Perishable Goods by Short Sea Shipping

Large volumes of perishable goods (fish, fruit, vegetables, flowers) are transported by road (and sea) to and from the continent, with the Rotterdam area as an important hub. The Port of Oslo wants to clarify the prerequisites for increasing the market share on import of perishable goods from the Rotterdam area. Currently much of this transport goes by road. The transport through Sweden (border crossing to Norway through Svinesund) consists of southbound fish and northbound fruit, vegetables and flowers. For perishable goods, time is of utter importance both in terms of transport and distribution. The cost is primarily measured by reduced time in shop, lost sales and return-/waste-logistics. There is also a difference in the will to pay for southbound transport (fish) and northbound transport (fruit, vegetables and flowers). Currently reefer-/load unit-technology exist which compensate for the increased lead times by prolonging the maturation period without use of additional chemicals. These technologies are already taking over the oversea market and goods which used to be transported by air are now transported by ship. The project will use these technologies (enabling increased lead times) as a starting point to improve the potential for cross docking in both ends of the transport chain hereby increasing the potential cargo volumes, improve the balance of perishable goods flow between the continent and Norway and ultimately contribute to a decrease of the unit costs. Even though technology can compensate for increased lead times, it is assumed that improvement and adaptation of terminal operations offer a significant additional potential for savings both in terms of lead times and cost. The project will therefore focus on how terminal operations may be optimised regarding physical handling, information flow and other requirements. Finally, the project will look at different options for managing the load unit logistics and its associated risks.

Large volumes of perishable goods (fish, fruit, vegetables, flowers) are transported by road (and sea) to and from the continent, with the Rotterdam area as an important hub. How is the Port of Oslo positioned for these goods types and how can we contribute to improve the short sea shipping industry's competitiveness for European perishable goods moving through the Rotterdam hub? For perishable goods, time is of utter importance both in terms of transport and distribution. The cost is primarily measured by reduced time in shop, lost sales and return-/waste-logistics. Currently reefer-/load unit-technology exist which compensate for the increased lead times by prolonging the maturation period without use of additional chemicals. These technologies are already taking over the oversea market and goods which used to be transported by air are now transported by ship. The project will use these technologies (enabling increased lead times) as a starting point to improve the potential for cross docking in both ends of the transport chain hereby increasing the potential cargo volumes, improve the balance of perishable goods flow between the continent and Norway and ultimately contribute to a decrease of the unit costs. Technology, adaptations and market-/logistical terms are natural drivers for this project. Even though technology can compensate for increased lead times, it is assumed that improvement and adaptation of terminal operations offer a significant additional potential for savings both in terms of lead times and cost. The project will therefore focus on the possibilities for a differentiation of feeder logistics in the terminal with regards to Europe-based cargo, hereunder perishable goods, and oversea cargo. Finally, work will be undertaken with regards to value added logistics services in close relation to terminal operations as well as analysis of different options for managing the load unit logistics and its associated risks.