Bagged coffee in 20-foot 'dry containers' is a major
improvement over the old break bulk method but still involves extensive handling
and does not fully exploit a container's carrying capacity. This is important as
transport and freight costs are charged per container, rather than by weight.
The cost of handling bagged cargo is also escalating continuously, especially in
importing countries.
When correctly lined with cardboard or sufficiently
strong Kraft paper, and if properly stuffed, standard 20-foot dry containers are
suitable for transporting bagged coffee. This is not to suggest they are
suitable for prolonged storage of coffee, because they are not. Some receivers
do specify ventilated containers for shipments from certain areas. These provide
ventilation over their entire length, usually top and bottom, but not all
shipping lines offer them. They are expensive, and at the same time more and
more coffee is shipped in bulk instead.
Bulk shipments were first experimented with in the
early 1980s. After a period of exhaustive trials, mostly on coffees from Brazil
and Colombia, the conclusion was that standard containers are perfectly suitable
for the transportation of coffee in bulk. But they must be fitted with
appropriate liners (usually made of polypropylene) and the coffee's moisture
content must not exceed the accepted standard for the coffee in question.
Some container facts:
- TEU
stands for Twenty Cubic Foot Equivalent Unit: maximum payload 28.3 metric
tonnes;
- FTE
stands for Forty Cubic Foot Equivalent Unit: maximum payload 30.4 metric
tonnes;
- GP in
the USA stands for General Purpose Container - the European Union equivalent is
DC or Dry Container, i.e. both are the
same; The net load of a standard, general-purpose, steel TEU container is on
average about 21,000 kgs green coffee. However this varies, depending on the
type of coffee being shipped (large beans can be as low as 19,000 kgs - small
beans perhaps as much as 24,000 kgs). It is impossible to use the entire
theoretical payload capacity because coffee is relatively bulky;
- Ocean freight for coffee shipments is always
charged per container. As such it is entirely up to the shipper to decide how
much of the available space to use, respectively how much space to leave empty
(dead space);
- Wooden container floors (where fitted) must have
been treated against infestation - details of the treatment method is found on
the CSC (Container Safety Convention) plate on the container door. This is
important because of rules on the use of Wood Packaging Material (WPM) that is
used in international shipments. See for example www.aphis.usda.gov - Importation of Wood Packaging
Material.; *
- When making a booking with a shipping line always
give the instruction 'stow away from heat, cool stow and sun/weather protected'
or 'stow in protected places only/away from heat and radiation', i.e. no outer
or top position. 'Stow under deck' or 'under waterline' is not appropriate with
modern container vessels, since the fuel tanks are often situated in the hull
and can radiate heat. Abbreviations also used are AFH = Away From Heat and KFF = Keep From Freezing.
For good overviews on container and containerisation matters go to http://www.containerhandbuch.de (English version) where a considerable variety of information is available.
*Materials other than
wood for use as container flooring are under development.