Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination.
One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g., from ship transport to road transport), known as transloading. Another reason is to combine small shipments into a large shipment (consolidation), or the opposite: dividing a large shipment into smaller shipments (deconsolidation). Transshipment usually takes place in transport hubs. Much international transshipment also takes place in designated customs areas, thus avoiding the need for customs checks or duties, otherwise a major hindrance for efficient transport.
Transshipment in the context of Factory (trading post)
Factory was the common name during the medieval and early modern eras for an entrepôt – which was essentially an early form of free-trade zone or transshipment point. At a factory, local inhabitants could interact with foreign merchants, often known as factors. First established in Europe, factories eventually spread to many other parts of the world. The origin of the word factory is from Latin factorium'place of doers, makers' (Portuguese: feitoria; Dutch: factorij; French: factorerie, comptoir).
The factories established by European states in Africa, Asia and the Americas from the 15th century onward also tended to be official political dependencies of those states. These have been seen, in retrospect, as the precursors of colonial expansion.
An entrepôt (English: /ˈɒntrəpoʊ/ON-trə-poh; French:[ɑ̃tʁəpo]) is a transshipment port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Entrepôt also means 'warehouse' in modern French, and is derived from the Latin roots inter 'between' + positum 'position', literally 'that which is placed between'. Typically located on a crossroads, river, canal, or maritime trade route these trade hubs played a critical role in trade during the age of sail. Modern logistics, supply chain networks, and border controls have largely made entrepôts obsolete, or reduced them in number, but the term is still used to refer to duty-free ports or those with a high volume of re-export trade.
Railways, Container Ships, Air-Freight, and Telecommunications have created a world in which commodities and manufactured goods are shifted from one part of the globe to another in regular, controlled, and reliable streams; see Just-in-Time Manufacturing. Eliminating the factors which once made the entrepot phenomenon central to trade networks. But, as pointed out by the Dutch economist T.P. van der Kooy and has been more recently restated by P.W. Klein, before the Industrial Revolution the flow of goods from one part of the world to another, even one region of a country to another, was so irregular and unpredictable that there was no possibility of achieving any sort of steady distribution, any balancing of supply and demand, or any sort of price stability except by stockpiling great reserves of commodities in central storehouses; ie entrepots.
The Port of Singapore is a collection of facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade and handle Singapore's harbours and shipping. Since 2015, it has been ranked as the world's top maritime capital. Currently, it is ranked as the world's second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, while also transshipping a fifth of the world's shipping containers, and half of the world's annual crude oil supplies, alongside being ranked as the world's busiest transshipment port. Furthermore, it was also ranked as the world's busiest port in terms of total cargo tonnage handled until 2010, when it was surpassed by the Port of Shanghai.
Due to the city-state's strategic location, Singapore has served as a significant entrepôt and trading post on an international level for at least two centuries. During the contemporary era, its ports have been regarded not merely as an economic boon for the country, but as vitally important for the country's economic development since Singapore lacks land and natural resources. Additionally, the port is regarded as particularly important for importing natural resources, and then later re-exporting products after they have been domestically refined and shaped in some manner, for example, wafer fabrication or oil refining to generate value-added revenue. The Port of Singapore is also the world's largest bunkering port. Moreover, the majority of ships that pass between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean go through the Singapore Strait. The Straits of Johor on the country's north are impassable for ships due to the Johor-Singapore Causeway, built in 1923, which links the town of Woodlands, Singapore, to the city of Johor Bahru in Malaysia.
Before the 17th century, the region was inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians who were succeeded by the Neutral, Erie, and Iroquois nations. In the early 17th century, the French began to explore the region. In the 18th century, Iroquois land surrounding Buffalo Creek was ceded through the Holland Land Purchase, and a small village was established at its headwaters. Buffalo was selected as the terminus of the Erie Canal in 1825, which led to its incorporation in 1832 and stimulated its growth as the primary inland port between the Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean. Transshipment made Buffalo the world's largest grain port in that era. After the coming of railroads greatly reduced the canal's importance, the city became the second-largest railway hub (after Chicago), and the city came to be dominated by steel production by the 20th century. Later, deindustrialization and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway saw the city's economy decline and diversify. It developed its service industries, such as health care, retail, tourism, logistics, and education, while retaining some manufacturing.
Transshipment in the context of Container terminal
A container port, container terminal, or intermodal terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime container port. Alternatively, the transshipment may be between land vehicles, typically between train and truck, in which case the terminal is described as an inland container port.
A freight forwarder or forwarding agent is a person or a company who co-ordinates and organizes the movement of shipments on behalf of a shipper (party that arranges an item for shipment) by liaising with carriers (party that transports goods). The carriers may use a variety of shipping modes, including ships, airplanes, trucks, and railroads, and often use multiple modes for a single shipment. A freight forwarder does not move the goods but acts as an agent in the logistics network and will carry out freight consolidation, rate negotiations, shipment tracking, customs and other documentation, among other tasks. FIATA describes a freight forwarder as the "architect of transport".
International freight forwarders typically handle cross-border logistics and have additional expertise in preparing and processing customs documentation and performing activities pertaining to the regulations of different countries. Freight forwarders typically have information with respect to commercial invoice, shipper's export declaration, bill of lading and other documents required by the carrier or country of export, import, and/or transshipment.
A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.
In addition to their role in cargo transshipment, dry ports may also include facilities for storage and consolidation of goods, maintenance for road or rail cargo carriers and customs clearance services. The location of these facilities at a dry port relieves competition for storage and customs space at the seaport itself.
Transshipment in the context of Port of Chittagong
The Port of Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong, and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River. The port handles over 70 percent of Bangladesh's export-import trade, and has been used by India, Nepal and Bhutan for transshipment. According to Lloyd's, it ranked as the 58th busiest container port in the world in 2019. The port has a recorded history dating back to ancient Roman accounts. It is the busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal.
Congestion is a major challenge in Chittagong port. The port had a congestion rate of 84.3 hours between January and July in 2017.
