Abstract
Economical handling of commodities in bulk has been highly developed, but great reductions in costs are possible with other classes of cargo by the use of advanced methods and equipment and the application of principles which have accomplished so much in manufacturing. The principles of greatest importance are the reducing of handling to the minimum and increasing the production of equipment to the maximum.
In the shipping industry handling may be reduced by keeping freight off the floor of the dock and the deck of the ship. The best method of accomplishing this is to receive the freight from the manufacturer already loaded on a skid. It broadens the application of the principle by extending it back to the mill where the goods are manufactured. Savings are increased not only by reducing handling at the mill and at point of consumption but by reducing packing expenses.
On a dock with its floor in good condition, one man and a tractor will handle skids averaging 3600 lb. with a total saving as compared with shipments in cases of over 80 per cent.
Even more important from the standpoint of net profit is the fact that additional business has been brought to the line by accepting shipments on skids.
In addition to the economy resulting from handling skids on the dock with lift trucks, the average sling load will be increased approximately 300 per cent, the ship’s dispatch will be expedited, and the claims reduced. Total savings will be the equivalent of more than a 50 per cent cut in cargo-handling expenses.
