As the container crisis intensifies, Coca-Cola announces self-leased bulk carrier

Due to the difficulty of booking space for container ships, Coca-Cola followed various other brands around the world and announced the lease of bulk carriers to transport raw materials.

Coca-Cola's purchasing director Alan Smith announced the news on Linkedin on October 1, "When containers or space cannot be obtained due to the current shipping crisis, we must think outside the box (or container)".

Due to the severe shortage of container shipping capacity, the supply chain has been interrupted as never before. This large brand was forced to create a supply chain to keep its production running smoothly.

The situation has deteriorated to the point that Coca-Cola's New York dealers have to publicly acknowledge the difficulties they face in recruiting truck drivers for transportation.

According to reports, the company plans to pass three light bulk carriers, namely Empire Bulkers’ 34,399 dwt Aphrodite M, Zhejiang Shipping’s 35,130 dwt Zhehai 505, and AM nomikos’ 35,009 dwt Weco Lucilia C. No., transporting more than 60,000 tons of production materials.

Other brands choose to transport materials in the containers of bulk carriers, while bulk carriers traditionally transport cargo such as coal and grains in the open air. Coca-Cola has decided to pack materials equivalent to 2,800 TEU into large bags in the cargo hold, image shared in the post These ships can be seen in.

The post also emphasized the policy of transferring these bulk carriers to non-congested ports in order to reduce the additional burden of congested ports.

Container shortages and high freight rates force various global brands such as Coca-Cola to find solutions to the crisis. For example, Wal-Mart modified three Saga Welco bulk carriers to carry containers, or large retailers such as Target and IKEA. Claims to have chartered a container ship.