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Road Transport Vs. Ocean Transport – Which Is The Beneficial Choice For Grain Export?

The debate always occurs between road transport and ocean transport when it comes to choosing the right freight mode for grain export. Several factors are involved when goods are transported from one place to another, like the size and nature of the product. Even the place you want to send your grain also plays a very important role in choosing the right freight that must be beneficial for you.

Talking about grain export then, countries like Canada prefer to export most of the grains to other countries. If you are looking to export your grain crossborder, then choosing an international shipping company providing ocean freight can be a beneficial decision. Else road freight is the best option for door-to-door delivery or the neighboring countries providing roadways.

In both conditions, road transport plays a very important role in carrying the grains from the fort to the warehouses or a market. If you are confused, let’s understand the advantages and disadvantages of both the freight service, i.e., road transport vs. ocean transport, so that you can choose the better option.

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Differences Between Ocean Transport Vs. Road Transport Services

1] Ocean Freight

Ocean freight is known for its low cost and the capacity to carry high quantities for a long distance. It is the most common freight type and one of the oldest means of transportation. This is the most used freight among importers and exporters, covering almost 90% of goods transportation globally.

Ocean freights are the best solution for non-perishable goods like agri-products, coal, iron, or wet products like crude oil and petroleum. Because of the high carrying capacity, one can easily export the grains in bulk in one go, which is more economical than other freights. Including these advantages, it also has some disadvantages that you need to consider for a better choice.

The Key Advantages Of Ocean Freight

Ocean transportation is best suitable for a wide range of goods with long lead times.
Sea freight is more economical than other freights as it can transport large quantities in one go.
Sea freight companies provide transportation for the smaller consignment by combining multiple goods together.
This is the most eco-friendly of all the freight as ships have a minimum carbon footprint and use lesser fuel.
Ocean freight uses the sea route, making it the best mode of transportation for International shipping.

The Disadvantage Of Ocean Freight

Shipping through is the slowest means of transportation as compared to other freight.
The routes and the time are inflexible because of the slower speed, and they even get delayed due to bad weather.
Lengthy paper works included exporting the grains by sea and the need to pay taxes and port duties.
The fourth disadvantage is the slow loading process of grains and other products.

Sea freight has its own advantages and disadvantages that you can figure out according to convenience. If you want to export grains in bulk in other countries, then ocean freight can be your option. Else you can go with the road freight road facilities available to enter other countries.

2] Road Freight

Road transport is the most preferred mode popular by the supplier for fast and seamless supply delivery. These are well known for their door-to-door delivery and are even used to transport goods from ports and airports. It can reach remote areas and direct delivery to the marketplace where other freight can’t reach.

Road transportation is best for short distances when it comes to grain transportation. The asset-owned transportation can also carry non-perishable goods, and the company can easily schedule its time and root. But it comprises both advantages that you can explore in the below section for your better decision.

Advantages Of Road Freight

Relatively less capital investment is required as compared to other means of transport, and maintenance is also low.
Door-to-door delivery service is the biggest advantage of road transport because of the flexibility to reach remote areas.
The route and timing can be adjusted frequently according to the situation.
Road freight provides the fastest loading and unloading process as compared to other means of transport.
Road transportation also acts as a feeder to other modes as the moment of goods starts and ends with the road freight.

Disadvantages Of Road Transport

Road transport contains a high risk of accidents that make it an unpredictable and unsafe mode of transportation.
Road freights are limited to land only, which makes it an inconvenience for long distances.
During rains and floods, roads become unfit and unsafe to use, making road freight venerable to weather changes and seasons.
Road transports are notably less organized and structured as compared to other freight, making them unreliable and unpredictable.

Both ocean and road transportations have limitations and benefits when it comes to grain export to other countries. But both can be used simultaneously to overcome weaknesses and provide the best solution for your grain export business.

Multimodal Transportation: The Solution For Ocean Freight Vs. Road Freight

Both ocean and road freight has some advantages that can be cured by combining both. The process of combining multiple freight according to the need is called multimodal transportation. Ocean freight is limited to the ocean only and road transportation is rarely used in cross-border transportation.

If we talk about grain export in Canada, road freight can only access the United States. So, if you want the flexibility to reach other countries you can use multimodal freight to export your grains by sea and reach the specific country’s marketplaces. So, let’s understand the benefits of multimodal transportation and how it can help to expand your grain export business in other countries.

Benefits Multimodal Freight Vs. The Use Of Single Freight

1] Easy Cross-Border Shipping

The first benefit that is offered by multimodal transportation is easy cross-border transportation. The logistics companies that offer these types of freight services facilitate with truck service too. These trucks give the flexibility to transport the goods to the ports and even reach the products to the marketplaces or warehouses making the process faster.

2] Reduce Cost

Combining road transport and ocean transport can save the shipper lots of money. The ship is the most fuel-efficient means of transportation that helps lowering fuel costs. multimodal transport also used standard sizes of containers that are easily transferred to the trucks which cut the labor cost in loading the goods.

3] Best For High-Volume Products

multimodal freight can provide plenty of truck loads for the shippers in very less time maintaining the operational flow. Even ships have the biggest capacity to carry various products for a long distance maintaining safety. Combining both increase the capacity of carrying the goods and even make the exporting process faster.

4] Increase The Safety Of The Supplies

The combination of road and ocean freight also provides reliability and safety to the shippers. Being in Ocean protects the ships and the goods from theft and even damage. And coming to road transpiration then trucks have no stoppage between the starting point and the final destination. If found any problem, one can instantly change the route and even communicate with the drivers through the radio or over a call.

5] More Sustainable Than Other Freights

The uses of multimodal shipping give sustainability benefits in terms of high fuel sustainability, freight efficiency, and reduces environmental impact. The shipper can decrease the carbon footprint by choosing ships for transportation and reducing the use of trucks that are responsible for air pollution. So, you can choose multi-modal transportation if you love mother earth and want to make it a better place.

6] Visibility

Last is the transparency and the visibility that every exporter want to rely on the logistic companies. And the companies that provide multimodal transportation scan all the containers before loading them onto the ship. Even double-check the cargo at the time of transferring the grains to the trucks and provide all the information to their clients.

So, these are the benefits that you get by combining both means of transportation to tackle all the advantages efficiently. If you don’t find any idea which freight service to choose for grain export then choose multimodal transportation for an effective and efficient business.

Final Verdict With A Bonus

Now you can analyze the pros and cons of both the freight and choose one which is beneficial for you. This may help you to understand your business need and choose according to your convenience. If you are planning to export your grains to other countries and a confuse about choosing the ideal means of transportation then multimodal can be your option.

Multimodal freight, which includes the use of multiple freight to manage the operation. So, search for a shipping company that offers multimodal freight services to reduce the cost of grain transportation. It even increases the efficiency of exporting business and provides ultimate safety as compared to other ocean freight and road transport.