs

etcetera.

As the evolution took place, in modern times,

• Roads.

• Rails.

• Water – ships.

• Aircrafts.

• Pipelines.

• Ropeways. [ Rare cases ]

are the main modes of transportations.

Transportation serves two purposes,

1. Material / Product movement from one place to another.

2. In – Transit product storage.

The guiding principle for choosing the mode of transportation is –

Least cost per unit weight / volume of the product moved over unit distance.

In India Cargo movement – mode of transportation used comparative data.[ 2003 ]

Mode of Transport Cargo Handled in

Million Tonnes.

Road 580

Rail 510

Sea 287

Air 0.90

Pipeline 30.5

Road transportation :

This mode of transportation is very useful incase of accessibility at remote places. As on today this mode of transportation occupies predominant position in transportation network.

Length of National Highways : 34,850 Kms.

Length of State Highways : 1,37,120 Kms.

Major advantages of road transportation are,

1. Door to door service.

2. Flexibility.

3. Reliability.

4. Reach to remote places.

5. Speed.

In India, at present 25 million trucks are running on the road.Average coverage per day is

250 ~ 300 Kms / day as against 550 ~ 600 Kms / day in developed countries.This is mainly because of poor road conditions in India.

Railways :

This mode of transportation is used to carry material as well as people. It is the cheapest mode of transportation available in our country.

42% of the transportation is occupied by transportation of Coal in India. Other contributors are cement, fertilizers, food grains, steel, Iron ore etc.

Sea :

• It is the cheapest mode of transportation in International business.

• Heavy machinery and large quantities of material and products or goods can be transported through this mode.

• One should have a Seaport nearby for faster communication.

• Legal formalities are complicated.

• Lot of documentation and paper work is required.

• Negotiation skills to tackle Government authorities is required.

Major imports are,

1. Petroleum oil % lubricants

2. Liquid natural gas. 36%

3. Liquid petroleum gas .

4. Coal 17%

5. Iron ore 16%

6. Fertilizers 5%

Air :

This mode of transportation is costliest of all. It is mainly used for perishable commodities and for the items whose life is short and value is very high.

Industries use this mode of transportation only in case of emergency.

Pipelines :

This mode of transportation was first developed by Mr.Samuel in 1870 to transport petroleum in Pennsylvania.

• Initial investment is very high.• It works 24 hours.• It is free of cost once installed.[ negligible ]• Widely used by corporations for

transportation of water, drainage etc.• It is Eco friendly.

• At present 27% of the petroleum products are moved through Pipelines over a distance of 6350 Kms.

Ropeways :This is used in hilly areas .In India 16% of the

geographical area is covered by hilly regions.1. They cause least damage to ecology.2. Inaccessible hilly areas can be reached

through this shortest routes.3. In these zones other modes of

transportations are uneconomical.4. Bulk material can be moved faster over short

distances.5. This is mainly used in Assam, Sikkim,

Meghalaya, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh.

Freight Management :

The selection of mode of Transportation depends upon the product characteristics.

• Speed.

• Investments.

• Freight cost.

• Reliability.

• Frequency.

• capability

Characteristic

Road Rail Water Air Pipeline

Speed 2 3 4 1 5

Invest. 1 2 3 4 5

Cost 4 3 1 5 2

Reliability

2 3 4 5 1

Freq. 2 3 4 5 1

Capability

4 3 2 5 1

Speed : the speed of the service is important.It is the time elapsed from moving from source to destiny.

Reliability : This means the ability of the carrier to deliver the shipment in good condition, within the stipulated delivery time span to the customer.

Frequency : it is the number of scheduled movement of the carrier between a pair of locations.

Transportation Networks :

1. Point to Point :

Point of Origin

Destiny

Multiple Delivery Patterns :

Delivery Point 2

Origin

Destination

Delivery Point 1

Trans shipment points :

Long Distance Local Transport

Trans shipment points

Origin Destiny

Nodal Network :

Road terminal

Road terminal

Road terminal

Airterminal

Port terminal

Rail terminal

Multiple

Pickup & distribution

Multiple

Multiple

Pickup & distribution

Pickup & distribution

Hub and Spoke Network:

MotherHub

DC*

DC*

DC*

DC*

DC*-distribution center

Containerization :

A container can be defined as a transport device to move solid or liquid material.

Mr. Malcom McClean introduced the idea in 1956. In shipping business it got introduced in 1960.

Now all over the world this concept is accepted and used.

• Integration of various modes of transportation / emergence of inter – modal transportation.

• Elimination of cargo trans shipment.

• Speedier delivery service.

• Door to door service to customer.

• Risk of transit damage and pilferage reduced drastically.

• Substantial reduction in packing cost.

• Reduction in distribution cost.