NEWS BLOG

You’re in the car transportation business.  Your job is to get the cars from the manufacturer to the dealer.  You’ve looked at all the options and chosen to go with a containerised transport using a racking system, such as our R-Rak solution.  

A car racking system is a helpful way of increasing the number of cars you can transport in a shipping container. Do it right and you can expand the capacity of a standard 40 or 45 foot container from 2 to 4 or even 6 cars. There is also less risk, as a containerised car is secure and doesn’t need to be handled multiple times before its end destination.

If you run a business involving transporting vehicles from one part of the world to another, then you will understand the logistical problems of moving, storing and working on these products. Automotive logistics can be a difficult problem to resolve and many businesses face difficulty improving the workflow on their transportation routes, as well as cutting back on manual handling and stock damage.

What is the reason that RoRo shipping has been the dominant form of car transportation for more than half a century? It is slow, with a restricted number of deep water ports you can embark from. It involves frequent changes from one mode of transport to another, and is fraught with the risk of damage and theft.

We would like to propose a conundrum: How do you fit eight differently shaped cars into as few shipping containers as possible?

Until recently, wooden racks were the cheapest and most effective way to increase the load capacity of vehicles in containerised shipment. Racking fitted to the container walls allows vehicles to be raised securely in transit. By taking advantage of both the roof and floor area, the capacity of each container can be doubled. Storage racks made of wood are widely used to achieve this, however innovation in steel racking solutions has created an efficient, safe and economical alternative.

ShipMyCar have been shipping vehicles to and from their warehouse in Milton Keynes for a number of years and from that experience have gained recognition as one of the leading vehicle import/exporters in the United Kingdom. The R-RAK will help them to expand their business to the next level by increasing the efficiency of their loading and eradicating damages. Today, Trans-Rak provided them with personnel and equipment support in order to unload the first of many containers heading to them from Pangaea Logistics Group. 4 different vehicles were loaded by Pangaea into a 40ftHC container and then shipped from Dubai to the UK with additional 40 and 45ft containers to follow later in the week.

Containerising automobiles for long distance shipping isn't a brand new idea, but the system that we have created makes it more economical and risk free than ever before. While RORO shipping is still the industry standard, our racking system has many advantages for the bulk shipping of cars. In addition to creating many options for flexible shipping routes, shipping cars in containers is far safer than RORO shipping – so long as you use the appropriate racking solution.

Transporting cars with shipping containers offers some major benefits, and today this technology presents a viable option for shipping new vehicles worldwide.

Wooden racking systems are still a popular means of increasing the capacity of container shipping, despite their limitations. However, thanks to innovations in automotive racking systems, wooden constructs are no longer the only option. Steel racking systems have come to the fore, providing a secure and cost-efficient means to transport vehicles in shipping containers.