Industries in the Spotlight
06. 11. 2024
The world of consumer goods is diverse and includes everything you can find when shopping – from food and furniture to electronics. The variety of goods suggests that transport poses a particular logistical challenge.
Erwin Ferstl, Segment Manager, and Rene Wohlmuth, Sales Expert, provide insights into the complex world of consumer goods logistics – a dynamic and challenging industry that requires constant adaptation and innovative solutions. With new technologies and a strong focus on sustainability, the two are ready to shape the future of consumer goods transport by rail.
Erwin: Consumer goods cover a wide range of products – from drinks and packaged food to non-food items such as furniture and electronics. We basically transport everything you can find in the supermarket, including white and brown goods – i.e. fridges, washing machines and hi-fi goods such as televisions, but also furniture and even pet food.
Erwin: The requirements for pet food are the same as for tinned goulash soup. The wagon must not have previously transported waste or fertiliser, for example. If it has, it must be specially cleaned. But the equipment we travel with is more typical of consumer goods. It's the job of the colleagues in dispatching to make sure that the right wagons are dispatched at the right time.
Rene: In the food sector, we mainly transport finished goods in tins or jars. Fresh products such as tomatoes or milk are difficult to transport by rail because a cold chain has to be maintained and we don't currently have the right equipment for such transport.
Rene: The economy is currently in decline – which is naturally having an impact on transport. Added to this are the increased energy costs. While the price of diesel is now very low again and at a level before coronavirus and the war in Ukraine, the price of electricity is still high. However, the railway is unbeatable when it comes to sustainability. And our new equipment, which we received at the beginning of the year, has also been very well received by our customers.
Erwin: They are swap bodies (WAB) with a length of 13.6 metres in lightweight construction. This allows us to load them heavier than the old equipment and also heavier than the road: 27 tonnes instead of 24 tonnes. Especially in the beverage segment or in the food industry with canned goods, these three tonnes of difference are crucial. The new equipment also eliminates the need for reloading from truck to wagon, which many customers do not want because of the risk of damage. On the other hand, the old equipment offers slightly more capacity with a length of 15.5 metres. In the white goods segment, for example, we can transport up to 30 percent more volume than a truck.
Rene: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important, but in the end the price is still the deciding factor. Many customers are prepared to pay a little more to save CO2, but the price difference per transport must not be too great, especially for major customers. This would very quickly add up to large sums. Our new TÜV-certified environmental awards are also very popular with small companies.
Rene: Yes, in 2020 we received an enquiry from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to deliver 180 housing and sanitary containers from Leoben to Sindos in Greece for a refugee village.
Rene: In fact, yes. That's how they are classified according to the NHM number*. This transport was really challenging because the containers were not certified for rail transport. We solved this by loading them into "beet wagons", which are actually known as open wagons, and securing them. Two of them fitted in perfectly. We had to organise everything from A to Z for this transport: Dismantling – some of the containers were still connected to the water and canal, collection by truck and transport by rail. This is where the full strength of our international RCG team really came to the fore.
Are you interested in a consumer goods transport? You can contact us directly here.
*The NHM number (Nomenclature Harmonisée Marchandises) is a standardised code number used in international freight transport to classify goods.
