Classic, race, high-performance, and veteran cars are hot commodities in the field of international car transport. So, shipping them across the world in containers has its risks and challenges. As they are vehicles of historical interest and high technological or nostalgic value, customers often worry that they're not suitable for container shipping. Thankfully, Trans-Rak has developed a range of racking solutions to address these concerns.

Indonesia is a hub for car transportation in East Asia, with many cars being shipped into Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta, and from there to Asia, Australia, The Americas, and other locations. The shipping lines throughout Indonesia – the largest island archipelago in the world containing over 14,000 islands– are also busy with car shipments going from island to island, especially the population centres of Sumatra, Java, and Kalimantan.

With the cost challenges faced by the logistics industry today, switching to vehicle racking systems for containerised transport can be a make-or-break decision for automotive businesses that run large-scale shipping operations. As container prices remain stubbornly high, using multi-vehicle racking solutions is quickly becoming the most convenient way to make containerised shipping more economically viable and sustainable. But clever as they may seem, not all racking solutions can deliver the goods in terms of space efficiency, versatility, and cost. That's why we offer a 3D simulation service whenever our customers request a quote.

In the world of long-haul international car transport, safety is everything. For shippers, an overarching concern is that the vehicles might be subject to theft, loss, or damage, or that harm may come to the people handling them. This applies to all forms of vehicle transport, and to containerised shipping in particular because of the sheer scale of these operations and the distances involved. Thankfully, shipping cars in containers is much safer than is widely believed.

The UN's belated 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) drew attention once more to the Paris Agreement and the shipping industry's potential to limit carbon emissions. At the event, a total of 14 governments signed the Declaration on Zero Emission Shipping by 2050, committing to a climate neutral shipping industry in less than 3 decades. But what does all this mean for the container shipping sector?

“Semiconductor shortages, spiking container shipping rates, and the ‘everything shortage’…” The Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Global Live 2021 opened in Detroit with some sombre observations. Despite this, the overall mood among global car transport companies is one of optimism. As an industry faced with the overwhelming pressures of global upheaval, uncertainty, and supply chain chaos, vehicle logistics have demonstrated outstanding resilience. Here are a few glimpses of the silver lining!

Transporting electric vehicles internationally by shipping container is difficult enough, without worrying about fires and accidents due to improperly handled lithium batteries. But after a spate of aircraft fires caused by lithium batteries igniting on board, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) brought in a series of rules in 2009, and the United Nations classified lithium batteries as Class 9A dangerous goods. Unfortunately, the interpretation of these safety guidelines is a topic rife with misconception. So, let's discuss legal compliance for companies that transport electric cars by container.

The consumer car and vehicle industry is globalised to a high degree. Vehicles from Korea, Japan, and China are frequently sold in dealerships in the UK, the USA, and South America, while British-made Range Rovers and German-made Audis are frequently seen on the streets of Tokyo, Singapore, and Adelaide.

Choosing the right type of steel is vital when carrying heavy loads within shipping containers. Firstly, you need a metal that is strong enough to carry the weight of one or more vehicles without straining or buckling. Some metals can be strong weight carriers but are also brittle and can shatter on impact, which could cause unexpected collapse resulting in catastrophic damage in a containerised car racking system.

Over the years, car transport businesses have come up with a number of car racking systems to increase the safety and capacity of shipping container transport. Why? To increase the economic viability of shipping containers as an alternative to Ro-Ro transport. A 40 foot standard shipping container, with 8 feet of space in both width and height, is the equivalent to about two parking spaces. Therefore, without utilising racking, you will only ever be able to get two cars in a container; a costly proposition if you need to ship multiple vehicles.