Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.

Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck. In air and sea shipments, ground transportation is often still required to take the product from its origin to the airport or seaport and then to its destination. Ground transportation is typically more affordable than air shipments, but more expensive than shipping by sea.

Shipment of freight by trucks, directly from the shipper to the destination, is known as a door to door shipment. Vans and trucks make deliveries to sea ports and air ports where freight is moved in bulk.

Much shipping is done aboard actual ships. An individual nation's fleet and the people that crew it are referred to its merchant navy or merchant marine. Merchant shipping is essential to the world economy, carrying 90% of international trade with 50,000 merchant ships worldwide. The term ''shipping'' in this context originated from the ''shipping trade'' of wind power ships, and has come to refer to the delivery of cargo and parcels of any size above the common mail of letters and postcards.

Terms of shipment

Common trading terms used in shipping goods internationally include:

Freight on board, or free on board (FOB) - the exporter delivers the goods at the specified location (and on board the vessel). Costs paid by the exporter include load and lash, including securing cargo not to move in the ships hold, protecting the cargo from contact with the double bottom to prevent slipping, and protection against damage from condensation. For example, "FOB Kunming Airport" means that the exporter delivers the goods to the airport, and pays for the cargo to be loaded and secured on the plane. The exporter is bound to deliver the goods at his cost and expense. In this case, the freight and other expenses for outbound traffic are borne by the importer.

Cost and freight (C&F;, CFR, CNF): Insurance is payable by the importer, and the exporter pays the ocean shipping/air freight costs to the specified location. For example, C&F; Los Angeles (the exporter pays the ocean shipping/air freight costs to Los Angeles). Many of the shipping carriers (such as UPS, DHL, FedEx) offer guarantees on their delivery times. These are known as GSR guarantees or "guaranteed service refunds"; if the parcels are not delivered on time, the customer is entitled to a refund.

Cost, insurance, and freight (CIF): Insurance and freight are all paid by the exporter to the specified location. For example, at CIF Los Angeles, the exporter pays the ocean shipping/air freight costs to Los Angeles including the insurance.

The term "best way" generally implies that the shipper will choose the carrier who offers the lowest rate (to the shipper) for the shipment. In some cases, however, other factors, such as better insurance or faster transit time will cause the shipper to choose an option other than the lowest bidder.

References

See also

Affreightment

Mid-stream operation

Ship transport

Rail transport

Transshipment

Greek shipping

Chinese shipping

Environmental issues with shipping

Right of way (shipping)

Shipping markets

Category:Merchant marine Category:Transport

ar:شحن بحري da:Shipping de:Verschiffung el:Ναυτιλιακή οικονομία fr:Cargaison id:Pengapalan no:Shipping

In 1961 the People's Republic of China established a state-run maritime shipping company and subsequently signed shipping agreements with many countries, laying the foundation for developing the country's ocean transport. That organization developed into the present-day China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO). The Chinese government also invested heavily in water transport infrastructure, constructing new ports and rebuilding and enlarging older facilities.

A major effort has also been made to increase mechanization and containerization at major international ports.

China's shipping industry and container transportation has reached international standards both in handling efficiency and building networks.

The governmental responsibility of the shipping industry is under the Ministry of Transport.

The number of container units handled by mainland Chinese ports in November 2007 reached 100 million. The country also manufactures 90% of the world's containers.

The throughput of cargo and containers at China's ports has been the largest in the world for the past five years, with an annual growth rate of 35%.

History

The first overseas container reached China in September 1973 at Tianjin Port, which later set up the country's first container berth in 1980.

The 1990s saw rapid growth in the container transportation industry, and in 2002 China overtook the United States to become the world's top handler of containers.

In 2006, the country handled 5.6 billion tons of cargo and 93 million TEUs (20-foot container equivalent units). Twelve ports recorded cargo throughput of more than 100 million tons, with the Port of Shanghai handling 530 million tons, making it the world's busiest port.

Water transportation accounts for more than 90 percent of foreign trade cargo delivery, including 95 percent of imported crude oil and 99 percent of imported iron ore.

Containers have further connected China's middle and western regions to the global market, under a ports distribution strategy combining coastal areas and inner rivers.

Geography

China's 8,700-mile- (14,000-km-) long coastline is indented by some 100 large and small bays and has some 20 deepwater harbours, most of which are ice-free throughout the year.

Coastal shipping is divided into two principal navigation zones, the northern and southern marine districts.

The northern district extends north from Xiamen to the North Korean border, with Shanghai as its administrative centre. The southern district extends south from Xiamen to the Vietnamese border, with Guangzhou as the administrative center.

Most of the ocean-going routes begin from the ports of Dalian, Qinghuangdao, Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Huangpu, Zhanjiang, or Hong Kong.

Shanghai, the leading port of China from the early 19th century, was eclipsed by Hong Kong when the latter was reincorporated into the country in 1997.

Yangtze River Hu-Yu Route

On June 23, 2007, renovations on the section of the Yangtze River between Luzhou and Chongqing, also known as the Hu-Yu Sea Route, have been completed. This completion of the renovations means that ships over a thousand tons can now arrive in Luzhou.

Before the renovations, the Hu-Yu Sea Route was unable to take advantage of the overall development being enjoyed by the Sichuan economy. In October 2005 renovations started with a total investment of 120 million yuan (US$15.7 million). After two years of work, the Hu-Yu Route has been significantly enhanced: the channel has a depth of 2.7 meters and a width of 50 meters. The result is that vessels as large as 3000 tons can navigate the Hu-Yu Sea Route day and night.

Shanghai Shipping Exchange

Laws and regulations

Greek forays

Greek firms have managed to greatly capture the immense expansion of South East Asia and particularly Europe. It is majorly the dry bulk shipping firms that have benefited the most from the development since iron ore and coal are the two major resources that are required for a country's infrastructure to be taken to the next level. Ever since the beginning of the new millennium, China has provided very lucrative contracts both on the spot, and time charter market for dry bulk shippers. As a result, many new shipping tycoons were created.

Ports and canals

List of ports in China

Grand Canal (China)

List of busiest container ports

Lists of canals

Companies

COSCO (China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company); China COSCO; COSCO Pacific; COSCO (Hong Kong) Group; COSCO International Holdings

China International Marine Containers

China Shipping Container Lines

China Shipping Development

China Shipping Group

China Merchants Energy Shipping

China Merchants Holdings (International)

Sinotrans (Sinotrans Shipping)

The China Navigation Co.

Orient Overseas Container Line

Nan Fung Group

Parakou Shipping

See also

Transportation in China

China Classification Society

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)

Shipping portal

Ship registration in Hong Kong

*The Revolution of Ship Registration in Hong Kong

List of maritime colleges

*Shanghai Maritime University

*Dalian Maritime University

References

Asian Times Online Chinese shipping aims for global leadership

China Ships The World ''Forbes'' Special Report.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie;=UTF-8&oe;=UTF-8&q;=china%27s+shipping+industry

External links

Chinese shipping Official website of the Ministry of Transport

Chinese shipping industry information

Chinese shipping news information/news

Further reading

Theroux, P., ''Sailing through China'' (Michael Russell, 1983)

Category:Shipping Category:Transport in the People's Republic of China Category:Industry in China