由 caicai8478 In the global dangerous goods supply chain, route selection is far more than simply connecting a starting point and a destination on a map. It is a complex strategic decision that directly impacts transportation safety, compliance, timeliness, and ultimately, overall costs. For high-risk, high-value dangerous goods, transiting through a port or route with volatile policies, strict inspections, high fees, or poor infrastructure can make previously reasonable freight costs exorbitant, and even lead to unforeseen supply chain disruptions.
Therefore, proactively identifying and avoiding these “traps” and conducting refined route optimization are key levers for reducing costs and increasing efficiency in dangerous goods logistics.
I. Why Avoid? — The “Hidden Costs” of High-Risk and High-Charge Ports
- Cost Structure of High-Risk Ports:
Exorbitant Demurrage and Detention: Stringent and time-consuming dangerous goods inspection processes can cause containers to be backlogged at ports for days or even weeks, incurring tens of thousands of dollars in additional costs.
High Probability of Inspection and Disposal Costs: Some ports have extremely strict inspection policies for certain types of dangerous goods (such as lithium batteries and chemicals), resulting in extremely high inspection rates. Once inspected, the shipper is responsible for all costs, including unpacking, sampling, professional verification, and repackaging.
Infrastructure and Operational Risks: Outdated port loading and unloading equipment and non-standard operations significantly increase the risk of collisions and spills during loading and unloading.
Political and Policy Risks: Unstable policies in some regions may lead to sudden new bans or restrictions, preventing customs clearance upon arrival and forcing cargo to be returned or destroyed.
- Cost Structure of High-Charge Ports:
Numerous Surcharges: In addition to standard Terminal Handling Charges (THCs), some ports may also impose high congestion charges (PCSs), bunker surcharges (BAFs/FAFs), security surcharges (SSs), and dangerous goods handling charges (DGSs).
Unbalanced Trade Flows: For ports with an imbalanced volume of cargo (e.g., large import volumes and low exports), shipping companies will charge higher freight rates and surcharges for exporting to balance costs.
Local Charges: Local fees such as agency fees, documentation fees, and THC vary significantly from port to port.
II. How to Identify High-Risk/High-Charge Ports and Routes?
Optimizing routes requires accurate identification of risk and cost points. Companies and logistics partners should establish a dynamic assessment system:
Historical Data Analysis: Review shipping data from the past one to two years to calculate the average inspection rate, average inspection time, and average demurrage charges for each destination port. This data speaks volumes and clearly identifies ports that are cost-prohibitive.
Consulting Professional Logistics Partners: Experienced dangerous goods freight forwarders and shipping companies are well-versed in the policies, operating practices, charging levels, and risk points of ports worldwide. They can provide the latest “port blacklists” or “high-risk lists.”
Leverage industry information and alerts:
Subscribe to reports from authoritative logistics media and consulting firms (such as Drewry and JOC) to obtain global port congestion indexes and operational rankings.
Pay attention to announcements from major shipping companies regarding the imposition of Port Congestion Surcharges (PCS). Ports frequently subject to PCS are considered high-risk for congestion.
Focus on geopolitical and seasonal factors: Avoid ports and routes in areas experiencing political unrest, strikes, or frequent extreme weather (such as hurricane season and freezes).
III. Route Optimization Strategies: Avoidance, Substitution, and Innovation
After identifying risk points, you can use the following strategies to construct a more optimal shipping route:
Strategy 1: Port Substitution – “Detour”
This is the most direct avoidance strategy. By negotiating with the customer, select a nearby alternative port with better conditions.
Classic Case Study:
Substituting the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach (LA/LB): These two major ports in the western United States are perennially congested, have strict inspections, and high fees. Consider shipping through the Port of Vancouver or Prince Rupert in Canada, then transshipping to inland US ports by rail. This may offer better overall timeliness and cost advantages.
As an alternative to the European ports of Hamburg and Rotterdam, consider the Nordic ports of Zeebrugge (Belgium) or Wilhelmshaven (Germany). These ports are modern, efficient, and relatively hazardous materials-friendly.
Note: If using this strategy, confirm in advance that the client is willing to accept changes to customs clearance and inland transportation arrangements at the destination, and accurately calculate the total cost (ocean freight + rail/truck transshipment) for the alternative route.
Strategy 2: Route Innovation – “Taking a Different Path”
Intermodal Transportation:
Sea-Rail: Ship goods to a major port with good infrastructure, then transship to an inland location via the rail network. This avoids direct access to congested core hub ports. For example, cargo shipped from Asia to Chicago doesn’t necessarily need to be unloaded on the West Coast. Consider transiting through an East Coast port (such as the Port of Savannah) or a Gulf Coast port.
International Rail: For cargo shipped to Europe, the China-Europe Railway is an attractive alternative. Its timeliness is between air and sea freight, its price is better than air freight, its routes are stable, and port inspections and procedures are relatively manageable.
Feeder Service: Freight is shipped to a small port near a major hub port, then fed by a feeder vessel. This can sometimes avoid congestion at the main port.
Strategy 3: Temporal Optimization – “Off-peak Travel”
If changing the destination port is not possible, try changing the time of day.
Stock up in advance to avoid peak seasons: By analyzing historical data and avoiding peak shipping periods like holidays (such as before Christmas and Chinese New Year), planning shipments in advance can effectively reduce congestion and the likelihood of encountering sky-high freight rates.
Reserve buffer time: When planning, factor in potential inspections and delays at the destination port, and ship in advance to ensure final delivery deadlines.
Strategy 4: Packaging & Mode Optimization – “Exploiting Internal Potential”
Improve packaging: Use stronger, compliant packaging (such as UN-certified packaging) to reduce the risk of detention and inspection during transportation due to packaging issues.
Evaluate transportation modes: For high-value, small-volume hazardous goods, air freight, while sometimes more expensive per unit, can offer a lower total cost of ownership than a combination of ocean freight and high demurrage fees due to its faster process, fewer transit points, and greater overall controllability. Conversely, for larger shipments, full container load (FCL) shipping can reduce the risk of multiple loading and unloading and unpacking inspections.
IV. Operational Recommendations for Implementing Route Optimization
Data-Driven Decision-Making: Build your own logistics database, continuously track the performance (cost, time, and risk events) of each route and port, and use data to support route selection.
Transparent communication with customers: Route optimization requires customer consent and collaboration. Explain the pros and cons of alternative options (such as cost, timeliness, and reliability) to customers in advance so they can work together to make the best decision for the overall supply chain.
Strengthen collaboration with logistics partners: Establish strategic partnerships with trusted, specialized dangerous goods freight forwarders. They possess the global network knowledge and real-time intelligence you need, acting as your “external brain” for route optimization.
Regularly review and adjust: The global logistics environment is rapidly changing. There’s no single optimal route. Regularly (quarterly) review routing strategies with logistics partners and dynamically adjust based on the latest developments.
Conclusion
Optimizing dangerous goods transport routes requires precise planning based on data, knowledge, and experience. It requires companies to transition from passive “freight fee recipients” to proactive “supply chain route designers.” By systematically identifying and avoiding high-risk, high-fee ports and routes, and comprehensively utilizing innovative strategies such as port substitution and multimodal transport, companies can not only significantly reduce visible logistics costs, but also effectively manage those invisible major risks, creating a more resilient, efficient, and cost-competitive international dangerous goods supply chain.