Monthly Archives: January 2018

How to reduce transportation costs by using a public feeder

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Categories: Newsflash, Tips & Trends.

Feeding bigger main line vessels for final destination

Feeder vessels collect shipping containers from different smaller ports and transport them to central container terminals where they are loaded to bigger ocean vessels. That way, the smaller vessels containing up to 1000 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) feed deep-sea carrier liners containing 14000 TEU to 21000 TEU. Carriers either use their own feeder vessels or third-party public feeders. The public feeder vessel allocates multiple carriers’ cargo from different ports by offering slot spaces to be booked depending on the needs of each specific carrier.

The importance of identifying variations of the cargo volume

A carrier that is working on a stable market and has sufficient volume to fill their own feeder vessels could just as well do so. However, most often, the target market is not that steady. Shipping lines often work with various markets with weekly fluctuations in the demand. This can result in under-utilization of feeder vessels one week and a cargo overflow during the next week. A container shipping company that is operating its own feeder vessels often uses vessels with sufficient capacity to handle cargo even during the peak periods of the year. This means that during the periods with lower cargo volume, the vessel will not always be filled up to maximum capacity which leads to a higher annual transportation cost. Therefore, it is important that container shipping carriers identify the volatility and variability of their cargo volume.

The market demand determines the size of the public feeder vessel  

Combining the cargo flows from multiple carriers allows to reduce the overall weekly demand fluctuations as well as lead to a better vessel utilization and lower unit transportation cost. The carrier is only paying for the slot that is used. Also, it is a flexible solution. Based on market conditions and cargo volumes in each port, the public feeder selects the right sized vessel to match the market demand. Since almost all markets are imbalanced where inbound and outbound cargo are not perfectly aligned, it is easier for public feeders to combine import and export volumes from different ports.

Vessel utilization allows for competitive sea freight rates

Greencarrier Liner Agency and Evergreen Line are using a public feeder service in the Scandinavian-Baltic region. Each port agent has their own weekly fixed feeder allocation from a public feeder operator. This guarantees a minimum space capacity on a specific vessel, but subject to space availability we may expect to arrange more than weekly allocations.

Even though schedule delays happen occasionally, we are flexible and it is easier for us to accept cargo overflows. Because the public feeder operator combines cargo from various ports, it is less sensitive to weekly volume changes. If a customer cancels or postpones a booking, the public feeder may find replacement cargo from other ports. Due to the better vessel utilization, unit transportation costs are lower which allows us to offer more competitive sea freight rates to our customers.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and that you gained some new knowledge about the possibilities of using public feeder services. If you have any questions or want more information, feel free to contact me. You will find other interesting articles at Greencarrier Liner Agency‘s Knowledge Center and also, do not forget to share your thoughts with us on social media!

Greencarrier Liner Agency Highlights 2017

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Categories: All.

Opportunity to meet our future leaders and colleagues

In the beginning of 2017, we visited SJÖLOG – a student job fair in Gothenburg – to present our company and meet students. For us, this is a great way to expand our network and collect new contacts for the future. We believe that when going on these types of gatherings, we have a good chance to meet our future leaders and colleagues within the industry, and maybe even within our company. For example, that is how we met Sara Jivesten a couple of years ago. She started as a summer intern and now she works for our Customer Service Department in Sweden.

(Psst! We will be back at SJÖLOG during 2018. More information will come forward!)

Greencarrier Liner Agency and New Ocean Alliance

Spring came and April arrived. Our principal Evergreen Line became a part of the new Ocean Alliance, together with some of the world’s leading ocean carriers and became the largest ocean alliance for Asian-European trade. We wrote about what this alliance means and how customers would benefit from it. We also found a great infographic that summed up all you need to know about New Ocean Alliance.

Greencarrier Blog awarded

Half-way through 2017, we received some great news: our Greencarrier Blog was ranked #14 among the Top 50 Cargo Websites and Blogs for Cargo & Freight Industry Professionals during 2017. If you are curious about what we are blogging about, find some examples below:

The people behind Greencarrier Liner Agency

Our main asset is our dedicated employees. They bring knowledge, expertise, skills and experience in their work every day. Working in the Greencarrier Group means being committed, involved and having fun at work. Last year, we had the privilege to introduce you to two of our Greencarrier Liner Agency employees:

  • Esben Smith – From a professional soccer player to our Sales department at the Oslo office. Besides, he is one of our Social Media Ambassadors.
  • Jörgen Svanström – The not so regular Business Controller. Learn what he thinks about personal leadership and see how he competes in Triathlon when he is not handling our figures.

Yes it’s possible!

By the end of summer, Greencarrier Liner Agency Denmark and Greencarrier Freight Services Denmark participated together and invited their business partners to the triathlon race “Challenge Fredericia”, for the second year in a row. Claus Sørensen, Branch Manager for Greencarrier Freight Services Aarhus explained:

“We used this event as both a challenge and teambuilding between our own employees, but also as an important branding of the Greencarrier brand. We want to show others that we are a modern company with active staff, whom always are ready to take up a challenge and live up to our mindset: “Yes, it’s possible!”.”

Read the full article here.

The most legendary race in the sport of triathlon

Autumn arrived, and so did the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. During this world race, we were a proud sponsor of Maja Stage Nielsen and her participation. For us at Greencarrier Liner Agency, the mindset “Yes, it’s possible!” follows through everything we do.

– I really believe in this too. Without the mindset “Yes, it’s possible!” I would not be where I am today. You absolutely need to believe in what you are doing when you are an athlete. You need to be good at seeing possibilities instead of limitations and enjoy the process as well, says Maja Nilsson Stage.

Read the full article with Maja here.

Greencarrier Liner Agency and Mission Possible

In our work, there is only Mission Possible! To end 2017, we proudly launched and were a part of our first Greencarrier Coroporate Movie. Watch the full version below and get the feeling of who we are and what we stand for.

2017 has been an exciting year in many ways. Forward we have a lot of fun things to share with you. We will also develop our content further, so if you have any ideas or questions please contact us here. If you are interested in more content from this year, here you’ll find all news and all blog articles.